1. What Is the Grocery Bag Market?
The Grocery Bag Market comprises paper, reusable, and compostable bags produced for grocery retail shopping, fresh produce packaging, and food service carry-out across supermarket, hypermarket, and convenience store channels globally. The market includes kraft paper SOS grocery bags for supermarket carry-out, flat-bottom paper grocery bags for produce display and checkout, compostable starch and cellulose grocery bags. These bags serve supermarket and grocery chain checkout carry-out packaging, fresh produce open-weight retail bags, grocery home delivery order packaging, and food cooperative and specialty grocery store branded carry-out packaging. The scope excludes woven polypropylene reusable grocery bags covered in separate textile packaging segments, non-woven tote bags, and thin-film polythene grocery bags in single-use plastic packaging market segments.
2. Grocery Bag Market Size & Forecast
3. Emerging Technologies
- Paper grocery bags with self-standing flat-bottom construction enabling stable shelf display and refrigerator storage are advancing grocery bag format beyond SOS and fold-over designs to upright stable consumer bag formats. Growing adoption at natural food retailers, organic grocery chains, and specialty food stores is improving grocery bag in-store display stability, enabling product visibility at checkout, and improving consumer bag reuse rates.
- Certified compostable grocery bags accepted in municipal composting programs are advancing produce and checkout bag sustainability beyond recyclable paper to closed-loop compostable formats at zero-waste retail programs. Expanding adoption at organic grocery chains and zero-waste store formats is enabling packaging waste diversion to industrial composting rather than landfill, supporting retailer sustainability reporting and customer engagement.
- Wet-strength kraft paper grocery bags maintaining structural integrity in humid fresh produce and home delivery environments are advancing grocery bag durability beyond standard kraft to moisture-tolerant bag formats. Increasing adoption at fresh produce retailers and home delivery grocery operators is reducing bag breakage rates, improving customer satisfaction, and enabling grocery bag use in humid refrigerated and outdoor environments.
- Recycled PCR kraft grocery bags with verified post-consumer recycled fibre content are advancing grocery bag sustainability from virgin kraft to verified recycled content formats meeting retailer EPR commitments. Continued innovation in high-PCR content kraft bag production is enabling grocery retailers to specify verified recycled content grocery bags that meet EPR recycled content targets and retailer sustainability program requirements.
Comparable technologies are influencing adjacent market segments in similar ways. Read more in our Shopping Bag Market.
4. Key Market Opportunity
A major opportunity in the Grocery Bag Market is the development of certified home-compostable grocery bags that decompose in backyard composts rather than requiring industrial composting infrastructure, enabling household-level closed-loop grocery bag disposal without municipal composting access. Current certified compostable grocery bags are certified for industrial composting at temperatures above 58 degrees Celsius that backyard composters cannot achieve, preventing household composting of certified compostable bags in markets where municipal composting collection is limited. Advances in home-compostable polymer blends achieving EN 17427 and ASTM D6400 home compostability certification at lower decomposition temperatures, home-compostable inks for bag printing, and retailer home composting communication programs are enabling grocery bag manufacturers to develop home-compostable product lines. Grocery bag suppliers qualifying home-compostable grocery bags at retailer sustainable packaging trials stand to capture premium adoption at organic and specialty food retailers where consumer home composting engagement drives purchasing decisions.
5. Top Companies in the Grocery Bag Market
The following organisations hold leading positions in the Grocery Bag Market. The full report provides revenue share, SWOT analysis, and competitive benchmarking for each player.
- Smurfit WestRock
- Mondi Paper Bags
- Huhtamaki
- Novamont
- International Paper
- Georgia-Pacific
- Duro Bag (Glatfelter)
- SCG Packaging
- Pratt Industries
- Ronpak
6. Market Segmentation
The Grocery Bag Market is analysed across 6 segmentation dimensions. Revenue data, growth rates, and competitive intensity by sub-segment are available in the full report.
| Segmentation | Sub-Segments |
|---|---|
| By Type | SOS Paper Grocery Bag Standard SOS Heavy Duty SOS Flat Bottom Paper Bag Flat Bottom Checkout Kraft Flat Bottom Compostable Grocery Bag PLA Compostable Starch Blend Compostable Reinforced Handle Bag Twist Handle Loop Handle Paper |
| By Paper Grade | Virgin Kraft Natural Kraft Bleached Kraft Recycled Kraft High PCR Content Specialty Wet Strength Kraft Grease Resistant |
| By Application | Checkout Carry-Out Large Grocery Small Grocery Fresh Produce Open-Weight Produce Pre-Packed Produce Home Delivery Click and Collect Bag Delivery Bag Food Service Carry-Out Cafe Bag Takeaway Grocery |
| By Distribution | Retailer Direct Bag Manufacturer Distributor |
| By End User | Supermarkets and Grocery Chains Convenience and Specialty Food Stores Fresh Produce Retailers Online Grocery and Delivery Operators Food Cooperatives and Natural Food Retailers |
| By Geography | North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East and Africa |
7. Key Market Trends (2026–2034)
Three major forces are shaping the Grocery Bag Market trajectory over the forecast period:
Plastic Bag Legislation Is Accelerating Grocery Paper Bag Adoption as Retailers Phase Out Thin-Film Polythene Carrier Bags.Grocery chains and supermarket operators in the European Union, United Kingdom, US states, and Asian markets implementing single-use plastic bag fee and ban legislation are transitioning checkout carry-out packaging to kraft paper SOS. Mondi Paper Bags expanded grocery retail paper bag supply programs in 2025, providing SOS kraft grocery bags and flat-bottom checkout bags with printed brand graphics to major European grocery chain operators transitioning from.
