The European Aerosol Market
European aluminum aerosol can
market challenged by COVID-19 crisis
In 2020, the European aluminum aerosol can market was
significantly influenced by the COVID-19 crisis. Deliveries by
European AEROBAL members decreased in the first half of 2020
by 2.4% to 1.32 billion cans. The slowdown
was largely due to a weaker demand for
deodorants/antiperspirants because of partial
lockdowns and changing consumer behavior
during the crisis. Less traveling, less socializing
and general mobility restrictions led to a
reduced consumption of these items. Besides
body care products, professional hair care
products also suffered from forced closures
of hairdressers’ establishments. Moreover,
demand for sun care products went down because
most people could not go on holidays
in 2020 due to far-reaching travel restrictions.
All of these negative effects could not be
fully compensated by the lively demand for
Gregor Spengler,
Secretary General,
The International
Organization
of Aluminum
Aerosol Container
Manufacturers
(AEROBAL)
sanitizer sprays during the health crisis.
An additional insecurity factor in the EU was Brexit. The
long and conflicting negotiations have led to a huge uncertainty
among supply chain partners about future border controls and
just-in-time delivery. Some customers have increased their stocks
to avoid out-of-stock situations at the point of sale in case of a
hard, unregulated Brexit.
16 Spray January 2021
Since income from
aluminum aerosol can
orders in general did not
pick up in the second
half of 2020, AEROBAL
members believe that their
results will fall behind last
year’s figures and be below
expectations. Demand
might come back to normal
in the course of 2021,
once vaccinations against
COVID-19 are available
and life around the globe returns to normal.
“Despite COVID-19, the aluminum aerosol can industry has
made considerable progress in 2020 in providing even more
sustainable packaging solutions,”explained AEROBAL President
Leopold Werdich. “Thanks to the development of new alloys, less
material is used in can production, leading to a better carbon footprint.
Some progress was also made in the use
of post-industrial and post-consumer recycled
materials in the production of new cans,
which is strongly demanded by brand owners.”
Together with aluminum’s assets as a permanent
material that can be recycled repeatedly
without loss in quality, aluminum aerosols
provide an answer to the requirements laid
down in the European Communities Circular
Economy Action Plan. This plan, which
was hammered out in the framework of the
so-called European Green Deal in 2020, requires, among other
things, increasingly recycled content in products, while ensuring
their performance, safety, high-quality recycling and reduction of
carbon and environmental footprints.
Leopold Werdich,
AEROBAL President
Steel aerosols in the EU
Strength, safety and 100% barrier against
light, water and air—these are the main
reasons steel has, for decades, been trusted by
brands and consumers alike as a material for
packaging not only food and beverages, but
also industrial, household and personal care
products.
However, today, European consumers
are demanding more from packaging and
sustainability has become a priority for EU
brands.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the
European Commission, described the goal of
the European Green Deal—a climate-neutral
EU by 2050—as “Europe’s man on the moon moment.” Transforming
the 27-country bloc
from a high- to a low-carbon
economy is ambitious to say
the least, and key to achieving
this goal is a successful Circular Economy Action Plan.
The idea of a circular economy is to keep resources in use for as
long as possible, without relying on and depleting raw materials.
Multiple recycling is key to this process, as is the increased use of
According to data released by the UK Environment Agency, in October, aluminum packaging
recycling rates had officially exceeded its 2020 target by more than 5% with three months of the
year still remaining. Q3 saw 42,265 tonnes of aluminum packaging collected for recycling, an increase
of 41% compared to the same period in 2019 and 4% higher than the previous quarter in
2020 (40,653 tonnes). Aluminum packaging collected through curbside, drop-off and on-the-go
systems totaled 78,685 tonnes (an increase of 28% compared to 2019), while tonnage recovered
from incinerator bottom ash (IBA) more than doubled from 19,139 in 2019 to 40,513 in 2020.
Alexis Van Maercke,
Secretary General,
The Association
of European
Producers of Steel
for Packaging
(APEAL)