Why Flexible Packaging Trends Last Longer: Six Directions Driving Packaging Innovation and Sustainability

Trends often shift before they are widely noticed, yet flexible packaging movements tend to last longer than many others—a sign that this format is not temporary. The following update reviews familiar recent developments and shows how flexible packaging is opening fresh approaches to sustainability.

1. Easy-Open and Reclosable Formats Gain Ground

Opening systems and closures are now used across a wider range of packs. Examples include straight-line tear strips, reclosable zippers that let consumers open a pouch without removing its top, and spouted liquid pouches. Equipment has advanced as well, making it easier to add these easy-open and reclosable features inline during filling and sealing while reducing downtime.

1. Transparent High-Barrier Films

New-generation transparent and coated films are moving closer to the barrier performance of aluminum foil and metallized films. This creates a new way to showcase flavorful products, while at the same time

1. Multi-Layer Coextrusion

Adding layers to a flexible structure may seem counterintuitive, but it can improve both cost and performance. The key is tighter control over layer count. Three-to-five-layer coextrusion lines are often constrained by extruder size and die design. A growing number of converters are moving to seven-to-nine-layer lines, which provide more flexibility, meet functional and thickness targets, and lower costs by avoiding over-engineered structures. One tactic is to use a lower-cost resin in the core layer; another is to divide the barrier layer into two thinner layers and use one as a “backup” if pinholes penetrate the other. This also increases the number of materials at interfaces, because materials inevitably interdiffuse, lowering permeation rates and ultimately delivering the barrier goal. Several technologies for splitting barrier materials into multiple layers are now being widely adopted, and data show that new materials’ barrier performance has improved well through this route.

1. Shaped Packaging

Today’s form-fill-seal packaging can create more pouch shapes and styles than before. Shaped packaging matters to consumer packaged goods companies that want stronger shelf impact. Although most shaped packs appear in other countries, this format—cut into two-dimensional shapes and also curved shapes—has existed for many years. Equipment makers are also working on machines for conical or three-dimensional flexible pouches; the current challenge is to control and design more shapes on the existing base.

1. More Retort Packaging

Retort packaging is filled and then held at a high enough temperature and “cooked” long enough to kill spoilage bacteria and microorganisms. Metal cans and glass jars are the most traditional retort formats. Several factors are driving retort flexible packaging: compared with metal cans and glass jars, flexible packs are easier to open and lighter, and flexible packaging is understood to have a lower environmental impact than metal cans and glass jars. It also greatly reduces deformation and breakage losses and supports innovation in retort capability or food packaging—for instance, canned tuna can now use sealed packaging with no added water or oil.

In addition, because fewer abusive heating cycles are used for sterilization, food from retort packaging often tastes better. The flat geometry of flexible packaging is designed to keep food close to the package surface, so it does not require long heating times or excessively high temperatures; food in the center can be assured of sterilization before it receives the optimal time/temperature combination. It also avoids creasing and cracking linked to aluminum foil and some older coating technologies. These structures also offer potential for microwaveable flexible pouches.

1. Flexible Packaging Moves Into New Product Categories

Undeniably, in just a few years, flexible packaging has sought to sweep across entire product categories. Classic examples include canned tuna and pet food; decades after metal cans were used in these areas, retort pouches are now very common. More recently, in baby food, more glass jars are being replaced by retort pouches (and thermoformed trays). Flexible packaging has even reached the fertilizer industry, where resealability is its main feature.

What comes next? Sticky condiment packaging is a promising area, because these products can be squeezed effectively from flexible pouches; in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America, this pack type has already been widespread for many years. Health and beauty products have also reached a mature stage for packaging conversion—think shampoo and hand soap. Product areas dominated by metal cans or glass bottles have also been affected by packaging conversion.

Cereal can be called a “holy grail” for the flexible packaging supplier community. Although flexible packaging has already penetrated from high-end granola to low-end cereal foods, experts still strongly agree with cereal manufacturers investing heavily in existing packaging equipment so they can quickly switch formats at any time. Considering the advantages of recyclable cartons made from renewable energy throughout the entire application process, replacing cartons should be even more complex. Although one packaging format is converting to flexible packaging, this does not mean consumers in any particular country will accept the conversion, especially in the United States. That said, the most thorough trend is for brand owners to adopt a holistic approach to innovation right now. From now on, new packaging structures or formats, including flexible packaging, will come from every corner of the world.

Source: China Packaging Network (news.pack.cn), original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-372857.html. Copyright remains with the original author; this article is for industry exchange and learning only.