The 2025 Global Top 25 Flexible Packaging Processors Released, and the World's Number One Is Still Them!
What exactly is happening in the global flexible packaging industry? Why did a super giant that ranked fourth on the annual list (Berry Global) disappear within a year? Why are leading companies like Amcor redefining themselves with a core product portfolio worth as much as $20 billion? The answer lies in the two key trends sweeping the global flexible packaging industry in 2025: the wave of mergers and acquisitions, and the challenge of going green.
From large-scale mergers among multinational giants to strategic expansions by players in niche segments, capital is consolidating resources at an unprecedented speed. At the same time, pursuing sustainability and circular packaging is no longer optional-it is essential for all companies to remain competitive. This article will reveal all the major deals in the flexible packaging industry in 2025 and analyze what these changes mean for the Chinese market and enterprises.
Giant Union: The Historic Merger of Amcor and Berry Global
Among many industry events, Amcor's merger with Berry Global in April is undoubtedly the most significant deal in the flexible packaging sector this year. This merger directly led to Berry Global leaving the 2025 "Top 25 Global Flexible Packaging Processors" list-bear in mind, Berry Global was ranked fourth just last year.
For Amcor, this acquisition presents a unique opportunity to revisit and optimize its global product portfolio. In its fiscal year 2025 earnings announcement ended June 30, Amcor made it clear that the combined company identified a core product portfolio worth up to $20 billion.
This core portfolio focuses on consumer packaging and dispensing solutions in the nutrition and wellness sector, aiming to capture a large, resilient and growing market segment, including: Health, Beauty & Wellness; Nutrition; Specialty products.
Amcor has established a leading position in these end markets with its flexible global supply chain and extensive product line of multi-specification, high-value innovative solutions and leaves room for tremendous growth in the future.
More importantly, Amcor emphasized that the merger with Berry International will be a strong push for the company to achieve its sustainability goals. Amcor CEO Peter Coneccini said 2025 is a "turning point" for Amcor. He believes that with the company's industry-leading innovation capabilities, global scale and deep packaging expertise, the new Amcor will be uniquely positioned to deliver breakthrough solutions and accelerate the future of circular packaging.
The wave of mergers and acquisitions is rising: the pace of industry consolidation has never stopped
In addition to the merger of the century between Amcor and Berry International, there will also be a series of far-reaching mergers and acquisitions in the flexible packaging industry in 2025, which collectively paint a new pattern of industry consolidation.
1. Toppan Printing Acquires Synag Business: Toppan Printing Holdings Co., Ltd. completed the acquisition of the thermoforming and flexible packaging businesses of Toppan Printing Products in April. Although the deal may constitute a reason to remove Sinaig from the top 25 list, Sinaig was able to remain on the list this year because the list is mainly based on the company's performance in 2024.
2. ProAmpac's Strategic Expansion: ProAmpac showed a positive expansion trend in the second half of the year, completing two significant acquisitions. The first is the acquisition of International Paper's bag processing business: The acquisition took place in October and expanded ProAmpac's processing capacity. The integration of International Paper's business, a global leader in sustainable packaging, further advances ProAmpac's "Packaging Fibrosis ®" strategy and enhances its ability to provide customized packaging solutions for the grocery, convenience and fast-food markets.
The second is the acquisition of PAC Worldwide. ProAmpac signed a definitive agreement with PAC Worldwide in August. PAC Worldwide is a company specializing in the production of protective mailing and specialty packaging for the e-commerce, express and retail sectors, with a product line covering polyethylene, paper and bubble wrap packaging.
3. Diversified layout of Wuxing Holdings: Wuxing Holdings will also move frequently in 2025, making two important transactions of "one buy and one sell". The first is the acquisition of Anduro Manufacturing: Five Star Holdings announced the completion of the acquisition of Anduro Manufacturing in January. The latter is a leading supplier of flexible packaging in the United States and Latin America, with a particular focus on composite woven bags for pet food, animal nutrition, and other consumer products.
The second is the acquisition of Cascades' flexible packaging plant business: Also in October, Cascades announced the sale of its only plant in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, which produces printed flexible plastic packaging and films (i.e., its flexible packaging business) to Houston, Texas-based Five Star Holdings.
Just as the 2025 list was released, another blockbuster merger and acquisition was announced: Xiyuel Corporation, a leading global provider of food and protective packaging solutions, recently announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by a fund owned by private equity firm CD&R for about $6.2 billion, with a purchase price of $42.15 per share in cash.
According to the press release, the total enterprise value of the transaction is $10.3 billion. The transaction has been approved by the board of directors of Sea Ill and is expected to close in mid-2026, subject to regulatory approvals and shareholder approvals. Seattle will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange and become a private company. The agreement allows Xiyuel to actively pursue other takeover offers during the 30-day period ending December 16.
Centralization and specialization are inevitable
To sum up, 2025 is undoubtedly a critical year for the global flexible packaging industry pattern to accelerate the reshaping. Marked by the merger of the century between Amcor and Berry International, and by the end of the year, Seale ended in a $10 billion privatization transaction, and the entire industry is undergoing a highly centralized process driven by capital and clear goals.
Through mergers and acquisitions, giants are not only pursuing economies of scale, but also to achieve strategic specialization: divesting non-core businesses and focusing on high-growth, high-profit, high-barrier "core product portfolios" (such as Amcor's nutrition and health field), so as to establish an unshakable leadership position in the global supply chain. The withdrawal of the fourth in the industry in the past, as well as the intensive asset transfer, clearly show that the big one is Evergrande, and the strong are more specialized, which is the iron law of the global flexible packaging market in the future.
However, the other side of this change is the irreversible green transformation. With scale and specialization guaranteed, sustainable innovation is no longer the "icing on the cake" slogan for enterprises, but a mandatory criterion that determines their market access and long-term competitiveness. Whether it's ProAmpac's push for a "packaging fibrosis ®" strategy or Amcor's view of sustainability as a core driver of the merger, it indicates that the future of flexible packaging competition will revolve around the "future of circular packaging". This requires companies to invest significant resources in materials science, recycling technologies, and supply chain design.
In the face of the accelerated concentration of global giants and the rise of green barriers, domestic flexible packaging companies need to be deeply aware that a single price advantage will become more and more difficult to maintain competitiveness. Only by closely combining capital integration with technological innovation, actively laying out recyclable and degradable high-value flexible packaging solutions, and penetrating into specialized end markets such as health, e-commerce, and special products, can we not only maintain a place in this global change, but also seize the opportunity to achieve real leapfrog development. The future belongs to those who can seamlessly integrate global scale, specialized products and green technology.