Increasing industrial accidents over the past few years has raised demand for water soluble packaging for user safety from hazardous chemicals and the trend is expected to continue over the coming years. Rising adoption in laundry detergents, agricultural chemicals, auto dish detergents, industrial batch chemicals, water treatment chemicals, disinfectants, and pigments and dyes industry is expected to increase market concentration over the coming years. Additionally, increasing environmental and sustainability concern is expected to increase biodegradable packaging market reach.

agrochemicals industry market size was more than USD 240 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow by virtue of increasing concern of crop protection and crop productivity. Solubility without residue, good impact resistance, and crop protection nature of water soluble packaging materials is expected to increase market concentration over the coming years.

Over the past few years, manufacturers are avoiding consumption of plastics by virtue of disposal cost, large space requirement, and lot of waste generation. Increasing plastic production for packaging industry has increased plastic packaging waste over the past few years. Primary plastic production for packaging industry accounted for more than 150 million tons in 2018, whereas plastic waste generation in 2018 was nearly 145 million tons. Furthermore, stringent government regulations on plastic consumption and waste has forced manufacturers to adopt sustainable alternatives to plastic. Sustainable manufacturing process and cost reduction as comparted to plastics makes water soluble packaging as the best alternative to plastics in working environment.

Increasing production of raw materials

By raw materials, the global water soluble packaging market is segmented as polymers, fiber, and surfactants. Different types of polymers such as polypropylene, polysaccharides, polyvinyl alcohol, and hemicellulose are used to manufacture water soluble packaging product. The global polypropylene production capacity was more than 73 million tons in 2018, with China accounted for more than 25% of production capacity. Leading producers of polypropylene are Lyondell Basell, Sinopec Group, PetroChina Group, Braskem Group, Borealis, Sabic, Exxon Mobil, Reliance Industries, Total, and Formosa Plastics. Apart from polymers, surfactants, seaweed fiber, and collagen fiber are increasingly used to manufacture water soluble packaging products.

Manufacturers operating in this industry are working hard to reduce plastic waste by introducing biodegradable packaging solutions. For instance, in July 2019, Decomer launched water soluble honey packages. Additionally, manufacturers are thinking out of the box to introduce plastic alternatives that are less costly as compared to other biodegradable materials. For instance, Algotek, a biodegradable plastic manufacturer from Oregon introduced water soluble packaging products from algae.

North America to dominate global water soluble packaging market

North America dominated the global water soluble packaging industry in 2018 and is expected to maintain its dominancy over the forecast period. Increasing agrochemicals, pigments, and petrochemical industry followed by rising penetration of water soluble packaging solutions in these end user industries is expected to open new avenues for polymer raw material suppliers and manufacturers. According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), more than 70% of the plastic waste generated in U.S. in 2018 was end up in landfills. Increasing awareness among consumers regarding consumption of plastic followed by stringent government regulations to limit plastic usage is expected to open new opportunities for the production of water soluble packaging materials over the coming years.

Key Market Players
        •    Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation     
        •    Mondi Group     
        •    Sekisui Specialty Chemicals America.     
        •    Watson Inc.     
        •    Monosol     
        •    Arrow Greentech Ltd.     
        •    Amtrex Nature Care Private Limited     
        •    JRF Technology     
        •    Wikicell      
        •    Skipping Rocks Lab     
        •    Aicello Coporation     
        •    Devro     
        •    Water Io     
        •    Evoware     
        •    Loliware

Market Segments: Water Soluble Packaging Market 
        •By Raw Material
        o    Polymers
        o    Surfactants
        o    Fiber
        •By Solubility Type
        o    Cold Water Soluble
        o    Hot Water Soluble
        •By Packaging Type
        o    Bags
        o    Pouches
        o    Pods & Capsules
        •By Application
        o    Industrial
        o    Residential
        •By Region (tentative)
        •    North America
        •    US
        •    Canada
        •    Europe
        •    Germany 
        •    France
        •    UK
        •    Asia Pacific
        •    China
        •    India
        •    Japan
        •    The Middle East & Africa
        •    GCC
        •    South Africa
        •    Central & South America
        •    Brazil

Key Sources 
        •    Industry Associations
        •    Patent Websites
        •    Company Annual Reports
        •    Company Websites
        •    Key industry leaders
        •    Technology consultants
        •    Others

Key Questions Answered
        •    What are the key growth regions and countries?
        •    What are the important types and raw materials being used?
        •    What are the market players doing, in terms of research and development?
        •    Which are the new applications for this market?
        •    What are the integrations happening?
        •    What is the recent news, developments, mergers, or large value deals?
        •    Where will the industry go in the long run?

Key Stakeholders
        •    Technology solution providers
        •    Raw Material Suppliers
        •    Regulatory Authorities
        •    Research and Innovation Organizations
        •    Other Channel Partners