The board packaging industry produces paper-based packaging from solid and corrugated boards, with the overall aim to contain, protect and/or display goods. We segmented the European market by players’ material of choice into: (i) corrugated board, (ii) solid board and (iii) mixed.

There is a clear difference between the identified market verticals, with the corrugated board segment considered to be consolidated, whereas the solid board and mixed segments have a rather fragmented nature. The commodity-like nature of corrugated board packaging serves as the primary driver for segment consolidation, with players only being able to successfully compete beyond a certain scale. As such, the corrugated landscape is depicted by integrated producers that generate large annual packaging volumes, whereas the solid board and mixed verticals are characterised by a long tail of (specialised) SMEs. 

Sponsor-led interest has been limited, with only ~18% of identified European assets being backed by financial sponsors (May 2023). Herein, backed companies predominantly operate in the solid board and mixed segments, while only one corrugated board player received institutional backing. Thin profitability margins, limited cash generation potential, low individual market power (e.g. solid board) and capped international expansion opportunities (e.g. corrugated board) are considered the main detractors for investors. Nonetheless, the industry offers ample buy-and-build opportunities as well as consistent revenue growth and high downturn resilience.

ESG topics are primarily rooted in environmental challenges. The production of board packaging is associated with significant CO2 emissions, alongside the high amounts of energy consumed by production machinery. However, when comparing the total carbon footprint to other packaging alternatives, board packaging is considered the most sustainable option. As such, identified players are investing heavily in methods to fully capitalise on this inherent advantage (e.g. increasing the proportion of recycled fibres in the production mix), alongside ways to make the overall production process greener (e.g. biomass, hydrogen).