It's often thought that granola packaging was the first to use stand up pouches, also known as stand bags or stand up bags.  While I have no proof of this, personally it is the first product I remember.  Bear Naked blasted onto the scene and soon I noticed not only the granola but interestingly I even noticed the packaging.  While the granola looked delicious, and I can now say with fresh fruit and 1% milk it was delicious, it was the granola packaging that interested me.  Trust me, at the end of the day taste is going to be the deciding factor, but packaging is critcal.

Granula (as it was originally spelled) was invented by Dr. James Caleb Jackson in 1894 for his prominent health spa, known as The Jackson Sanitarium.  A similar cereal was invented by John Harvey Kellogg (that's correct, from Kellogg cereal family) and the name was changed to granola to avoid legal problems.  But I digress.  Back to my consumer shopping and facination with granola packaging.

Here, the product was standing on a store shelf, not lying down flat, and I could actually see the granola.  I could see the time and effort the manufacturers took to make sure the granola fit into the stand up bag and filled the pouch so it stood erect on a store shelf and better yet filled the clear window of the stand bag so the granola was the star of the show.  I could actually see the rolled oats coated with honey and whatever yummy stuff they use that made my mouth water!

I could actually imagine myself grabbing a handful out of the bag for a snack or pouring a bowl for breakfast the next morning.  Yikes...what is happening to me?  It's true, packaging made a difference in my eyes as a consumer way back then.  To a larger extent, stand up pouches make a difference for granola packaging in so many ways.  Stand up bags can:

• *  Help Companies Build Their Brand
• *  Protect Granola and Keep It Fresher For Longer
• *  Save Granola Companies Money Over Other Types of Packaging
• *  Increase Sales

Look no further than coming posts to see each of these bullet points.  Stand up pouches changed granola packaging forever.  I believe using stand up pouches for your granola can change your product's future as well.