How Long Have Stand Up Pouches Been in Use?

Susan E.M. Selke notes in her "Understanding Plastics Packaging Technology," that stand up pouches were used commercially for the first time in the 1960s. A manufacturer of fruit flavored drinks named Capri Sun was the first company in the United States to package its drinks in stand up pouch bags. Therefore the stand up bags have been in use for five decades now. Despite a half-a-century long history, the use of stand up pouches has not been continuous.

The Capri Sun experiment did not last long. At that time, there was a lack of manufacturers in the United States who owned machines to produce stand up bags. Disinterest and apathy among mainstream manufacturers was another big reason for the discontinued use of these bags. Manufacturers were not sure if they could use stand up pouches for food packaging. Together they kept stand up bags out of mainstream market for a few more years.

A Renaissance for stand up pouches occurred during the mid 1990s when the United States was flooded with sentiments related to environment protection. A heightened sense of protecting the environment resulted in many manufacturers turning to stand up bags for packaging their food and non-food products. It was slow in the beginning, but the trend caught on later. Today stand up pouches are a popular method to package food and non-food products.