Plastic Pouch

Potpourri.  Derived from the French pot pourri (literally translated as "rotten pot") Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines potpourri as "a mixture of flowers, herbs, and spices that is usually kept in a jar and used for scent."  Popular in homes, dorm rooms, hotel rooms and restaurants, potpourri helps create a pleasant and relaxing mood in any indoor environment. 

Because potpourri's primary appeal lies in the scent of its ingredients, the manner in which it is packaged, shipped and stored is crucial.  Potpourri packaging must, above all else, protect the contents both in transport and storage and ensure long shelf life when not in use.  Potpourri is one of those products that bring an air of luxury to the home.  The packaging should, therefore, lend a sense of luxury as well.

To maximize sales, potpourri packaging should stand out from the competition.  It should be beautiful at the store, on a bedroom dresser, a bureau in the den or a dining room buffet. 

Perhaps nothing serves as potpourri packaging better than stand up bags, otherwise known as Mylar™ bags, stand bags or stand up pouches.  Made by laminating scientifically designed film barriers together, these bags are resilient and puncture resistant.  They protect the potpourri from light, oxygen, vapor , moisture and odor.   They keep the herbs, flowers and spices dry (a must!).  And, while they keep odor out, stand up pouches used for potpourri packaging keep the fragrance in. 

By virtue of their design, stand up bags provide wonderful display options for the marketplace.  Constructed to have a stable base which enables them to stand up on their own, they are also available with hang holes (either round or sombrero style), so that they can be displayed via hanging.   

Stand bag potpourri packaging can be decorated to provide a beautiful alternative to blase boxes, plastic bags or jars.  The construction design produces wide front and back sides, surface area conducive to customizable printing in up to 10 colors or for affixing labels.  Either way, a company can provide product information, attractive graphics or even contact and other company information right on each bag. 

Creatively decorated stand up pouch potpourri packaging provides a beautiful home accessory.  The pouches protect potpourri from garden to nightstand, ensuring that all the ingredients are as fragrant as the day they were picked.  Learn more about using stand bags for your potpourri packaging.

Drink packaging.  Glass bottles.  Plastic.  Cartons.  Jugs.  Cans.  All work.  But perhaps no drink packaging works better than spouted pouches.

Also called stand up bags, spouted bags or custom printed spouted bags, these are ideal for packaging drinks and drink mixes.  This drink packaging meets the needs of the manufacturer, the wholesaler/retailer and the consumer better than all other forms. 

Multiple layers of scientifically designed barrier film are laminated together to form puncture resistant, sturdy and stable drink packaging.  Spouted pouches protect drink contents from vapor, odor, light and unwanted additional moisture while locking in freshness and flavor.  Available with pour spouts and screw on caps, spouted pouches prolong the shelf life of the contents, a factor important to every cost-conscious consumer.   And spouted pouches come with easy-opening tear notches.

Spouted pouches are the perfect way to market drinks.  Whether it's juice, milk, specialty water or carbonated beverages, these bags create a stable base that enables them to stand up on the shelf so they stand out from the competition. And available hang holes provide retailers with another display option.

With wide front and back panels, stand bags provide the marketing department ample room to affix product labels or to custom print text and graphics in up to 10 colors on the bags.  The sky's the limit for creating exciting, eye-catching packaging that draws the shopper's attention and distinguishes this style from all others.

They also appeal to the 'green' shopper.  Although they take up very little space in landfills, this packaging will most attract the consumer concerned about the environment because they are recyclable.

Spouted pouch drink packaging.  Durable.  Protective.  Marketable. Convenient.  The ideal way to quench that thirst for increased sales. Learn more now!

Soap packaging.  Doesn't sound very exciting, does it?  But it can be, especially if it involves stand up pouches.  Also called Mylar bags, barrier bags and stand up bags, stand up pouches provide so many benefits that it's surprising they aren't the leading form of soap packaging.

Scientifically designed to provide maximum protection of the contents, stand up bags are ideal.  The plastic film barriers, laminated together, protect soap and detergent, whether it be in powder or liquid form.  They keep out vapor, moisture, odor and light, all of which can degrade soap. What's more, they are puncture resistant.

