Are Stand-Up Pouches The Future Of Food Packaging?

By Sam Lewis

New report predicts 7 percent compounded annual growth rate in pouched food market through 2018

A new report — “The U.S. Market for Stand-up Pouches to 2018” — issued by PCI Films Consulting analyzes major factors which steer the growth of this expanding market. The report gives detailed information regarding the U.S. stand-up pouch market by volume, existing and planned filling capacities, the trends of pouches in more than 30 sectors, along with the profiles of the top pouch suppliers. The report also forecasts the growth of this market through 2018, showing exactly how the market will develop in that time.

Over the last five years, the U.S. market for products with stand-up pouches has seen dramatic growth, increasing by 50 percent to nearly 17 billion units this year. The stand-up pouch product market is dominated by pet food and beverages, each making up about one-third of the market’s demand.

The growth is driven by replacing glass and plastic bottles, along with cans, due to manufacturers’ wanting to reduce packaging costs and increase customer convenience. The report predicts the U.S.’s demand for stand-up pouch products will grow by about 7 percent per year, reaching 24 billion units by 2018. This expected growth is twice as fast as the rest of the entire U.S. flexible packaging market.

Julian Lozowick, the author of the report, comments about the growth and diversity of stand-up pouches, “The most significant increases in volume have come only in the last two years, particularly in liquid products within the human foods non-retort (canned) category, such as in the packing of baby foods and fruit compote and purees.” Lozowick continues, “The use of pouches for dry food products in general has been growing more steadily, but even here some categories have seen rapid recent growth.”

In the future, increases in volume of stand-up pouch goods are expected across almost all types of products—frozen foods and spirits, cocktails, baby food, diced and shredded cheese, soups, and liquid soap, to name a few. Additional opportunities for stand-up pouches are currently being developed in dietary meal solutions, olive oil, fresh vegetables, and even motor oil. Advancements in re-sealable packages, as well as sliders to seal packages, will also continue to drive the interest of pouches in packaging upward.