The stand-up pouch has gone through a transformation during the past decade, going from the relatively obscure to popular package alternative for a variety of consumer food and non-food items. Global stand-up pouch consumption exceeded 11 billion pouches in 2001 and has increased at an average rate of 21% per year for the past eight years. These are among the findings in Packaging Strategies' Stand-Up Pouches 2001-2006 study.
The study explores the many reasons for the growth in stand-up pouches, among them, new competitive equipment technology that makes stand-up pouches at higher speeds; new stand-up pouch designs on the marketplace; and new, more cost-effective zipper and spout designs helping to add value to pouches.
The study reports that the stand-up pouch market looks healthy going forward and forecasts stand-up pouches to grow 17% per year for the next five years, with total global volumes hitting 24.3 billion stand-up pouches by 2006.
Among the factors that could detract from this projected stand-up pouch growth include pouch production costs and stand-up pouches' ability to differentiate itself from other package formats which may become more difficult over time. As pouches become more mainstream in the marketplace, consumers may tire of the "uniqueness" of the stand-up pouch unless it is paired with perceptible consumer benefits. This fact was demonstrated in the 1990s as reclosable zippers were added to stand-up pouches and market applications and consumer acceptance soared. If stand-up pouches lose this ability to distinctly market themselves apart from other package formats, the negative impact on their growth could be significant, says study author Steve Mogensen.
However, presently the number of factors helping to support the use of stand-up pouches by consumer product companies have been growing. "On the demand side, the central reason and catalyst behind the growth of the stand-up pouch package is the fact that it provides an effective tool to differentiate new products in the marketplace and enhance revenues," says Mogensen. This increased share of market and/or higher prices then provides marketers the leverage to improve margins and ultimately, profits.
The fact that stand-up pouches can be found in nearly every major food and beverage category, including baked goods, candy, coffee, cereals, dried fruits, and soups, as well as for lawn and garden supplies, provided the needed momentum for stand-up pouches to boost the confidence of participants at all levels of the supply and distribution chain. The study notes that market successes that products such as pet food and dried fruit have had in stand-up pouches have in turn provided the motivation for the entire market segment to look at stand-up pouches.
"On the supply side, the infrastructure available to consumer product companies has grown substantially, with the number of companies supplying pouch making equipment, pouches, pouch rollstock, and contract packaging services continually expanding," says Mogensen. While consumer product companies have long complained about the lack of contract packaging contributing to the delayed introduction of their products in stand-up pouches, the industry has responded and contract packagers have increased capacity to produce stand-up pouches 45% per year during the past eight years.
New equipment options for the manufacturing and filling of stand-up pouches are helping to provide new potential to increase the productivity of forming and filling stand-up pouches. The study cites liquid fill/seal machines designed to run spouted pouches at speeds of 500 pouches/minute presently in the works from companies such as Toyo Jidoki and Mitsubishi. Meanwhile, Softpac's new contract packaging plant with a filling system it claims can run 600 non-spouted pouches/minute is also coming on stream.
The study notes that preformed pouches are also being made to handle higher speeds. Compared to typical production speeds of 100 to 200 pouches/minute, four-lane pouch machines capable of producing stand-up pouches at up to 400 per minute are now available.
The increased flexibility of stand-up pouches to meet the exact requirements of the product being packaged is also helping drive demand. New pouch designs, more dispensing spouts, slider zippers, the addition of straws inside and outside of the package, and a wider variety of film structures offering improved barrier and printing surfaces all help add value to stand-up pouches.
For more information on the Stand-up Pouches 2001-2006 study, contact Karen Vaillancourt, Tel: 1-610-436-4220, ext. 11; Email: orders@packstrat.com.