Unlike boxes, getting the outside wet won't result in those nasty soap clumps inside the box, often too big to pour through that annoying metal (or worse, paper) spout.    Stand up pouch powder soap packaging provides the ease of tear notch opening and ziplock closure.  In liquid soap packaging, stand up pouches provide the convenience of pour spouts and easy screw-on caps.  What's more, gas release valves are available.

Stand up bags are a marketer's dream, with custom printing available in up to 10 colors.  Add the option of hang holes and they display beautifully, either on the shelf or suspended from a peg.  Either way, they will definitely stand out in the market.

Stand up pouch soap packaging can be used for powder soap, liquid hand soap, laundry detergent, individual bars or pouches and even septic system soap packets.  Stand up bags are clean and convenient, making them exceptionally customer-friendly.  Which, at the end of the day, is what really matters most.  Learn more about soap packaging using stand up bags.

Bath salt packaging.  We can all probably conjure up an image in our mind's eye of what that looks like.  But think about it.  What makes for great bath salt packaging?  What would it need in order to safely and effectively transport, display and store the contents, from factory to the bathtub ledge?

The packaging must be durable.  It must protect the bath salts from the elements, especially moisture.  Bath salt packaging should be easy to open and, perhaps even more importantly, should prevent spillage once opened.

Bath salt packaging should stand out from the competition.  It should be attractive, both at the store and in the home.  Bath salts pamper.  They should look like they pamper.  Bath salt packaging should, quite frankly, make the buyer want to bathe.  

Stand up bags, otherwise known as Mylar bags, stand bags or stand up pouches, are perfect bath salt packaging.  Made of scientifically designed laminated barriers, these bags are resilient.  They will protect the bath salts from light, odor, oxygen, vapor and, most importantly, moisture.  Important?  You bet.  After all, once bath salts get wet, they become fragrant soapy liquid.  So they should only get wet when you want them to.  As in, when there is a tub nearby. 

Stand up bags provide wonderful display options for the marketplace.  The bags are stable enough, as the name would imply, to stand up on their own.  They can also be ordered with hang holes, resulting in an attractive hanging display as well.  

Stand up pouches can be decorated to provide a beautiful alternative to the regular bath salt packaging of boxes or plastic jars. They also have the benefit of wide front and back sides, surface area conducive to customizable printing of up to 10 colors or for affixing labels.

When creatively decorated stand up pouch bath salt packaging provides a beautiful accent to the bathroom while safely and effectively holding contents that offer a little bit of luxury at the end of a long day.   Want to learn more about using stand up bags for bath salt packaging?

Flexible barrier packaging, increasingly used in the market place, describes a form of product packaging that involves what are called stand up pouches, stand up bags or printed stand up pouches (among other names).  Barrier packaging also includes flat bags which, like stand up bags, are made with laminated barrier film and can be custom printed.

So how does flexible barrier packaging compare with other packaging like boxes, plastic canisters or folding cartons, to name a few?  Favorably, it turns out, and in many ways.  First, it's extremely convenient, from the initial moment it's opened to the last time they are used.  Whether the contents are powdered, solid or liquid, there is an easy-to-use style to suit.  Customized with tear notches for opening and zip lock for closure when they contain dry goods and with spouts and easy on/off caps for liquid products along with hang holes are just some of the available features.  Below is a video that compares pricing between a stand up bag and other types of packaging.



Stand up pouches are customizable, with printing available in 10 colors.  They can be opaque if light can degrade the contents.  They can be clear if light doesn't.  Product information can be printed directly on the bags or they can be sent without any labeling to allow for the manufacturer to affix its own.

As barrier packaging is scientifically designed, it provides exceptional protection of the product, yielding long term freshness and maximum shelf life.  This type of barrier packaging can stand up on the shelf or, if optional hang holes are included, be suspended from pegs.  Either way, this packaging is ideal for displaying at eye level.

Stand up pouches are landfill-friendly, if they make it to a landfill at all.  Why?  Because they're recyclable. They make more environmental sense than many other forms of packaging.  Want to learn more?

Barrier packaging.  Attractive.  Effective.  Convenient.  And environmentally sound.  Everything one could ask for in product packaging.

