How Much Shelf Life Does Granola in Stand Up Pouches Have?

When people think of food packaged in stand up pouches, often the first product that comes to mind is granola.

The majority of today’s brands have chosen stand up pouches as their preferred granola packaging because they’re lightweight, easy to take on the go and can be resealed to lock in the freshness of the crunchy product. Not to mention, they stand up and look great on shelves.

A big question we get here at StandUpPouches.net is how well our flexible granola packaging extends the shelf life of the product inside. Every consumer wants to get the most value out of the goods they purchase, which means they expect it to stay fresh for a long time. Likewise, food manufacturers want the integrity, quality, and taste of their products to stay intact for as long as possible — after all, if someone opens a bag of granola and bites into a handful of a stale snack, they’re likely to toss the entire bag and complain about the brand because they got a bad first impression of the product.

We’ve had clients who sell a softer, very moist granola (almost like a crumbled cookie), as well as granola that is oven baked and toasted. The structure and consistency makes a difference in determining how long the product will remain fresh on retail shelves and in consumers’ homes before going stale.

No matter the size, shape, or flavor, the No. 1 enemy of granola (and all food, for that matter) is oxygen. If your granola packaged in stand up pouches is being looked upon to contain your product for a short period of time, say a few weeks, and then it will be consumed, we’ve had clients successfully use our stand up pouches for granola without any additional measures.

However, back to my earlier point, oxygen is the biggest enemy. To eliminate oxygen, you can pull a vacuum and squeeze the stand up pouch for granola, but it won’t look very good. You can also push OUT the oxygen in a stand up pouch using nitrogen, however that, too, will need to squeeze the air out of the bag.

The safest way to prolong the life of granola in a stand up pouch is to use an oxygen absorber (some call it an oxygen scavenger). Using a stand up pouch and an oxygen absorber, many of our clients have easily achieved six to 12 months of freshness — and often more.

The best way to know, of course, is to test, test, test! Work with your packaging partner to get your hands on packaging samples, and either conduct your own tests, or use a testing lab like a Lansmont, who can run a free, rapid test to give you accurate expected shelf life of your granola with your approved package.