Shifts in food packaging: 4 trends

Thermoforming in 2026, from reliable packs to smart lines

Walk into a supermarket anywhere in the world and you will see thermoforming at work. From sliced cheese and deli meats to seafood, ready meals and plant‑based products, millions of packs are formed, filled and sealed every day on horizontal form‑fill‑seal lines. The process heats a flat sheet of material, shapes it into trays or cavities, then fills and seals it on the same line to protect the product. How this process is designed affects not just factory efficiency, but how long food lasts, how much plastic is used and whether a pack can be recycled after use.

For years, doing thermoforming reliably and at high speed was enough. With new rules on recyclability, shifting consumer expectations and pressure on costs and labor, packaging is changing to do more. Thermoforming lines are now expected to support sustainability goals, safeguard food safety, simplify daily work on the shop floor and provide data for better decisions. Four trends stand out for 2026.

1. Sustainability is no longer a single direction

Sustainability still dominates many conversations about packaging, but it has become more nuanced. In thermoforming, the focus is moving away from classic multilayer films toward mono materials, thinner structures and hybrid formats that use less plastic while keeping barrier performance. Film needs to be easier to recycle, use less material and still protect the food inside.

Examples of high-demand materials range from thermoformed cellulose or fiber based trays to paper plastic combinations and recyclable PET or polypropylene (PP) structures tailored to existing recycling streams. Adoption has been similar across markets, but the speed differs. In Europe, new rules on packaging waste and recyclability set clear deadlines for redesigning both materials and pack formats, and trials with new films and coated papers are already routine in many plants. "Customers don't want a machine that only runs today's film," says Stefan Runkel, Product Manager Thermoforming at GEA. "They need lines that can handle the materials they'll be required to use five or 10 years from now." 

Accordingly, consumers increasingly notice in the form of thinner packs, new textures or different recycling instructions. In the U.S., the picture is more varied. Coastal states and major brands push harder for recyclability and plastic reduction, while many high volume operations in the interior still make decisions mainly on cost, capacity and short term resilience.

Inline leak detection and noninvasive oxygen measurement are also becoming part of the standard toolkit on thermoforming lines. Instead of discovering issues only through downstream sampling or retail complaints, plants can act immediately, adjust parameters and document process stability. "Residual oxygen looks like a small number on paper, but on the shelf it decides whether a product looks fresh or comes back as a complaint," notes Jonas Riffert, Product Sales Manager at GEA. As retailers in both Europe and North America tighten specifications for appearance, integrity and shelf life, this kind of integrated control becomes a necessity, especially in high risk categories like fresh meat, seafood and deli products.

4. Automation, data and remote support

Labor shortages are now a structural reality in many food plants, particularly in cold, wet packaging halls. At the same time, management teams expect better insight into line performance, waste and downtime. Thermoforming lines sit at the center of this shift.

More producers are using overall equipment effectiveness to monitor their critical packaging assets. Behind the dashboards, the goal is simple: fewer surprises, fewer breakdowns and more predictable production. Data on availability, speed and quality highlights where they lose time or product and where targeted investments will have the most impact. Packaging machines are increasingly connected to plant networks or cloud platforms, which makes it easier to analyze line behavior over time instead of relying on snapshots.

Digital tools build on this foundation. Remote access allows service specialists to help local teams without always sending technicians on site, saving both time and travel. Clear user management and secure interfaces protect both machine and plant systems. On top of that, some suppliers now assign a dedicated service or lifecycle engineer as a long term point of contact. Rather than focusing only on repairs, this person works with the customer on training, spare parts, upgrades and practical use of the data the line generates. For plants, it means there is someone who knows both the equipment and the everyday realities of the site.

Customer-centric problem solving and ‘test before you invest’

Global trends set the direction, but their impact is always local. When experts walk into a plant, they increasingly start by asking where the real pain points are. For one producer, the main issue may be film waste and start up scrap. For another it is changeovers that take an hour too long or seal failures that trigger complaints. The same global drivers can lead to very different priorities.

Many of the latest design improvements in thermoforming trace back to this kind of feedback. Lighter covers that are easier to open. Truly tool free adjustments. Automatic film tracking to avoid operators chasing misfeeds. Each of these looks minor in isolation. Together, they cut waste, reduce risk and make work more manageable for operators. That human factor is often overlooked when people talk about efficiency, yet it plays a central role in sustainable, long term operation.

Before committing to new equipment or materials, more producers now choose to test offline in dedicated technology centers. Facilities that replicate real factory conditions allow teams to test ideas safely, learn faster and avoid costly mistakes before changes reach live production. "Running tests in the technology center lets customers try new films or formats without touching their production lines," says Derek Loggains, Territory Manager, Greater West & Canada, GEA. "It takes a lot of fear out of change." R&D teams can evaluate new films, pack formats and gassing concepts, compare different equipment and optimize settings without interrupting revenue generating production. This “test before you invest” approach reduces risk, speeds up learning and builds confidence when scaling up to full scale production.

What to watch in the next few years

Looking ahead, thermoforming will remain at the intersection of environmental targets, commercial pressure and technological progress. Regulation will keep pushing toward more recyclable, material efficient packs. Retailers and brands will continue to demand consistent quality, clear labeling and reliable shelf life. Plants will need to run more products with fewer people, and data and connectivity will continue to move from “nice to have” to standard expectation.

For decision makers across food, packaging and sustainability teams, a few practical questions will shape investment plans:

• Can current lines run the films that will be required in five or ten years? 
• How quickly can formats be changed without losing production time? 
• Is there clear visibility on residual oxygen, leaks and process deviations? 
• Is it possible to access machine data and expert support remotely when issues arise?

Thermoforming equipment will keep evolving, with sturdier mechanics, more efficient heating, tighter control of the gas process and simpler day to day operation. Producers who start adapting their lines to these developments now will find it easier to meet future rules and changing customer demands. Those who use the coming years to upgrade smartly, rather than only reactively, will turn thermoforming from a cost center into a quiet, competitive advantage in their packaging halls.