Why Choose Stand-up Pouches for Product Packaging

Don’t be rigid with your product packaging. Traditional forms like corrugated cardboard boxes, metal tins, glass jars, and plastic bottles have been industry standards for decades. But in the past few years, there’s been a growing demand for flexible packaging.

Flexible packaging, such as stand-up pouches, plastic bags, and paper envelopes, has steadily increased its market share. According to a 2018 report by the Flexible Packaging Association, flexible packaging already accounted for 19% of the packaging materials market in the U.S.., while Smithers, a 100-year-old data analytics company, also forecasts that the industry will continue to grow at an annual rate of 3.3%, reaching $269 billion in 2024.

Is flexible packaging the right product packaging solution for you? It depends on your line of business but for retail, whether you’re selling cosmetics, beauty products, pet food, or apparel, the case for it is quite compelling. We’ve outlined the key advantages of stand-up pouches, one of the most popular forms of flexible packaging, over its rigid counterparts below. Read on.

7 Advantages of Stand-up Pouch Packaging

• Brand Awareness With Custom Graphics – Our printing process produces pouches brimming with color. It provides an excellent blank canvas that creates an eye-catching end product. With custom pouches, you aren’t limited to printing on the center of the packaging. You can create a full-bleed design that wraps around the product to draw attention. Stand-up pouches help make your brand stand out, wherever it’s displayed.
• Product Preview and Shelf Impact – Shelf impact refers to the presence of a product while on a shelf and how it stands out from the competition. White stand-up pouches, you don’t need any dedicated shelves or hang holes to showcase your wares. The ability to display your product on its own is powerful. You don’t need any dedicated shelves or hang holes. Free-standing products provide a bigger visual impact. Pouches also allow you to showcase the actual products through a clear window. This is usually used with food items such as nuts, trail mix, or colorful candies.
• Shapes and Structure – One of the best characteristics of stand-up pouches is their ability to conform to shape. The film material is flexible but non-porous. It can hold liquids, powders, chemicals, and off-sized solids without an issue. Because of its barrier properties, you don’t have to worry about spillage or contamination. The bottom gusset that helps the pouch stand on its own also gives the package shape. Whether it’s full or almost empty, you can rest assured that your branding game will always be on point.
• Preservation and Product Safety – Stand-up pouches use durable, high-quality barrier film protects your products, both inside and out. The material keeps your items free from exposure to air, moisture, and light exposure. This helps prolong the freshness of your products and prevents outside contamination. It also helps prevent accidents and accidental exposure for items that are hazardous in nature, like strong chemicals and solvents.
• Transportation and Warehousing – Rigid packaging such as boxes, jars, and bottles consumes a lot more space than pouches. They are also heavier and can add to the cost of freight and warehousing. You can improve your bottom line by utilizing flexible packaging.
• Sustainability and Savings – Aside from lessening the cost of shipping and storage, you can also save on a per unit basis because pouches uses fewer materials. It’s perfect as primary packaging because it has everything. For example, pet treats packaged in a stand-up pouch use nothing else, whereas a boxed one still needs foil or plastic wrap inside. Even if the pouch material itself is not recyclable, it uses fewer materials and less energy to produce helping minimize your brand’s carbon footprint. Pouches help cut down costs and minimize extra steps in your packaging process, helping streamline operations.
• Customize for Convenience – Pouches provide plenty of customization options to add value to your products. A tear notch can be added for quick and fuss-free opening, while a reclosable zipper lets you prolong the freshness of your items. We also offer six different stand-up pouch sizes ranging from extra small to XXL. You can even add a hang hole if you don’t want to display it standing up.

Pouches Vs. Bottles Head to Head

Surely the environmental impact of using rigid packaging over flexible ones couldn’t be that large, right? Think again. To illustrate the key differences in bringing the same number of products from point A to Point B, we’ve translated data from standuppouches.net. The table details how stark the comparison is between the two. This guide isn’t exhaustive by any means, but it shows the key difference between the two product packaging options. Hint – pouches come out on top.

The wasted fuel and man hours to deliver products only tell half the story. The amount of fossil fuels, greenhouse gases, and water used to produce rigid packaging versus flexible packaging is also staggering. Pouch production uses the least amount of energy consumed when compared to cardboard, metal, plastic, and glass packaging.

Benefits of Custom Pouches

Does this mean that you have to forego the use of traditional packaging materials? Not necessarily. Given the cost involved, transitioning to flexible packaging is good. However, not all businesses are equipped to make the switch immediately. Much like its growth, it has to be slow, steady, and sustainable.

Everything has a time and a place. In the case of packaging, it all boils down to managing your carbon footprint. If you still need to use cardboard boxes, ensure that they are sustainably sourced and recyclable. Switch to pouch packaging and commission a reputable online printing partner such as Packola.