Download Databook
Download Sample
Table of Content
NA : +1 804 441 9344
sales@towardspackaging.com
Schedule a Meeting
July 2025
A revenue surge in the connected food packaging market is on the horizon, with growth expected to reach hundreds of millions by 2034, revolutionizing the transportation landscape. The rising expansion of the e-commerce sector, particularly in emerging economies, increasing adoption of smart phones, rising IoT innovations, rising concerns over food traceability, increasing consumer demand for brand interactivity, and increasing need to comply with safety regulations are expected to drive the growth of the global connected food packaging market over the forecast period.
Connected food packaging paved various new opportunities to connect, inform, educate, build brand loyalty, manage inventory, and sell food products. To stay ahead, more businesses are increasingly leveraging technologies like QR codes, near-field communication (NFC) tags, RFID, and augmented reality (AR). Additionally, the market is rapidly expanding in various developing and developed regions, particularly North America, fuelled by increasing ecommerce activities and increasing focus of brands on consumer engagement through NFC tags, QR codes, and augmented reality (AR).
The connected food packaging market refers to the integration of digital technologies into food packaging systems, enabling real-time data exchange, improving food safety, extending shelf life, and enhancing consumer engagement. This includes smart labels, QR codes, RFID, NFC, sensors, and cloud-based platforms that allow packaging to track, monitor, and communicate product status or information. The growing demand for supply chain visibility and efficiency is expected to drive the market’s growth during the forecast period. Connected food packaging solutions enable real-time tracking of food items from manufacturing to delivery, preventing counterfeiting.
In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, Artificial intelligence in connected food packaging emerges as a game-changer and holds significant potential to revolutionize the market by optimizing the supply chain, boosting sustainability, enhancing customer experience, increasing food safety, and streamlining operations. AI-driven connected food packaging solution minimizes product recalls and reduces financial losses of brands by ensuring effective inventory control. By combining connected food packaging capabilities with AI, assist food packaging businesses to achieve unprecedented efficiency and innovation.
AI can enhance the personalisation of consumer experiences by analysing large amounts of consumer data. AI can effectively identify consumer preferences and patterns, recommending brands to tailor their packaging accordingly. AI can seamlessly integrate with innovative packaging technologies such as NFC tags, QR codes, and RFID, allowing consumers to access product information, promotional content, and enjoy interactive experiences via their smartphones.
How is the Rising Expansion of the Food and Beverages Industry Impacting the Market’s Growth?
The increasing expansion of the food and beverages industry is expected to boost the growth of the connected food packaging market, with connected food packaging playing a crucial role in the industry. This enhances branded food packaging into a more interactive marketing tool. Food packing businesses are widely leveraging digital technologies like QR codes, near-field communication (NFC) tags, RFID, and augmented reality (AR) to combat counterfeiting, real-time monitoring of food items, improve supply chain efficiency, and meet the evolving consumer demand for brand interactivity.
High Implementation Cost
The high costs associated with advanced technologies such as RFID systems, AR solutions, NFC tags, and others are anticipated to hamper the market's growth. The implementation of these systems requires high capital investment, which often can be a barrier for small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, the rising concerns regarding data privacy are likely to limit the expansion of the global connected food packaging market.
Rising E-commerce Activities and Increasing Focus on Sustainability
The rising e-commerce activities and increasing focus on sustainability are projected to offer lucrative growth opportunities to the connected food packaging market during the forecast period. E-commerce platforms mostly necessitate packaging solutions that enable uninterrupted delivery tracking and ensure product safety. The surge in online food delivery and grocery shopping has led to an increasing need for packaging solutions that can withstand shipping while ensuring product integrity and minimizing waste.
The QR codes and barcodes segment registered its dominance over the global Polyhydroxyalkanoates films market in 2024. Companies operating in the connected food packaging market are increasingly leveraging QR codes and barcodes to enable a connection between the physical product and brand. The major key aspects of QR codes and barcodes include enhancing consumer engagement, increasing transparency and traceability, optimizing supply chain management, and others. On the other hand, the RFID + Smart Sensors Integration is expected to witness remarkable growth during the forecast period. The integration of RFID + Smart Sensors enables real-time monitoring of food freshness, assisting in tracking the authenticity of food products, and enhancing supply chain transparency, which leads to reduced overall food wastage.
The smart labels and stickers segment held the largest share of the connected food packaging market in 2024. The increasing use of smart labels and stickers is significantly revolutionizing the food industry by enhancing traceability, minimizing food wastage, and improving digital information access. Smart Label Technologies includes QR Codes, NFC (Near-Field Communication), RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification), and smart sensors that offer various interactive features. On the other hand, the intelligent caps and printed electronics segment is expected to grow significantly during the forecast period. Intelligent caps and printed electronics play an integral role in the connected food packaging market by offering advanced features such as accurate temperature tracking, monitoring the freshness of food products, and enhancing the interactive experience.
