Food Cans (Except Beverage Cans) Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2034

This report describes and explains the food cans (except beverage cans) market and covers 2019-2024, termed the historic period, and 2024-2029, 2034F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global food cans (except beverage cans) market reached a value of nearly $25.74 billion in 2024, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.26% since 2019. The market is expected to grow from $25.74 billion in 2024 to $31.01 billion in 2029 at a rate of 3.80%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.78% from 2029 and reach $37.32 billion in 2034.

Growth in the historic period resulted from the growing awareness about food safety, increase in consumption of ready-to-eat food, favorable government investments and changing dietary patterns. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were fluctuating raw material prices and waste generation from damaged or dented cans.

Going forward, the growth of organized retail and e-commerce, increase in working population, increasing demand for seafood and meat products and the surge in packaged food export will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the food cans (except beverage cans) market in the future include health concerns over preservatives and sodium content, competition from flexible pouches and impact of trade war and tariffs.

North America was the largest region in the food cans (except beverage cans) market, accounting for 34.07% or $8.77 billion of the total in 2024. It was followed by Asia Pacific, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the food cans (except beverage cans) market will be Asia Pacific and Africa where growth will be at CAGRs of 5.40% and 4.37% respectively. These will be followed by Eastern Europe and Western Europe where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 3.82% and 3.52% respectively.

The global food cans (except beverage cans) market is fragmented, with large number of small players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 7.84% of the total market in 2023. Silgan Holdings Inc. was the largest competitor with a 1.81% share of the market, followed by Sonoco Products Company with 1.42%, Brand Building Packaging (Crown Holdings, Inc.) with 1.25%, Mondi Plc with 0.69%, Ardagh Group (incl. Trivium Packaging) with 0.58%, Can-Pack Group (CANPACK S.A.) with 0.56%, Toyo Seikan Group Holdings Ltd. with 0.52%, Colep Packaging with 0.41%, Massilly Holding S.A.S. with 0.36% and Visy Industries pty Ltd. with 0.25%.

The food cans (except beverage cans) market is segmented by material into aluminum cans, steel or tin cans and other materials. The steel or tin cans market was the largest segment of the food cans (except beverage cans) market segmented by material, accounting for 65.18% or $16.78 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the aluminum cans segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the food cans (except beverage cans) market segmented by material, at a CAGR of 4.88% during 2024-2029.

The food cans (except beverage cans) market is segmented by product into 2-piece cans, 3-piece cans and composite cans. The 2-piece cans market was the largest segment of the food cans (except beverage cans) market segmented by product, accounting for 50.54% or $13.0 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the 3-piece cans segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the food cans (except beverage cans) market segmented by product, at a CAGR of 4.29% during 2024-2029.

The food cans (except beverage cans) market is segmented by end use into meat, poultry and seafood, pet food, bakery and confectionery, sauces, jams and pickles, fruits and vegetables and other end uses. The fruits and vegetables market was the largest segment of the food cans (except beverage cans) market segmented by end use, accounting for 29.19% or $7.51 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the pet food segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the food cans (except beverage cans) market segmented by end use, at a CAGR of 6.67% during 2024-2029.

The food cans (except beverage cans) market is segmented by can capacity into less than 200 ml, 200-499 ml, 500-999 ml (0.5L-1L) and 1,000 ml and above. The 200-499 ml market was the largest segment of the food cans (except beverage cans) market segmented by can capacity, accounting for 37.46% or $9.64 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the 500-999 ml (0.5L-1L) segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the food cans (except beverage cans) market segmented by can capacity, at a CAGR of 4.61% during 2024-2029.

The top opportunities in the food cans (except beverage cans) markets segmented by material will arise in the steel or tin cans segment, which will gain $2.89 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The top opportunities in the food cans (except beverage cans) markets segmented by product will arise in the 2-piece cans segment, which will gain $2.38 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The top opportunities in the food cans (except beverage cans) markets segmented by end use will arise in the pet food segment, which will gain $1.85 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The top opportunities in the food cans (except beverage cans) markets segmented by can capacity will arise in the 200-499 ml segment, which will gain $2.13 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The food cans (except beverage cans) market size will gain the most in the USA at $1.17 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the food cans (except beverage cans) market include development of specialized tinplate cans to meet product-specific packaging needs, focus on collaborative development of fully recyclable paper-based cans, expansion of technical centers to support sustainable innovation in the market, adoption of alternative sealing technologies to improve sustainability and user experience and adoption of co₂-reduced steel for sustainable food can packaging.

Player-adopted strategies in the food cans (except beverage cans) market include focus on improving portfolio through strategic acquisitions, strengthening operational capabilities through new product launches and enhancing operational capabilities through strategic partnerships.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the food cans (except beverage cans) market companies to focus on specialized tinplate cans for product-specific applications, focus on strategic collaborations for paper-based can innovation, focus on facility expansion for sustainable packaging innovation, focus on alternative sealing technologies to improve sustainability and usability, focus on CO₂-reduced steel to lower emissions and improve recyclability, focus on aluminum cans to capture higher growth potential, focus on 3-piece cans to maximize long-term growth, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, provide competitively priced offerings, continue to use B2B promotions and focus on pet food to drive sustained market growth.