FEVE’s annual report for the year 2025 is out. What are the industry updates?
In 2025, the European container glass industry registered growth, with both production and sales increasing. In particular, the Food and Beverage (F&B) production grew by 2 percent both in tonnage and units, reaching 20.3 million tonnes and 73.3 billion units.
The sector continued to demonstrate its significant economic and strategic importance within the European Union (EU), supplying packaging to some of the EU’s most competitive export industries, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, and perfumery and cosmetics, while maintaining its leadership in sustainable packaging through reusability, recyclability and ongoing decarbonisation efforts.
More specifically, the sector, including glass-packaged goods, contributed over EUR 140 billion in value added to the EU economy, equivalent to around 0.8 percent of the EU gross domestic product (GDP). It also sustained more than 850 000 jobs across the EU, most of them in downstream sectors with a very significant presence of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
In terms of sustainability, glass remained the only packaging material with a significant return rate for refilling, with around 40 percent of glass beverage containers returnable in 2025 and a recycling rate of over 80 percent across the EU. Moreover, light-weighting continued to advance in 2025, with the average container weight in production falling to 277 grams and the standard still wine bottle reaching a new low of 443 grams in sales.
A full overview of the industry’s economic contribution, trade performance, sustainability leadership and market dynamics is available here.