There was an interesting article in Packaging Digest regarding cutting edge packaging technology being a deciding factor as to whether a consumer buys a product or not.  This is "code" for cool packaging gets noticed.  I agree 100%, and chicks dig the long ball too (baseball saying in honor of the World Series) but cutting edge packaging technology usually involves the 1/2 of 1 percent of companies who can actually afford to innovate, meaning spend the hundreds of thousands of dollars to create a package no one else can duplicate (until the Chinese get a hold of it).  What does this have to do with stand up pouches?  A lot!  Stand up pouches, also known as stand up bags or stand bags, continue to grow in popularity in North America and are nearing $5 Billion (B) in sales with really no slow down in sight.  The "Big Boys" can spend their gazillions on cool designs but there are way more companies out there willing and able to compete on their product's quality versus some new hand pump or rounded bottle that doesn't work or gets thrown away in a landfill.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for innovation, but stand up bags are tried and true, they offer way more advantages to not only a company packaging their product but also to the consumer who buys it.  Let me explain the 3 P concept.

• Package
• Protect
• Persuade

Stand up pouches are made from multiple layers of scientifically engineered layers of film made specifically for the product being packaged.  These layers create the strength to hold the contents and the design allows the bag to stand erect and effectively on a store shelf.  Let's not forget, stand up bags are without a doubt the package design of choice for retailers as they take up minimal space and frankly are what consumers are used to seeing and ultimately buying.  I mean, why reinvent the wheel, right?

Stand up bags protect the contents, regardless of whether it is a food item, something having to do with the pet industry, a liquid or a mix that is combined with juice or liquid, even a non food item like grass seed or fertilizer.  The same scientifically engineered layers of film I discussed in the previous paragraph now operate to protect the contents from moisture, vapor, odor, even UV rays.

Finally, by design stand bags are perfect to persuade a consumer to purchase your product.  The wide face and back of a stand up pouch provides an incredible amount of room for an applied label but even better for custom printing to tell the world why your product is so great, long lasting, better for you, yummy, and of course better than your competition, regardless if your competitors are small mom and pop organizations or the big boys with fancy packaging.  Fancy packaging could just be the only way they have to get noticed, where you and your product have a whole canvas of a stand bag explaining the merits of your product.  As a bonus, stand up pouches are recyclable and landfill friendly, compare that to some new radical design!  Protect your product and help our environment, what's not to love about that?

Again, stand up pouches are tried and true, continue to be successful on retailers' shelves while protecting your product like never before.  Want to learn more?