The market research company described PET as “the star beverage pack performer”, with global off-trade demand up 6 per cent in 2010.
PET continues to take share from metal cans in the carbonated soft drinks market and has proved a popular option in the juice and RTD categories.
Chinese opt for PET for juice
In China in particular, PET has made big gains, thanks especially to its dominance of the juice category, where it has a 92 per cent market share.
As thirst for juice continues to grow in the country, Euromonitor expects PET bottles for juice drinks to register double digit annual growth through to 2014.
“Despite the wide appreciation of liquid cartons in the country, PET continues to gain share in juice in juice drinks through new launches,” said Euromonitor. “The entry of wide-neck bottles is apparent in single-serve drinks and adds to the positive outlook for PET.”
In alcoholic drinks, where PET has only a small footprint, Euromonitor said it is beginning to register gains against glass. Even in wine and spirits where glass has historically held a monopoly, PET is emerging as an alternative, especially for drinking on the move.
The outlook for PET looks especially strong but other packaging formats are expected to see growth opportunities over the coming years.
“Global economic recovery makes for a positive outlook for all beverage packaging materials for 2011 and through to 2014.
“Emerging markets in Asia-Pacific and Latin America widely exhibit resilience and growth. China and India will lead volume gains: these two countries alone are set to account for 18 per cent of global gains to 2014.”