Vacuum shrink films also known as vacuum shrink wraps are plastic films. The film tightly wraps around a product and hermetically seals when heat is applied to the film. Vacuum shrink films protect food products from dirt, microorganisms such as bacterial, yeast and molds, parasite, toxic chemicals, oxygen, change in color, smell and taste of product, evaporation or water absorption and others. Vacuum shrink films increase the shelf life of a product. A type of vacuum film, form-shrink films are wrapped around food products by using thermoform technology. Flow-pack films when wrapped around a product are less tight than form-shrink films. Flow-packing can be done either horizontal or vertical. To be effective, vacuum shrink films must be flexible, have a good mechanical strength, lightweight, odorless, can be re-cycled, resistant to hot and cold temperatures, good sealing or barrier capabilities and low cost. The most important objective of vacuum films is to act as a barrier against oxygen and evaporation. The best packaging solution is to use high barrier oxygen films and vacuum technology to pack the food product.
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Global Vacuum Shrink Films Market: Market Dynamics
With increasing disposable income, rising consumer preference for packaged food, increase in number of supermarkets, modern trade and others which are expected to increase demand for single-layered vacuum shrink films in food industry. Polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are used to manufacturer single layer vacuum shrink films.
Rising demand from end markets such as food industry is increasing the demand for multi-layer films. In May 2016 packaging firm Krehalon based in Netherlands rolled out a new line of shrink films brand known as SSL. SSL use a material that fuses inner layer of films through vacuum packaging and hot water shrinkage.
Form-shrink and flow-pack films are used to pack a wide variety of products including meat, poultry, sea-food, dairy among others. Films can be single-layer or multi-layer films. Single-layered vacuum shrink films are generally used for wrapping meat and other food products in supermarkets and self-service outlets. Single-layered vacuum shrink films do not protect a food product from oxygen and is not a hermetically closed package. These single-layered films provide barrier to evaporation but are permeable to oxygen. When atmospheric oxygen comes in contact with the myoglobin of a meat, it forms oxymyoglobin. Oxymyoglobin is not a harmful chemical but a lose coagulation of oxygen which give red color to the meat which the consumers find attractive. This keeps the meat red color for hours and looks attractive to consumers. Except food products in supermarkets and self-service outlets all others food packaging use multi-layer films. In multi-layer films, the outside layer is mechanically tough and generally acts as a barrier to oxygen.
The middle layer or layers also act as a barrier to oxygen. The innermost layer acts a barrier to water vapor. The materials generally used in multi-layer are PA and PE. PA is generally used as outside layer with high oxygen barrier properties but permeable to water vapor. PE is used in inner layers permeable to oxygen but is water vapor proof. In multi-layer films, the outside layer is made of polyolefin (PA) and inner layer by polyethylene (PE). PA has high oxygen barrier properties but is permeable to water vapor. PE has opposite material properties, it does not allow water vapor but is permeable to oxygen. The two layers together act as a barrier to both oxygen and moisture evaporation.
The global vacuum shrink films market has been bifurcated into seven key regions such as North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan, Middle East and Africa, Latin America and Japan.
Some of the key players operating in the global vacuum shrink films market across the globe can be segmented into three tiers based on their revenue as follows
- Tier 1
- Flexopack S.A.
- Winpak Ltd.
- Coveris Holdings S.A.
- Kurehalon
- Bemis Company, Inc.
- Tier 2
- Flavorseal Llc
- Schur Flexibles
- Tier 3
- Buergofol GmbH
- Premiumpack GmbH