The traceability and anti-counterfeit segment accounted for the dominating share in 2024. The growth of the segment is mainly driven by the rising integration of advanced technologies such as RFID, NFC tags, QR codes, and blockchain to ensure product authenticity and enhance visibility throughout the supply chains. Such incorporation of digital technologies in food packaging prevents counterfeiting and assists in protecting brand reputation in the market. On the other hand, the real-time monitoring and AR consumer segment is expected to witness a significant share during the forecast period, owing to the increasing integration of IoT-enabled and other digital technologies for continuous tracking and monitoring food conditions. IoT-enabled sensors in food packaging enable continuous monitoring of various factors such as humidity, freshness, and temperature throughout the supply chain, which results in minimizing food spoilage and enhancing safety. Augmented reality (AR) allows consumers to interact with packaging and access digital information about the product.
The meat and seafood segment held a dominant presence in the connected food packaging market in 2024, owing to the rising global demand for meat and seafood. The integration of connected food packaging strongly focuses on improving traceability in meat and seafood packaging, enhancing food safety, and reducing food waste. On the other hand, the frozen foods and infant nutrition segment is expected to grow at a notable rate. The segment fastest growth is majorly driven by the growing need for convenient meal solutions, especially in urban areas with busy lifestyles. In addition, the rising demand for nutritious meal options for infants and toddlers is expected to fuel the segment’s growth during the forecast period. Connected food packaging in the baby food sector focuses on enhancing safety and transparency.
The food and beverages segment held the majority of the revenue share in 2024, owing to the increasing need for product authenticity, rising demand for food safety, and enhancing consumer experience in the food and beverage industry. Digital technologies used in connected food packaging include QR codes, NFC chips, and RFID to provide access to product information, improve consumer interactive experiences, and offer other valuable insights. On the other hand, the e-commerce grocery and cold chain providers segment is projected to grow at a CAGR of between 2025 and 2034, owing to the rapid expansion of the e-commerce and online grocery sectors, coupled with the increasing need for cold chain logistics. Moreover, the growing demand for reliable packaging solutions that continuously maintain the freshness and preserve the high quality of temperature-sensitive food products during storage and transportation is expected to bolster the segment’s growth during the forecast period.
The B2B sales segment is expected to dominate the market with the largest share in 2024, owing to the increasing demand in B2B direct sales of food products, particularly within the food packaging industry. Connected packaging solutions are widely adopted by food businesses to reduce food waste, improve supply chain visibility, and build a connection with consumers. These factors are supporting the segment’s growth during the forecast period. On the other hand, online smart packaging providers are anticipated to grow at the fastest CAGR. The segment’s growth is driven by the rapid expansion of online food retail, which significantly increases the need for innovative packaging solutions for tracking and real-time monitoring of food items during transit and enhancing customer engagement.
The cloud-based platforms segment registered its dominance over the global connected food packaging market. In the connected food packaging market, cloud-based platforms play an integral part by allowing for the management of data efficiently, real-time tracking, and improving communication throughout the lifecycle of the food product. Cloud-based platforms collect, store, and analysis of data from connected food packaging, enabling valuable information on product performance. On the other hand, the IoT sensor networks segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR. The growth of the segment is driven by the rising integration of IoT sensor networks into food packaging to enhance food safety and traceability, reduce food waste, and optimize supply chain management.
North America held the dominant share of the Connected food packaging market in 2024. North America, especially the U.S., has a presence of well-established food and beverage industry, which spurs the demand for connected food packaging solutions, driven by the rising consumer demand for safety, transparency, and convenience. Factors such as the presence of safety government standards, the growing significance of food safety, the rising need for improved supply chain transparency, increasing consumer inclination for interactive packaging, the rising demand for personalized and tech-enabled packaging, and the increasing focus of food businesses on enhancing customer engagement.
Several companies in food businesses are aggressively adopting digital technologies QR codes, near-field communication (NFC) tags, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and augmented reality (AR) to improve visibility throughout the supply chain and strengthen the loyalty connection between brands and end customers. Moreover, the rising expansion of e-commerce growth and rising focus on sustainability to align with the circular economy principle are expected to accelerate the revenue of the connected food packaging market during the forecast period.
Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest rate in the market during the forecast period. The growth of the region is mainly fuelled by the rapid expansion of the food and beverages industry, rising shift towards digitization, increasing consumer demand for convenience, rising need for transparency and traceability, rising adoption of cloud-based and IoT-enabled solutions, rapid urbanization, rising need to optimize supply chain management, and growing focus on improving consumer engagement experiences. Additionally, the expansion of the e-commerce sector, particularly in developing economies, and the increasing penetration of smartphones are expected to drive market growth.
Several food packaging companies operating in the region are employing connected food packaging solutions to improve supply chain transparency, enhance sustainability, reduce food wastage, combat counterfeiting, and enhance customer engagement experiences. Connected packaging solutions significantly assist in combating food counterfeiting and ensure the authenticity of food products by addressing rising consumer concerns regarding product origin and food safety.
By Technology Type
By Packaging Format
By Functionality
By Connectivity Platform
By Application
By Sales Channel
By Region
July 2025
July 2025
July 2025
July 2025
Annual Access, Limitless Research! Unlock all market research reports with our annual subscription. Stay on top of market trends and crucial insights year-round!
2500+
Client Queries in 20235000+
Insights Published40+
Consulting Projects Per Year25+
Analysts