As one year comes to a close and another one dawns, there is a very human impulse to both look back at the past twelve months, as well look ahead to the next twelve to see what lays in wait for us. For those of us in the wound care manufacturing industry, the end of the year often takes the form of examining what trends the next year has in store for us – will it be a focus on PPE? Is the industry gaining steam? What is the demand for certain products? Here’s what we have noticed is on the horizon of 2022.
The Industry Remains Strong
Despite the global turbulence that has been felt in every sector for the past couple of years, the medical device and biomedical products industry has held fast and continued to grow. Potentially even spurred on by the pandemic and healthcare’s revival as something that consumers think about every day, our electromedical product industry remains as strong as ever, with a projected market of over USD 600 billion by 2028.
COVID Resurgence to Cause Issues
With a late resurgence and a new COVID-19 variant on the rise, there are sure to be knock-on effects, especially as leaders have already shut down borders in a knee-jerk reaction. These are essentially roadblocks to wound care product manufacturers that rely on international supply chains. With new restrictions falling into place (and some being lifted) day-by-day in December 2021, the waters remain murky for the knock-on effect they will have in 2022.
Consumer Demand Rising
As intimated above, one of the pandemic’s unintended side-effects has been a laser-sharp focus on one’s health and the newfound importance of wellbeing in people’s lives. Add to that a growing geriatric population worldwide and you have skyrocketing demand for biomedical products. Global demand has been on the rise since 2020, and it is looking unlikely that it will slow down. While this demand certainly provides opportunities for manufacturers, it can also present challenges in the form of keeping up with the quickly changing landscape.
Inflation’s Importance
Finally, reports from around the world have noted that there is an imbalance of global trade flow between east and west based on the above consumer demand, and there may be wholesale inflation as a result. These can have negative consequences – labour shortages, fluctuating prices, logistics backlogs, etc. – and a sharp eye is needed for any manufacturers who don’t want to fall prey to these pitfalls.
The conclusion that we try to draw at this time of year always tends towards the positive – while we can see that there are some challenges ahead of us, PolarSeal is always keeping an eye on the currents of our industry. While all these trends present challenges, we try to see opportunities in them – for example, keeping our prices competitive while finding more creative solutions to inflation. We hope that you will join us in 2022 and see the opportunities that await!