Compostable Grocery Bag Adoption Is Growing as Retailers Implement Zero-Waste Fresh Produce and Checkout Packaging Programs.Grocery retailers implementing certified compostable packaging across fresh produce and checkout categories are specifying EN 13432 and ASTM D6400 certified compostable grocery bags for produce open-weight and checkout programs that enable industrial composting. Novamont expanded its Mater-Bi compostable grocery bag supply programs in 2025, providing certified compostable starch-blend grocery bags to European supermarket organic and zero-waste store format programs requiring certified compostable produce and checkout carry-out bags.
Grocery Home Delivery Paper Bag Investment Is Growing as E-Grocery Operators Specify Branded Paper Delivery Packaging for Order Fulfillment.Online grocery delivery operators and click-and-collect service providers specifying branded paper grocery bags for customer order handoff are investing in custom-printed kraft paper grocery bags that communicate brand identity at the delivery door. Smurfit WestRock secured online grocery delivery paper bag supply contracts in 2025 with major European e-grocery operators providing custom-printed kraft paper grocery bags for home delivery order packaging and click-and-collect customer handoff programs.
For related market intelligence, see the Kraft Bag Market.
8. Segmental Analysis
By Type, SOS paper grocery bags dominated the Grocery Bag Market in 2025, driven by the established SOS kraft format at supermarket and grocery chain checkout where the square-bottom self-standing bag provides stable large-volume carry capacity preferred by grocery shoppers for multi-item purchases. Grocery chains and supermarkets continue specifying SOS kraft grocery bags as the standard checkout carry-out format where established bag dimensions, handle ergonomics, and self-standing stability meet grocery carry-out requirements. Compostable grocery bags are the fastest-growing Type category, driven by organic grocery chain certification requirements, retailer zero-waste store format expansion, and municipal composting program development creating grocery bag composting infrastructure in urban markets. Organic grocery retailers and zero-waste format operators specifying certified compostable grocery bags are generating growing compostable bag adoption as composting infrastructure and retailer sustainability program investment scale.
By End User, supermarkets and grocery chains dominated the Grocery Bag Market in 2025, reflecting their role as the largest grocery bag buyer where checkout carry-out volume at mass grocery retail generates the highest bag procurement volume of any grocery channel. Grocery chains continue procuring paper grocery bags as plastic bag legislation and retailer sustainable packaging commitments maintain ongoing paper bag transition investment globally. Online grocery and delivery operators represent the fastest-growing End User category, driven by e-grocery volume growth, branded delivery paper bag specification at online grocery services, and click-and-collect bag procurement at grocery chain online fulfilment programs. Online grocery operators procuring branded paper grocery bags for home delivery and click-and-collect handoff are generating growing grocery bag demand as e-grocery adoption and delivery volume scale.
9. Regional Analysis
Regional demand patterns across the Grocery Bag Market reflect differences in regulation, technological maturity, and capital investment.
Largest Market Share
Asia Pacific accounted for the largest share of the Grocery Bag Market in 2025, holding 40.8% of the global market. China, India, Japan, and Southeast Asian markets are the largest regional grocery bag producers and consumers driven by large supermarket and grocery chain checkout carry-out volume, growing plastic bag fee and ban implementation across Asian markets, and expanding e-grocery delivery grocery paper bag adoption. Chinese grocery chain operators and hypermarket retailers specifying paper grocery bags as plastic bag legislation expands in major cities are generating growing grocery paper bag demand at domestic retail operations. Indian supermarket and grocery chain plastic bag transition programs and government plastic bag bans are driving grocery paper bag adoption as domestic retail expands across urban and tier-2 city markets.
Highest CAGR Region
Middle East and Africa is expected to register the highest CAGR of 11.60% during the forecast period. Gulf Cooperation Council countries, South Africa, and Nigeria are generating grocery bag demand growth through supermarket expansion, plastic bag ban implementation, and modern grocery retail format growth requiring paper bag carry-out packaging at scale. Saudi Arabia and UAE grocery chain and hypermarket operator plastic bag phase-out programs implementing paper grocery bag alternatives are generating growing paper bag procurement at domestic grocery retail chains. South African and Nigerian modern grocery retail expansion and plastic bag fee legislation are driving paper grocery bag adoption at supermarket chains and convenience food retail formats.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The Grocery Bag Market was valued at USD 4.69 Bn in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 8.47 Bn by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 6.80% over the 2026–2034 forecast period.
The Grocery Bag Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.80% from 2026 to 2034.
Asia Pacific accounted for the largest share of the Grocery Bag Market in 2025, holding 40.8% of the global market.
The leading companies in the Grocery Bag Market include Smurfit WestRock, Mondi Paper Bags, Huhtamaki, Novamont, International Paper, Georgia-Pacific, Duro Bag (Glatfelter), SCG Packaging, Pratt Industries, Ronpak.
Plastic bag legislation is accelerating grocery paper bag adoption as retailers phase out thin-film polythene carrier bags.
By Type, SOS paper grocery bags dominated the Grocery Bag Market in 2025, driven by the established SOS kraft format at supermarket and grocery chain checkout where the square-bottom self-standing bag provides stable large-volume carry capacity preferred by grocery shoppers for multi-item purchases.
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