Packaging Industry in Spain

Packaging in 2024: The big picture

Across Spain, sustainability is the dominant theme. Food categories such as dairy and processed foods are replacing rigid plastics with paperboard cartons and compostable trays, while confectionery brands are introducing biodegradable wrappers. Beverage players are accelerating adoption of recycled plastic bottles and paperboard cartons, reducing virgin plastic use. Alcoholic drinks are shifting towards aluminium cans and bottles due to lighter weight and recyclability, while premium spirits explore lightweight glass bottles. Beauty and home care brands lead innovation with refill systems, solid formats and bio-based plastics, reducing packaging waste.?

2024 key trends

The most pervasive trend across industries in 2024 was the move towards eco-friendly packaging materials. Heavy glass and rigid plastics are being replaced by paper-based cartons, recycled PET bottles, compostable films, bio-based plastics and refill systems. This shift is driven by regulatory mandates on recyclability and minimum recycled content, rising raw material costs and growing consumer concerns about environmental impact and microplastic contamination. Sustainability is no longer optional, it has become a core requirement shaping packaging choices across food, beverages, beauty, home care and pet care. Lighter, recyclable and refillable formats now dominate shelves as brands seek to reduce carbon footprints, simplify supply chains and align with consumer expectations for transparency and responsibility.

Material makeover through paperboard innovation and lightweight formats in food packaging

In 2024, Spain’s food packaging landscape shifted dramatically as rising raw material costs, supply chain pressures and stringent EU sustainability rules pushed brands away from heavy glass and rigid plastics towards lighter, eco-friendly solutions. Paperboard cartons, monomaterial paper and flexible pouches grew in popularity, offering recyclability and reduced transportation weight. This transition was supported by Leche Celta’s introduction of four dairy and lactose-free Pastoreo products in 1-litre SIG Midifit cartons, Lactalis Puleva rolling out ISCC-PLUS-certified recycled cartons in partnership with Tetra Pak, and Don Simón debuting Pure-Pak eSense cartons, an aluminium-free renewable pack. Danone adapted its production lines for Alpro yoghurts in lightweight tubs and pouches, while Campomayor’s WOVO brand switched from plastic pots to single-serve liquid cartons.

Spain taps into the future with rPET bottles, anchored lids and paper carriers in non-alcoholic drinks packaging

In 2024, Spain’s non-alcoholic drinks packaging market was being driven by sustainability mandates and shifting consumer preferences, generating a clear move towards rPET adoption, shrink wrap alternatives and paperboard innovation. Brands like Aquarel (Nestlé) and Font Vella (Danone) switched to 100% rPET bottles, while anchored caps became mandatory in July 2024 to ensure full recyclability. Circularity rules and eco-design guidelines are driving a shift away from plastic shrink wrap multipacks towards paper-based carriers and fibre-based bundling systems, reducing single-use film waste. Health and cost trends in Spain are driving demand for lighter, flexible packaging formats, such as aluminium-laminated pouches and brick-style liquid cartons. These formats are favoured for their convenience, portability and sustainability credentials. For example, Capri-Sun uses aluminium-laminated pouches for its juice drinks, which are lightweight, easy to carry and increasingly made with recyclable monomaterials to support environmental goals. Although aluminium cans remain stable under Spain’s upcoming deposit return system, the real growth lies in recycled plastics and renewable paperboard, reflecting a packaging landscape that prioritises recyclability, convenience and premium eco-credentials.

Metal bottles seeing strong growth in alcoholic drinks packaging in Spain

In 2024, Spain’s alcoholic drinks packaging market was defined by a strong shift towards lighter, recyclable formats, driven by sustainability mandates, cost pressures and changing consumer habits. Metal bottles continued to see very strong growth in 2024, with aluminium bottles leading the move, as brands like Diageo introduced limited-edition Baileys bottles, claiming savings, while wineries such as Aluvinum launched canned wines using recycled aluminium. Eco-awareness and circular economy rules are seeing producers replace heavy glass with aluminium for lower transportation emissions and easier recycling. Premiumisation, however, produced the opposite effect in beer, in which glass bottles were regaining share from metal beverage cans for their perceived authenticity. Overall, sustainability and convenience are reshaping alcoholic drinks packaging, balancing aluminium growth with niche glass revival and emerging eco-friendly substrates.

Glamour shifts to refillable, recycled and futuristic solutions in beauty and personal care packaging

In 2024, Spain’s beauty and personal care packaging market was defined by a strong shift towards sustainability and refillability, driven by eco-conscious consumers and regulatory mandates. Brands are eliminating virgin plastics and embracing greener alternatives, such as Nivea’s tins made from 80% recycled aluminium, Berioska’s switch to glass, cardboard and aluminium, and private label refill solutions like doypack pouches and reusable make-up pads. Innovations like Quadpack’s ShapeUp tube, a monomaterial polyethylene dispenser with recycled content, and Banbu’s solid deodorants with reusable bioplastic applicators highlight the convergence of sustainability and convenience. Premium players are also adopting cardboard and paper formats, exemplified by Capsa’s 2-in-1 cardboard box and EGISA’s eco-friendly folding cartons. While dissolvable sachets, naked packaging and upcycled materials are not yet mainstream, rising environmental awareness and regulatory pressure are producing packaging that is recyclable, refillable and increasingly interactive.

Sustainability, convenience and concentration reshaping home care packaging

In 2024, home care packaging was seeing strong trends in refillable containers, eco-friendly materials, advanced dispensing technologies and smaller pack sizes for concentrated products. Consumer demand for sustainability and upcoming EU recyclability mandates have driven innovations such as Gualapack’s 100% recyclable monomaterial polypropylene refill pouches, designed to fit into rigid shells for a “reduce, reuse, recycle” model, and Ocado’s 3-litre HDPE reusable containers for fabric conditioners and detergents, which can withstand up to 60 reuse cycles and replace five single-use bottles per cycle.

Recyclable pouches and resealable packs transform pet food packaging

In 2024, a major trend in Spanish dog and cat food packaging was the shift towards formats that prioritise sustainability and convenience, driven by evolving consumer expectations. As pet owners become more environmentally conscious, manufacturers are responding with recyclable packaging solutions, such as ProAmpac’s QUADFLEX pouches, which are made from kerbside recyclable materials and designed to reduce landfill waste while preserving food quality.