No, stand up pouches are more economical to produce, store, transport, and use than tin cans.

(1) Production

Cat food manufacturers can buy a custom printed stand up pouch for between 15 and 20 cents. In comparison, the cost of a tin can can be more than 60 cents.

There are many reasons for this huge gap in production cost between standup pouches and tin cans. A major reason is the difference in the cost of raw materials. Plastic is the chief constituent of stand up pouches. It is made from petroleum which is more common – thus cheaper – than metals. Also, metals are more difficult to procure because a lot of their sources are in hard-to-reach regions.

Another major reason for the low cost of stand up pouches is the amount of energy used in manufacturing them. Plastic is flexible. It takes lesser energy to mold it into a shape than metal. For each unit of energy consumed, manufacturers can mold more pieces of plastic than tin cans.

(2) Storage

Stand up pouches take almost the same space as a piece of paper. This is not so with tin cans. One thousand stand up pouches can easily fit inside a medium to large sized crate. In comparison, 1,000 tin cans would require a small room to store. Businesses who invest in stand up pouches end up saving on inventory costs as well.

(3) Transportation

The weight of a stand up pouch is a fraction of the weight of a tin can. A truck or another medium of transport can carry several times more stand up bags than tin cans in a trip. Therefore with stand up pouches, businesses can save money on trips because do not have to pay for the transport of heavy cans.

(4) Usage

Tin cans present consumers with fewer size options. Someone who wants only a small amount of cat food has to pay unnecessarily for a can that has more than they require. In contrast, stand up pouches come in virtually all sizes and shapes. This increases consumer choice. A customer can choose cat food in just as much quantity as they need. This quality is especially useful for people who are always on the go.

Stand up pouches also save money for people who aren’t always traveling. These pouches are resealable, so consumers do not have to pay unnecessarily for extra containers to pour out the contents.