Before choosing a packaging type to use for your product, it’s crucial to understand its advantages and its impact on both product integrity and consumer perceptions. Let’s take a closer look at the top three packaging formats that dominate the industry by reducing costs, supporting sustainability, and maintaining product quality.
- STAND-UP POUCHES
As the most all-purpose, all-markets package format, the stand-up pouch’s popularity has grown in personal care, food, and industrial settings. This format is synonymous with reclose features such as zippers. Not only does this increase ease of use, but this detail is vital for maintaining intended shelf life and decreasing food waste. The zipper enables the consumer to easily reclose the package so that the product remains fresh. A significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions are the result of wasted food, so the longer the food stays fresh and consumable, the less likely it is that the food product gets thrown out along with the plastic it’s in.
Consumer perceptions tend to associate stand-up pouches with a premium product. Additionally, the greater surface area maximizes shelf impact, product visibility, and makes more room to include vital product information.
Retailers and packagers are fans of stand-up pouches, too! With more durable and forgiving structures, these packages can be tossed into boxes and shipped without any wear. SUPs offer a variety of options for display, so no pegs, trays, or retail-ready boxes are necessary. They can even be used in a dispensing system. They can be premade or made with roll stock, so they can be filled at the same time as they are formed. For bulkier product or larger value sizes, brands can choose pouches with side gussets which offer more room.
- BAR WRAP
Starting out as a popular format in confectionery markets, bar wrap has found its way into many other categories. It has become associated with healthy food items like protein and granola bars and can even be found in salty snacks. Bar wrap with cold seal allows frozen food to be packaged without heat which would otherwise damage or melt the product. And, as the format with the highest production speed, bar wrap reigns supreme in efficiency.
Consumers are historically familiar with bar wrap and enjoy its portion control and portability. Purchasers can buy in bulk and then easily carry one in a single serve package.
- PILLOW POUCH
The classic pillow pouch is one of packaging’s oldest and most familiar formats. There are clear reasons for why it has endured – consumers instantly recognize its appearance and have no trouble opening and using it. While it is widely known as a potato chip bag, this format is also used to package produce.
For fresh produce that is sensitive to contamination, pillow pouches offer breathable barriers that can help extend shelf life. Unlike bulk produce, packaged produce can feature QR codes with additional information such as origin, coupons, and recipes for more consumer interaction. Opting for a pillow pouch instead of a clamshell format enhances sustainability by reducing weight, reducing carbon emissions during shipping, and offering more pack efficiency.
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All three types of packages offer great opportunities for clearly articulating a brand’s purpose, sustainability initiatives, product information, and social causes through digital printing. In addition, Printpack offers options for each format in the Printpack Preserve sustainable portfolio. Visit our website for a free sample here.
About Printpack
Founded in 1956 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Printpack is a privately-held flexible and specialty rigid packaging manufacturer. Employing over 3,200 associates worldwide, the company operates 19 manufacturing facilities in the United States and Mexico. With investments in leading-edge technologies and a deep understanding of customer needs, Printpack has partnered with the most successful CPGs to launch new products and grow market share. Printpack’s purpose, Preserving and Enhancing People’s Lives, is continually demonstrated by the commitment to sustainable products, active involvement in the local communities, and the empowerment of all associates.
