Poland and Eastern Europe: A Growing Market for Custom Food Packaging
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) — particularly Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania — represents one of the EU’s fastest-growing food packaging markets. Poland’s consumer packaging sector is projected to grow at 5.38% annually through 2030, the highest rate in Europe and approximately 150 basis points above the continental average. The region combines EU regulatory standards with significantly lower operating costs, creating a dual advantage: premium-market access at competitive pricing.
This guide covers the EU PPWR regulation (the defining event for European packaging in 2026), country-specific EPR systems, market dynamics, and opportunities for packaging exporters targeting CEE.
EU PPWR: The Regulation That Changes Everything
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 — the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation — was published January 22, 2025 and applies from August 12, 2026. It replaces the previous Directive 94/62/EC and, critically, is a regulation rather than a directive — meaning it applies uniformly across all EU member states without requiring individual national transposition.
Key provisions affecting food packaging include recyclability requirements (from January 1, 2030, packaging must meet recyclability performance grades A, B, or C with a 70% threshold), recycled content mandates (by 2030: 30% for contact-sensitive PET, 10% for other contact-sensitive plastics, 30% for single-use beverage bottles, scaling to 50/25/65% by 2040), and reuse targets (10% reusable beverage packaging by 2030, 40% by 2040).
The most immediately impactful provision is the PFAS ban. From August 12, 2026, food packaging must comply with strict limits: 25 ppb for individual non-polymeric PFAS, 250 ppb total non-polymeric, and 50 ppm total PFAS including polymeric forms. There is no grandfathering period — packaging containing PFAS above these limits becomes non-compliant on the effective date. For grease-resistant paper packaging (burger wraps, bakery bags, pizza boxes), this eliminates traditional fluorinated coatings and requires a shift to PFAS-free alternatives.
Additional bans effective January 1, 2030 include single-use grouped packaging (like shrink-wrapped multipacks), single-use fresh fruit and vegetable packaging under 1.5 kg, single-use on-premises food and beverage containers in HORECA settings, single-serve condiment packaging in HORECA, miniature hotel toiletries, and very lightweight carrier bags under 15 microns.
Poland: The CEE Packaging Powerhouse
Poland is by far the largest food packaging market in CEE. Rigid plastic packaging alone reached 1.49 million tonnes in 2024, with the fresh food packaging segment valued at approximately $2.3 billion. CANPACK, headquartered in Kraków, became the world’s second-largest aluminum can producer in 2024, with beverage can volumes up 16% year-over-year.
Poland’s Deposit Return System launched on October 1, 2025 (delayed from the original January 2025 date). Unique in Europe for its decentralized multi-operator model, it covers single-use plastic bottles up to 3L, metal cans up to 1L, and reusable glass bottles up to 1.5L. Deposits are PLN 0.50 (approximately €0.12) for PET and cans, and PLN 1.00 for reusable glass. Retailers over 200 m² must accept returns. Collection targets are 77% by 2025 and 90% by 2029.
Poland’s EPR reform under Draft Act UC100 shifts financing from municipalities to producers. Fees flow to the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFEP), then to municipalities, sorters, and recyclers. Eco-modulated fees that reward recyclable and lower-impact packaging designs are phasing in gradually.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic’s EPR is dominated by EKO-KOM, the sole authorized Producer Responsibility Organization since 2002. In June 2024, the European Commission issued a formal notice arguing that Czechia’s 20-year exclusive authorization may breach EU competition rules, potentially opening the market to competing PROs.
The Czech market is smaller than Poland’s but has higher per-capita packaging consumption. There is currently no operational Deposit Return System for single-use beverages despite plans announced in May 2023. Market opportunities center on premium food packaging for Prague’s sophisticated restaurant and café scene, and on serving as a distribution hub for the broader CEE region.
Hungary
Hungary’s EPR launched on July 1, 2023, administered by MOHU Zrt. (a MOL subsidiary) as a government concessionaire covering 11 packaging categories. Current EPR fees are HUF 219/kg for plastic packaging, HUF 173/kg for paper, HUF 186/kg for metal, and HUF 19/kg for wood. A October 2025 update left food packaging rates unchanged but raised fees for textile packaging, advertising paper, and wooden furniture.
Hungary’s Deposit Return System launched January 1, 2024 with a flat HUF 50 deposit per non-reusable container for plastic, metal, and glass beverage packaging between 0.1L and 3L (excluding milk). Stores over 400 m² must host reverse vending machines.
Hungary offers a notable cost advantage: hourly labor costs of approximately €15.2 are roughly one-third of the Western European average, and the country had the lowest household electricity prices in the EU in 2024.
Romania
Romania has emerged as a CEE success story in packaging sustainability. The SGR deposit return system, operated by RetuRO, launched November 30, 2023 and has achieved remarkable results: by November 2025, approximately 8.2 billion containers had been returned, with an 84% collection rate. Consumer awareness reached 99%, with six in ten Romanians regularly returning containers.
Romania’s food packaging market is growing rapidly, driven by urbanization, Western retail chain expansion (Lidl, Kaufland, Carrefour, Auchan), and a food delivery sector that barely existed five years ago. The country’s labor costs (approximately €13.6/hour) make it an attractive production base for packaging manufacturers serving both the domestic market and neighboring countries.
The CEE Cost Advantage
The structural cost advantage of CEE versus Western Europe is significant and durable. 2025 hourly labor costs range from €10.6 in Bulgaria to €16-17 in Poland, compared to the EU average of €34.9 and Western European levels of €43-50. Even with CEE wage growth of 12-14% annually, the gap remains approximately one-third of Western European costs.
This cost advantage, combined with EU single-market access, makes CEE an attractive base for packaging operations serving the entire EU. Major multinational packaging companies including Mondi, Alpla, Huhtamaki, and Sealed Air have established or expanded CEE production facilities in recent years.
For Chinese exporters, the CEE cost dynamic creates both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is that local production costs are low enough to compete with Chinese imports on many commodity products, especially after EU tariffs and shipping costs are added. The opportunity is in supplying specialty products, custom printing capabilities, and certified compostable materials that CEE domestic manufacturers don’t yet produce at scale.
Practical Advice for Market Entry
The CEE food packaging market rewards suppliers who understand that these are EU markets with CEE pricing. Buyers expect full EU compliance documentation (EU Regulation 1935/2004, Regulation 10/2011 for plastics, PFAS-free certification for paper products) at price points that reflect CEE purchasing power. Offering EU-standard quality at 10-20% below Western European supplier pricing — rather than competing on lowest-possible price — positions exporters for success in the CEE premium-value segment.
Targeting Central and Eastern Europe? GQ TH Pack supplies EU PPWR-compliant food packaging including PFAS-free paper products, certified compostable containers, and recyclability-grade-ready packaging for the Polish, Czech, Hungarian, and Romanian markets. Contact us to discuss your CEE market strategy.