Primary food packaging is the largest segment of the total global printed packaging market by value and by printed area. In 2018, the global market for such packaging will be worth $227.2 billion according to the new Smithers Pira report The Future of Printing for Food Packaging to 2023, 56% of the all packaging global value. Across the world, 394.6 billion square meters of food packaging will be printed in 2018.

The global demand for printed food packaging grew by 3.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) by value and 3.1% CAGR by printed area for 2013–2018. It is forecast to grow at a faster rate of around 3.6% CAGR for 2018–2023, achieving a global market value of $271.3 billion in 2023, with 472.4 billion square meters forecast to be printed in this year.

The mature markets of Western Europe and North America have well-established markets for packaged food and beverages and growth in these regions will be correspondingly modest over the next five years, around the same rates as general economic growth. Faster growth in demand for printed food packaging up to 2023 will come from those countries and regions where urbanization is growing the quickest, and consumption of packaged food and beverages is not uniform.