Cereal, the morning staple for years, obviously comes in all shapes and sizes.  Cereal packaging is no different.  Cereal packaging has historically been the outer paper carton with the inner liner but recently many cereal manufacturers are looking to a rising star in the flexible packaging business, the stand up pouch. 

Stand up pouches, also known as stand bags or stand up bags, are made from multiple layers of barrier film laminated together that provide barrier protection for the cereal from issues ranging from moisture, odor, even UV rays.  In essence, it keeps the cereal fresher for longer.  Further, recent advancements in technology now allow custom printing of stand bags in quantities as low as 5000 pieces.  This can be a game changer, and here's why.

Folding cartons, or the outer part of cereal packaging, are made from paper and require a huge minimum run on specialized equipment and then need the inner plastic liner to contain the cereal itself.  The inner plastic liner is usually high density film, the crinkly stuff, and provides some barrier protection but nothing like a stand up pouch.

Custom printed stand up bags for cereal packaging provides the barrier protection mentioned above but even better the entire solution is one piece.  Remember that stand up pouches are made from multiple layers of film and one of those layers is actually the graphics themselves trapped between other layers, kind of like a sandwich.  Here the printing is "trapped" and cannot be marred or scratched in any way.  In one piece the cereal is packaged and protected.  This can reduce cost and help the environment too.

Learn more about stand up pouches for cereal packaging

We live in a me too society, and cereal packaging is no different.  Unlike certain types of segments of the breakfast food industry such as granola or even oatmeal, cereal packaging tends to be stuck in its ways.  Since the beginning of time, let's say when cave men ate cereal (joking) they had a paper box with an inner liner inside.  For some reason Kelloggs and Post, etc have continued down this road.

The minumum run for a custom printed cereal box with inner liners is in the 100,000 range.  This doesn't include the printing plates required and that corresponding artwork creation expense.  The carton itself offers little or no protection and the inner liner offers minimal protection, as it is usually very thin high density plastic.

A stand up pouch is made from multiple layers of heavy duty barrier film in order to keep the cereal fresher for longer.  The stand bag is made to stand erect on a store shelf along with a zipper and tear notch for easy access to the contents.  The wide face and back of the stand up pouch provides room on the cereal packaging to show the company logo and quite possibly tell the company story.  Cereal packaging using a stand up pouch can be made using clear film in order to have a window to see the contents, or can be completely opaque to protect from sunlight or any other negative element.  Most importantly, custom printed stand up pouches for cereal packaging can be made in quantities as few as 5000 pieces...roughly 95% LESS quantity required to print with better quality than the cereal boxes from the big boys.  Cereal boxes are printed Flexographically, which is very "old school" while stand up pouches are Rotogravure printed, the bold, dynamic, photographic quality retailers want and consumers love.  Finally, the printing is trapped between different layers of the barrier film so it cannot be scratched or damaged in any way.

My point is this...at a time when being unique and different is a good thing, why not be different?  Why not be the IKEA of the cereal industry?  With stand up pouches, your cereal packaging can protect and also be one of your main selling features when building your brand.

We've been chatting about different types of dry food packaging.  Over the past 3 days we've looked at an example of flour packaged using folding cartons, corrugated boxes, heavy duty plastic bags, and finally paper sacks.  More specifically we looked at the costs associated with each of these types/styles of dry food packaging.  Today, we will look at the #1 style available and why.

Stand up pouches, also known as stand bags or stand up bags, are made from multiple layers of heavy duty barrier film laminated together.  It's these layers of barrier film that provide protection for the contents from moisture, vapor, odor, and even sunlight.  Further, laminated film is incredibly strong to protect from puncture or even falls from store shelves.  More importantly, the laminated film along with the design allow stand up pouches to stand erect and effectively on a store shelf.

The best part is these are an all-in-one solution.  There is no need for additional packaging or an inner liner, the stand bag is strong enough to stand and provide barrier protection as well.  Further, as an added bonus, this type of packaging has a natural wide face and back for custom printing that features bold and dynamic colors of a logo and plenty of additional room to tell the company story and why the product is so great, awesome, better than all the others, yummy, etc.  Estimated cost?  $.15 cents...and this includes the custom printing, a heavy duty ziplock for open and close, and deep tear notches as well.

