To adapt a common analogy, is the worldwide food packaging plate half full or half empty?

According to a report released last month,the market is projected to grow from $338.34 billion in 2021 to $478.18 billion in 2028, a healthy CAGR of 5.1%.

According to another report released this week by Technavio, the  market is expected to grow by $60.33 billion from 2020 to 2025, representing a CAGR of 3.60%.

That’s quite a disparity. But the fact is that the food packaging market is vast and growing whatever the specifics.

As well, the food packaging news and innovation Packaging Digest has reported on throughout the year remains unabated. We’ve distilled the hundreds of food-related articles to 10 snack-sized, easy-to-digest portions as determined by readers’ interest via website metrics. It’s an easy, breezy way to see what content drew the attention of your packaging peers that you might want to check into as well.

First, though, is a bit of a spoiler: our top two “articles” of the year were live streams made from Twitter embeds. These are two unique features are refreshed weekly if not more frequently throughout the year, giving them a decided advantage over all other posts. In highest order of popularity, these are Breaking News in Flexible Packaging (left above), and the runner-up, Best in New Food and Beverage Packaging (right shows recent news item).

Presenting the rest of the Top 10 in the accompanying slideshow gallery, the first of which centers on meal-kit sustainability.