A Little Bit of Background
Aluminum foil lunch boxes are widely used utensils, often referred to as tin foil lunch boxes domestically. In fact, they are made from 3-series or 8-series aluminum ingots as raw materials. These ingots are cold-rolled or hot-rolled to achieve uniform thickness, smooth surface, no pinholes, no dust particles, and no odor aluminum foil coils. These coils are then processed using specialized equipment and molds through a one-time fully automatic cold stamping production process to form the final product.
Aluminum foil boasts outstanding barrier properties and a series of advantages such as being lightweight, airtight, and having good wrapping characteristics. Additionally, it provides insulation to a certain extent. Aluminum foil lunch boxes are recyclable, which helps reduce pollution and save resources. They are suitable for takeaway packaging and can also be used as baking containers. With the growing needs on environmental protection, aluminum foil lunch boxes have immense potential for development.
| Types | Applications |
| Aluminum Foil Baking Pans | Baking aluminum foil boxes are mainly small-capacity containers, typically 300ml or less. Among them, the most widely used is the 50ml baking aluminum foil box, which can be used for packaging sauces, puddings, baked goods, desserts, etc. Another commonly used size is the 15-25g jam aluminum box, which also has a wide range of applications. Many large supermarkets and stores are now using this type of aluminum box to package jam. |
| Round Aluminum Foil Containers | Round aluminum boxes with large capacity are mainly suitable for containing main courses, stews, and for use in dry pot dishes, hot pot dishes, etc., such as whole chicken, whole duck, large lobsters, boiled fish, etc. Medium-capacity round aluminum boxes are suitable for containing fast food, fruits, soups, etc. Because their portion sizes are suitable and similar to the portion sizes needed for daily family meals, the demand for them is relatively high. |
| Rectangular Aluminum Foil Containers | Rectangular aluminum foil lunch boxes are mainly used for takeout packaging. Regular rectangular aluminum boxes are suitable for packing fast food, fruits, rice, pre-made dishes, etc. Their portion sizes are similar to those needed for daily family meals. Large-capacity square aluminum foil boxes are mainly used for grilled fish dishes, which are very suitable for takeout packaging of grilled fish or pre-made grilled fish dishes. They can be heated directly over an open flame, making them ready to eat immediately. |
Aluminum Foil Industrial Chain
The upstream of the aluminum foil lunch box industry chain includes raw materials and processing equipment, such as bauxite, smelting equipment, and aluminum foil manufacturing machinery. The midstream consists of major manufacturers of aluminum foil lunch boxes, such as Henan Yongsheng Aluminum Industry Co., Ltd., Zhuozhou Jiahua Aluminum Industry Co., Ltd., Jinhua Xiongwei Aluminum Packaging Co., Ltd., and others. The downstream segment includes various application scenarios for aluminum foil lunch boxes, such as catering and takeaway packaging.
Current Market Stats
Developed countries such as Europe and the United States pay great attention to the use of aluminum foil for packaging. There have been incidents of food poisoning related to disposable plastic containers, which has further promoted the application of disposable aluminum foil lunch boxes. In 2022, the global aluminum foil lunch box market size reached $5.765 billion, with a year-on-year growth of 10.7%, and consumption reached 51.263 billion units. In recent years, the global average price of aluminum foil lunch boxes has been on the rise due to fluctuations in raw material prices, increasing from $0.0937 per unit in 2017 to $0.1256 per unit in 2022.
The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 altered consumer behavior significantly, accelerating the development of online food delivery services. The takeaway industry drove the market demand for aluminum foil lunch boxes. Aluminum foil lunch boxes boast highlights such as high temperature resistance, stability, hygiene, safety, and degradability, gradually becoming a new trend in food containers. In 2022, China’s aluminum foil lunch box production reached 12.56 billion units, with a year-on-year growth of 12.34%, and demand reached 12.38 billion units, with a year-on-year growth of 12.13%. In the future, with the continued development of online food delivery services, the demand for aluminum foil lunch boxes will continue to rise, consequently driving the production of aluminum foil lunch boxes.