From a pure cost stand point, dry food packaging using stand up bags is flat out less expensive than all the others.  From a convenience factor and a consumer appeal standpoint, without question using stand bags for dry food packaging is a smart choice.

Interested in building your brand using stand up pouches?

Yesterday we discussed dry food packaging using folding cartons and corrugated cartons.  Both offer little or no barrier protection for our product, in this case flour and need an inner liner in order to attempt to keep the flour fresh.  Today we turn to two more types of dry food packaging...

Heavy duty plastic bags, here we are talking the large ziplock style flat pouch made from either single layer or co-extruded types of plastic.  Contrary to what others may think, single layer film or even co-extruded film isn't barrier film, so the contents are not necessarily protected from moisture, vapor, or even outside odors.  While dry food packaging such as this is cheap, rarely will you see just a flat bag on a store shelf holding flour.  Most likely if someone was serious about selling their flour they'll put this heavy duty ziplock bag into an outer carton, so we have a bag inside a box concept once again.  Estimated price is $.25 cents total for both bag + carton.

Paper Sacks or paper pouches look nice an inviting as they have the natural-ness of the paper, but once again, paper does not offer barrier protection for the flour example (or any other dry food for that matter).  Paper sacks like those you would see at bakeries or even coffee style bags need either another layer laminated to it to provide barrier protection or just like the other dry food packaging discussed earlier, will require an inner liner, like a bag to contain the flour and provide some level of barrier protection.  Estimated cost $.20 cents + $.02 cents for a tin tie if desired...$.22 cents.

Tomorrow, we'll discuss dry food packaging that really works for flour or any other type of dry food.  Stand Up Pouches!

Dry food packaging is a broad stroke of the packaging industry that includes everything from cereal and trail mix to granola and flour and everything in between.  The point of this post is to explain in a little detail how using stand up pouches can save money over other types of packaging. 

Let's assume we are dealing with dry food packaging for flour.  Some options to package flour include

• Folding Cartons
• Corrugated Boxes
• Heavy Duty Plastic Bags
• Paper Sacks
• Stand Up Pouches

Folding cartons are made from paperboard (either recycled or virgin grade).  Dry food products packaged using this type of container are limited to the amount of weight, most likely less than 1.5 pounds and folding cartons offer little or no barrier protection, meaning in order to protect the flour another type of packaging is required, most likely a plastic bag.  In a nutshell, dry food packaging using folding cartons would need not only the carton but an inner barrier bag as well.  Estimated cost for a custom printed folding carton that would hold 1 pound of flour $.25 cents + $.02 cents for an inner liner.  $.27 cents

Corrugated cartons are another style using paper but this dry food packaging is much more durable than folding cartons...and in many instances...cheaper too.  Same as folding cartons, corrugated cartons offer no barrier protection for the flour, so an inner liner, most likely a plastic bag, will be needed to not only contain the flour but offer some barrier protection.  This style of dry food packaging will cost $.20 cents + $.02 for an inner liner.  $.22 cents

Tomorrow...in Part Two, we'll discuss other types of dry food packaging.

Cereal and for that matter granola could be termed staples at breakfast.  Industry leaders continue to be excited about ready to eat cereals, of which granola falls into that category.  However, I'm going to write this post from the perspective of consumer walking into a Whole Foods or even a Trader Joe's with a clean slate in my noggin over what type of granola I'm going to take home with me...in the hopes of proving my point that granola packaging with stand up pouches does matter and will increase sales.

Granola packaging historically has tried to model its packaging after the natural look of granola itself.  Most likely this means that they'll buy paper packaging for their granola.  Or, another option is a bulk plastic bag, similar to what you would get in the produce aisle of a
supermarket with a twist tie and a label slapped on indicating the flavor.  I've also seen metal tins used with a plastic bag on the inside...here the manufacturer is paying for two types of packaging.

Then, there is granola packaging using stand up pouches.  Also known as stand bags or stand up bags, these pouches made from flexible film are available stock where you can apply a label or custom printed with vivid, bold, photographic images that hit the consumer right between the eyes...POW!  While stock stand bags for granola packaging is very acceptable, I'm going to imagine we are talking about custom printed stand up pouches.

