Global Coffee Market Growth Influence on Paper Cup Holder Market

The global coffee market continues to grow, driving the demand for paper cups and coffee cup paper holder trays. For example, China’s coffee market is expected to exceed 200 billion yuan by 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 30%. The global paper coffee cup holder market is closely related to the paper and paperboard tray industry.

In 2024, the global paper and paperboard, pulp tray market size was approximately US$376.424 billion, and is expected to grow to US$399.87 billion in 2031, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18% from 2025 to 2031. Among them, coffee trays, as a subdivided application field, benefit from the rapid growth of coffee consumption and the demand for environmentally friendly packaging alternatives, and the growth rate may be higher than the overall market.

Driving Factor From Chinese Paper Tray Market

The growth rate of China’s paper coffee cup holder market is significantly higher than that of the world. In 2024, the market size of Chinese coffee paper cup holders is expected to reach approximately RMB 15 billion. It is expected to exceed RMB 30 billion in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 18%. As a supporting product, the market size of coffee paper trays is directly related to the demand for paper cups, and is expected to maintain a growth rate of 15%-20%. Regional differences: First-tier cities and coffee consumption hotspots (such as the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta) account for more than 60% of demand, but third-tier and below cities have greater potential for future growth due to the penetration of coffee culture.

Current Status of Coffee Cup Paper Cup Holder Technology

Driving factors: Policy support (such as China’s environmental protection subsidies and the EU’s fluorine-free standards).

Challenges: Fluctuating raw material prices (pulp costs account for more than 30%). The recycling system is imperfect and the circular economy model has not yet been popularized.

The current status of coffee cup paper tray technology and application can be analyzed from 3 aspects below:

1. Environmentally friendly materials and technology

Material innovation has never been stopped: Virgin fiber and recycled fiber paper trays dominate the market, but raw pulp materials (such as bagasse, bamboo fiber, straw fiber) and the increasing demand for reduction, low weight and cleanliness have become the focus of research and development.

2. Application scenario expansion

Takeaway and chain restaurants: Starbucks, Luckin Coffee and other brands have completely replaced plastic packaging, driving a surge in demand for coffee paper trays. The scale of China’s takeaway coffee market has grown by an average of 25% per year, further promoting the penetration of paper trays.

High-end customization: Consumers’ demands for brand logos and personalized designs are increasing, and customization solutions such as dyeing have become emerging areas.

3. Regional market structure

Global: Asia-Pacific (accounting for more than 45% of the market) is the core market, with China, India and Southeast Asia leading the growth rate; Europe is centered on Germany and has strict technical standards; the North American market is growing steadily. China: The eastern coastal areas (accounting for 60% of demand) dominate the market, and the central and western regions rely on logistics and e-commerce development, with a growth rate of 10%-12%.

Analysis of Paper Coffee Cup Tray Application Areas

Coffee chain brands such as Luckin Coffee have a total of 22,340 stores in China and overseas markets, an increase of 37.5% over the same period in 2023. It is understood that Luckin Coffee used more than 1.5 billion pulp molded paper trays in 2024, equivalent to an average of more than 180 trays per store per day. Starbucks, Nayuki, Bawang Chaji, etc. have accelerated their layout, driving the rapid growth in demand for pulp molded paper trays.

In the takeaway scenario, coffee paper trays have become the first choice for cold drinks and prepared food packaging due to their improved water resistance. In 2024, the demand for paper trays in the e-commerce field will account for more than 30%.

Coffee and tea consumption is getting younger and the scenarios are diversified (offices, convenience stores). Number of stores of leading coffee and tea brands in March 2025.

Future Prospects of Disposable Coffee Cup Paper Tray Market

Driven by environmental protection policies and consumption upgrades, the global coffee paper tray market is entering a period of rapid development. Data shows that by 2031, the global market size will exceed US$40 billion, of which the Chinese market is particularly outstanding and is expected to contribute more than 30% of the market share. As an important part of the pulp molding industry, the global market size in this field will reach 163.08 billion yuan in 2025, with an annual compound growth rate of more than 18%.

Focusing on the sub-segment, coffee paper trays, as a core category of disposable tableware, are showing a strong growth trend in the Chinese market: the scale is expected to reach 1.73-2.59 billion yuan in 2025, and is expected to exceed the 5 billion yuan mark by 2030. It is worth noting that the industrial upgrading has identified two major directions – the construction of a green supply chain will promote the use of recycled materials to more than 50%; the intelligent production system uses AI and big data technology to achieve precise inventory management and flexible customized production, injecting new momentum into the sustainable development of the industry.

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