Yes, it costs less to manufacture stand up pouches than plastic bottles. Both plastic bottles and stand up pouch bags are made from plastic. The amount of plastic that goes into the making of stand up bags is less than that required to make a plastic bottle. Lesser plastic means less expense on raw materials. As a result, plastic pouches are cheaper to make.
Plastic does not grow in fields. It is made from petroleum, which is a non-renewable product. It was formed when a rough asteroid killed dinosaurs and other reptiles 6.5 billion years ago. No one is making more of it – at least not at the same tremendous rate at which humans are consuming it. Major producers are located in either the Middle East or Russia. Political turmoil aside, the rising demand of petroleum in China, India, and other developing economies is raising the prices of petroleum, thus the products based on this fossil product.
When packaging costs are increasing every few years, businesses are left with either of two popular choices – either to pass the costs to the customers and hope that your competitors will do the same and your profits will not be affected; or, to keep selling at the old price and let increased raw material costs eat away your profits.
There is also a third, and oft-ignored choice. Businesses can change the way they package products to save on raw material costs, and keep selling at customer-friendly prices without hurting profits. Several stand up pouches can be made from the plastic and energy it takes to produce one bottle of plastic. This discrepancy in resource and energy consumption shows itself in price. A typical stand up spout pouch costs between 15 and 20 cents. In comparison, an empty plastic bottle does not come cheaper than between 35 and 40 cents.
This extends to custom stand up pouches too, where in addition to using fewer raw materials, pouches have another advantage – it is easier to mold them into any shape. Printing is easier as well. So businesses looking for custom printed packaging save more money by opting for stand up pouches.
It is not merely in manufacturing where stand up pouches arguably have a cost advantage over plastic bottles. These plastic bags are less expensive to store and transport. Also, they offer an infinite variety in design and structure, which nowadays is essential for building a brand and selling a product.