Sarom Packaging concludes 2022 with more than 200% growth of premium and super-premium glass-packaging business lines

Worldwide efforts towards environmental protection have started to make their mark, already triggering an ascending trend on the glass packaging market. Last year Sarom Packaging reported a turnover of 41.5 Mln RON, registering a 180% net result growth compared with 2021 year. The company is one of the most important producers and consultants on the local market.

2022 continued to challenge the players in various fields of activity, including the ones activating in glass containers production. But contrary to trends in other industries, it was not the lack of demand the one to complicate things.

„I can definitely say that 2022 was a tough year. First, because we were impacted by the delayed effects of the pandemic, then by the drastic changes in politics and economics. We experimented a new wave of increase in production costs, and we had to find the most effective way to manage it. And this called for several rounds of negotiations with our partners in glass production, especially in what their technical abilities were concerned. We did everything to separate the real price increases from the ones generated by the speculations on the market”, stated Jacques-Edouard Săvoiu, Managing Partner Sarom Packaging.

The glass containers market has become a hyper-competitive one during the last years against the popularity gained by the sustainability trend in the European Union, but also throughout the world. Efficiency wise, glass is the easiest to be recycled among packages with a reusage rate of 100%, and this is impacting not only the recycling, but also the production process. The EU is one of the largest glass producers in the world, with 36.8 tons in 2020, more than 60% of this being involved in containers production.

Read more about

Raionul de Pește Floreasca relaunches the Chef Table concept

read more

Under these circumstances, Sarom representatives clearly state that 2022 was a tough year in covering the demands for standard glass. Hence, the company focused on specialized glass containers, thus consolidating its growing trend. In this perspective, the Premium and Super-Premium glass-packaging portfolio was doubled in 2022, both in terms of customers and revenues.

„Stepping a little bit out of the economical context, we can say that we would have loved to be able to meet the requests for household glass containers, the B2C flow. Unfortunately, we had to put on hold any matter of the kind, prioritizing the long-term clients in the allotment of our glass stocks”, added Jacques-Edouard Săvoiu, Managing Director Sarom Packaging.

In what 2023 is concerned, the company will focus on both directions of activity, as well as on consultancy services, so as the company’s clients could diversify their distribution channels, as well as attend the export business more carefully.

„Things are really different according to the market you’re playing in. If we were to look West, we would acknowledge that our business dynamics are good. There are more and more requests for high quality glass and there’s an increase in awareness towards the potential of glass in recycling and sustainability while using plastic containers is less and less attractive. But these trends haven’t yet been aligned with the purchase power of the Romanian final consumer. And no matter how much the local producers would aim at a quick transition towards glass packaging, we still need more time to align with the Western trends of development, that are very clear”, also says Jacques-Edouard Săvoiu, Managing Director Sarom Packaging.

The company’s representatives have noticed how the last years’ pressure can also be distinguished in clients’ demands, especially the ones acting in the wines and spirited drinks markets, where there’s a higher urge to differentiate and specialize. The number of producers aiming to stand out on the shelves is on the rise, as well as the number of companies involved in the production of non-alcoholic drinks and food choosing to use glass containers.

„The beauty & personal care segment is also more and more dynamic, and products made in Romania have started to catch the consumer’s eye. We are talking about a high variety of ranges, with products rated at the same quality as those in the West or even higher. The perception upon the quality of the cosmetic products made in Romania has changed. Glass packaging is on a fast rise in this field, and we have been trying to meet these producers’ needs with a full-service offer, from choosing the container up to the production process and distribution channels”, added Jacques-Edouard Săvoiu, Managing Director Sarom Packaging.

For the next five years, people at Sarom expect to see a significant increase in requests for glass containers production in correlation with the intensification of the wine tourism and adjacent fields of work.

„Given the dynamics of the market, some categories of products will definitely know increases of more than 50% in 2023. Most probably, will still have a positive premium and super-premium glass-packaging dynamic, and a significant increase in dedicated packaging for food and non-alcoholic beverages. Those will allow us to keep the actual development trend, and to have great satisfaction supporting our clients’ businesses with expertise and proper glass packaging products”, concludes Jacques-Edouard Săvoiu, Managing Director Sarom Packaging.