I wander to the store, the sights and sounds and smells of Whole Foods or Trader Joes consumes me, past the produce and checkout lines, it's granola I'm in the mood for.  I see granola A in a paper bag with a clear window, similar to what the bakery gives me when I order a few cookies for our kids.  Sure looks good, very natural looking, not a whole lot of graphics but a nice label that says its cinnamon apple flavor but the label isn't straight and in fact there is an air bubble trapped under the sticker.  That's OK, I think, the granola looks tasty so I look at the clear window of the bag only to see that it's glued on the inside of the paper bag...that really thin cellophane plastic that is clear as a bell but very flimsy.  The twist tie at the top of the granola packaging looks handy.  Will it work? 

I grab another granola brand, this really looks good, much more expensive than all the others, the printed label says its the best but that's all there is, a printed label applied to a metal in.  I cannot see or touch and feel granola at all.  Hmmm, expensive doesn't always mean the best, but whoever made this is using very expensive granola packaging.

Then, I see granola packaging using a printed stand up pouch.  Bold, dynamic printing, lots of cool graphics and a clear window on the front and bottom of the pouch so I can see the clusters of granola, I can see the coating of honey and cinnamon, this looks really tasty.  Wow, this printed stand bag has the granola company story, I never knew it was made from an old family recipe from Vermont.  Plus, it has a ziplock so I don't have to eat the entire bag or use one of those silly chip clips to try to keep the contents fresh.  Its not the cheapest granola, but it's not the most expensive either...very interesting.  Plus, the pouch itself is made from layers of film, I can feel them, this is a very sturdy bag that will stand on my cupboard when I get home and even withstand a fall if my daughter drops it or it gets bumped off the table.  Yeah...I like the granola using a stand up pouch...I feel smarter for having looked at them all too.  I'm going to buy this brand in the stand up pouch.

See, granola packaging makes a difference.  Stand up pouches will protect granola, keep it fresher for longer, and help build not only your brand but your sales too!

Granola continues to be a hot retail product.  Granola packaging historically has tried to use packaging that reflected the all natural nature of granola itself.  However, that granola packaging failed miserably when it came to protecting the contents.  Paper pouches and paper packaging are about as natural looking as granola but they have no barrier protection.  Granola packaging using paper  must be lined with another substrate such as a layer of plastic to provide any type of protection from moisture and outside odor.  Further, many small granola manufacturers purchase stock paper pouches with a clear window from stocking distributors who service bakeries and convenience stores only to find out that not only is their granola packaging weak and flimsy, their product goes stale within a matter of days.

Granola packaging using paper is not nearly as strong and durable as other types of packaging such as stand up pouches made from flexible film, also known as stand up bags.  Paper pouches do not have the puncture resistance or the shelf stability on their own to withstand the handling and abuse dealt on retail store shelves.  If granola packaging using paper gets wet, it loses strength and the packaging is compromised. In a nutshell, granola packaging using paper must have additional layers or even additional types of packaging (like a bag in a box) in order to confidently protect and ship the granola.

Stand up pouches are made from multiple layers of barrier film laminated together to create  a pouch that can stand erect on a store shelf while handling the abuse of the retail environment.  Further, the film itself flexes...meaning if a pouch is folded, bent, tipped over, or even stepped on, the film will spring back to its original shape.  Stand up pouches for granola packaging will keep the contents fresher for longer and protect from moisture, vapor, and odor that can negatively affect the taste.  These layers of laminated film create a bottom gusset or base that allows the pouch to stand effectively on a store shelf.  Further, these layers are available in clear film to see the granola or metalized and even foil structures, each providing puncture resistance and strength without needing additional and more expensive types of packaging for a manufacturer to ship with confidence.

Stand up pouches are available with ziplocks and tear notches, even hang holes and pour spouts to increase the level of convenience for the consumer.  Paper granola packaging cannot make the same claim.

While paper has that "natural" look, it doesn't come with the strength, durability, and barrier protection of stand up pouches.  Without question, using stand up bags instead of paper will save money.  Either in the packaging itself, the convenience and consumer appeal, or the ability to keep the granola fresher for longer, using stand up bags will save money.