For any manufacturer, or specialist packaging company, staying up to date with consumer trends and preferences is essential to ensure that your products (or your clients’ products) stand out on the shelves and ultimately sell. In recent years, as consumer tastes and expectations have changed, so have product packaging choices – companies are increasingly turning to flexible packaging such as stand up pouches in place of rigid boxes, bottles and jars.
Why do consumers have such a strong preference for stand up pouches and other flexible packaging? Let’s look at some of the key factors affecting this packaging trend.
Standout style
If you are selling any product, you want it to stand out from the competition and catch the consumer’s eye. Standup pouches can be custom printed, allowing for huge scope when it comes to displaying your product and the information that you want the buyer to see. A further advantage of stand up pouches is in the name – they stand up. By standing upright on the shelf, pouches, the product within and the information they display are that much more visible to the customer.
Environmentally friendly
For the modern consumer, environmental impact is a key consideration, so for your brand and products to appeal, it’s important to show your commitment to sustainability and the environment.
Stand up pouch packaging appeals to environmentally conscious consumers because it offers a low percentage of waste compared with other packaging solutions. Pouches are lightweight, require less raw material and less energy to manufacture than rigid packaging. As a result, the carbon footprint and impact of pouches is smaller.
Pouches can also be manufactured from sustainable, recyclable, or recycled materials, which has a further positive effect on the environmental impact of the packaging manufacturing.
Companies that switch to flexible packaging show their customers that they are going above and beyond to be as environmentally friendly as possible.
Freshness and resealability
It is not only the stylish appearance of pouch packaging design that stands out to consumers, it is also the practical designs that ensure that the products within stay fresh for longer, which is particularly important for perishable items like food and beverages.
Design elements such as curved corners remove any sharp edges that could potentially damage other packaging and products stored alongside them, helping to ensure that the products inside keep their freshness.
Many pouch designs also allow for resealing, so if the product inside is not used up right away, it can be resealed to stay fresh. Stand up pouches can feature a range of resealing choices, including screw top spouts and ziplocks. With the shift away from large meals to eating smaller portions and snacks more regularly, resealing is very important to the modern consumer.
Convenience
All customers want convenience when it comes to the products they use and the way they are packaged. As well as being resealable, stand up pouch packaging is lightweight and can fit into a bag or pocket, and in some cases, pouch packaging may even have a handle so that it can be carried with ease without the need for a bag.
Transparency
Flexible pouches allow for clear windows, allowing the consumer to view the contents contained inside the package, increasing their likelihood of making a purchase. Whilst labels can provide information, in many cases, the consumer wants to be able to see what they are about to buy.
Available in different sizes
Consumers love to have plenty of choice when it comes to the volume of what they buy. Flexible stand up pouches can be purchased in a wide range of shapes and sizes to suit customer preferences and needs.
Switching to Stand Up Pouch Packaging
Companies choosing to invest in a stand up pouch machine and making the move to flexible stand up pouch packaging show that they are paying attention to the needs and wants of consumers. Functional packaging that stands out on the shelves helps to keep a brand fresh and exciting, as well as convenient.
If you are looking to switch to stand up pouches and automate your packaging processes, then you can contact Intamac Packaging Systems. Based in Hampshire, Intamac supply a range of pouch packaging machines to suit a wide range of packaging needs.