It’s about time. Major players in the food and beverage market have woken up to the enormous competitive and financial advantages of flexible packaging for food and beverages, which are now outpacing rigid packaging across the board. One glance at the research on flexible packaging paints a clear picture.

A brand new analysis by the Freedonia Group (reported August 13, 2021), for example, found that flexible packaging would continue to expand its share of the frozen meat, poultry, and seafood market for numerous reasons. Among them are a forecasted 4.1% rise in demand through 2024 — outpacing demand growth for rigid packaging — and advantages like cost-effectiveness, lighter weight, better protection, and individual portioning of servings.

Grand View Research has separately projected a market share of 65.7% for stand-up pouches in the flexible packaging market by 2025. Here are a few thought-provoking highlights from their analysis of flexible pouch packaging and a companion analysis on their Wordpress:

• “Pouches are being increasingly preferred by manufacturers of packaged beverages such as mineral water, milk, and soft drinks (non-carbonated)”
• “Manufacturers of food and beverage products prefer stand-up pouches to differentiate their brands and gain a competitive advantage in the market”
• “The food & beverage segment is expected to witness the fastest growth over the forecast period”

Why now? What’s changed? How are spouted stand up pouches revolutionizing the packaging of beverages and liquids that had previously used rigid bottles, jars, jugs, and cans?  The research points out several game-changing benefits that have led pouches to now outpace older rigid packaging. Here’s what the studies had to say:

“Decreased Scrap and Easy Processing”

There’s substantially less landfill waste with spouted pouch packaging than with rigid bottles and jars. Flat disposal means no air taking up unnecessary space within the container. On top of that, spouted pouches are easy to recycle and process — easier than rigid containers in many cases.

“Ease of Manufacturing”

It takes 60% less plastic to produce a spouted stand up pouch than a rigid plastic bottle, and 50% less energy to produce. Even after manufacturing, there will be less net carbon impact from production because the pouches are lightweight and flat, so they ship and store easily in much smaller spaces (they take up to 95% less room for shipping and storage).

“Significant Demand for the Product”

Spouted stand up pouches offer incredible convenience and efficiency that consumers love. For instance, a rigid container can leave 6% to 14% of your product trapped in the packaging, whereas stand up pouches allow for almost total evacuation of the product (up to 99.5%). They’re getting their bang for their buck, and your packaging is helping them out. Once primarily seen overseas, flexible pouch packaging is now in high demand in the United States owing to its convenience in use, transportation, and disposal.

“Differentiate Their Brands” / “Gain a Competitive Advantage”

Brands have realized how large the opportunity is to differentiate themselves from competitors who are slaves to the status quo. When everyone else is putting bottles or jugs on the shelf, your brand can easily and immediately stand out with unique and innovative flexible spout pouch packaging. There’s also the increased printable surface to appreciate, with more real estate for attention-capturing branding, graphics and messaging. Spouted stand up pouches notably cost less to produce, ship, and store, appeal to consumers, and even allow more of your product to fit on the shelf. It’s win win win.

Don’t get left behind as the food and beverage sector pushes ahead to a better way of doing things. The Oversea Network is ready to help you find the right flexible packaging solution for your needs, with spouted stand up pouches (or twist caps, spigots, spray nozzles, and other options) available to sample, test, and leverage with your own product.