Dive Brief:
- Consolidated Packaging Group has rolled out flat-bottom, stand-up pouches for foods, confections, snacks and a variety of other items. According to the New Jersey-based company, the flat bottom provides stability, while the quad-sealed side gussets provide rigidity, framing the five display panels for maximum shelf impact and brand awareness.
- These stand-up pouches are made in several sizes, printed in up to 10 colors, and designed to meet oxygen and moisture barrier property requirements, the company noted.
- Different films can be used on a single package, so there could be a metalized, foil or matte finish front panel with a clear material on the side panels to allow consumers to see the product inside. The stand-up pouches also offer various reclosing options.
Dive Insight:
This type of packaging is targeted at companies that want a higher aisle profile and hope to literally stand out from the crowd. Every inch of retail shelf space is a valuable commodity, and food manufacturers want to make sure that the dollars they spend on such expensive real estate bring in the highest return possible.
Mars started moving to stand-up pouches in 2013 for some of its bite-sized candy products. Particularly for the makers of sweets, a key attraction of stand-up pouches is using barrier packaging to preserve freshness — without individual wrappings.
Hershey announced this summer that it would be switching out its flat bags of Kisses and other candy products for stand-up packages. Brian Kavanagh, the company's senior director of insights driven performance and retail evolution, told Confectionery News that the stand-up packaging was a more effective use of the brand's footprint in the candy aisle.
"We got a lot of bags that are lay-down flat, kind of like the world of rice and beans," Kavanagh told the publication. "Converting them over to standup bags can get the 'billboard effect.'"
The stand-up packages allow manufacturers to use the vertical space for attractive designs that consumers might notice more easily when they visit a retail outlet. They are stronger and can protect products from transportation and storage hazards, and they are able to accommodate the different types of closures and spouts that a manufacturer might want to use. And because they can eliminate the need for individually wrapped items, there's a sustainability factor.
According to Markets and Markets, the stand-up pouches packaging market is projected to reach $33.4 billion by 2020, for a CAGR of 8.1% from 2015 to 2020.