Vegan packaging – what is it, and should you be using it?

With Veganuary here again, many individuals have adopted or are considering a meat-free diet. However, many businesses are also looking to veganism for 2025, ensuring their products and – crucially – their packaging are also vegan.

But what is vegan packaging?

Vegan packaging is any box, bag or other container that does not use animal products in its materials or manufacture. This includes any inks, dyes and adhesives used to manufacture it. Vegan packaging must also be produced using machinery that does not utilise animal-based products (such as lubricants).

This guide provides further information regarding vegan packaging and helps you decide whether this is the right approach for your business and customers.

The number of people within the UK planning to follow a vegan diet is growing significantly. As many as 6.4% of UK adults plan to be vegan in 2025 (this includes the 2.1% who are already vegan). This figure equates to 3.4 million people.

Estimates also put those planning to be vegetarian at 6.1 million people, or 11% of the population.

By the close of 2024, 6.4 million people, or 12% of the population, had adopted a meat-free diet, with a further 15% planning this for 2025.

Significantly, around half of Generation Z (born after 1997) and a third of millennials (born 1981 – 1996) plan to follow a meat-free diet in 2025, contrasting with just one in 10 baby boomers (1946 – 1964).

These statistics mean that if a significant proportion of your target customers are millennials or Gen Z or are following a meat-free diet, vegan packaging and other products are likely to be important to them (and a key opportunity for your business).

Many people are surprised that packaging may not be vegan-friendly. After all, cardboard boxes are made from plant-based materials (i.e., trees), as is paper. Plastic packaging is usually derived from oil/fossil fuels.

So, what makes packaging vegan?

Well, there are several different areas where animal products may potentially be used in packaging.

The obvious factor people consider when looking at vegan packaging is the material itself.

Corrugated packaging uses wood fibres in its manufacture, and major producers of the material state that they do not intentionally add animal-derived products during manufacture.

The same is also true for Correx corrugated plastic material (used for making returnable packaging such as tote boxes and picking bins) and Stratocell and Plastazote foams used for foam inserts and other foam packaging.

There is some small potential for animal by-products in the inks used for printing onto packaging. However, this is rare, with most inks being oil-based or manufactured from organic (plant-based) materials.

Adhesives are one of the main areas where packaging manufacturers may inadvertently use animal products. Glutin (bone glue from animal waste products) or casein can often be found in glues used for assembled or part-assembled packaging.

However, there are many adhesives available that are entirely vegan-friendly.

Surprisingly, many packs that could potentially be vegan-friendly are let down by production processes. Some lubricants and oils used to maintain and run manufacturing equipment can contain gelatine-type substances. Using these effectively means that the manufacturing process is not free of animal products.

There are several reasons why switching to vegan packaging could benefit your business.

Firstly, suppose you are selling products intended for animals, or the ethos of your company aligns with veganism. In that case, vegan-friendly packaging is a good reflection of your business and culture.

From a more commercial viewpoint, if vegans are a key demographic your business is targeting, using non-vegan packaging could see you losing sales to competitors. This point equally applies to you targeting Millennials and Gen Z consumers.

Using vegan packaging is also relatively niche at present, so this could also help improve your sales amongst certain customer groups. It also serves as a strong marketing message for these consumers.

It is also vital that your business uses sustainable packaging.

Sustainable packaging is effectively any material (and methods) that minimises the use of natural resources and waste and lessens environmental impact. Its reach, however, also extends to the fair treatment of employees. Many refer to the three pillars of sustainability as social (people), environmental (planet) and economic (profit).

Sustainable options include recycled and recyclable packaging, biodegradable materials, and even FSC® packaging (which only uses materials from carefully managed sources, which is also tracked through the supply chain). Even using appropriate recycling symbols on your packs can improve recycling rates amongst consumers.

Returnable and reusable packaging can also help minimise environmental impact, as can value engineering and sustainable packaging design.

Finally, you should also consider the accessibility of your packaging. Accessible packaging is effectively that which can be used by everyone, regardless of physical abilities. Packaging can (should) include features such as braille, large print, easy opening mechanisms and clear instructions for use as appropriate.

Although they remain a small subset of the total population, veganism is growing significantly within the UK. This growth makes vegan packaging even more crucial for targeting specific markets, age groups or demographics.

At GWP, we are able to supply vegan packaging. We are proud to use materials, adhesives and inks free of animal products, and maintain appropriate manufacturing processes too.

So, if you see vegan packaging as crucial to your business ethos or a key demand or preference of your customers, please get in touch.