Sachets are popular packaging solutions for all range of industries, businesses, and products. Cost-effective and convenient, sachets are ideal for a wide variety of products, from cosmetics and beauty, to food and household goods.
In this guide, our sachet filling experts at Fillcon explain all you need to know about sachet filling, including what products should go in sachets, the benefits of sachets, and how exactly they are filled.
What Products Suit Sachet Packaging?
The most common products in sachets are liquids with a thicker consistency such as creams, gels, and sauces, as well as powders like salt, sugar, grains, and spices. Small solids may also be in sachets, such as beans.
Sachets are extremely effective at keeping products airtight and protected from contaminants, however the physical protection offered is minimal, therefore any products within sachets should not be breakable or easily damaged with knocks.
Tissues can also be put in sachet packaging, wet or dry, such as antibacterial wipes. You can find out more about tissue sachet packaging here.
Benefits of Sachet Packaging
Sachets offer many benefits as packaging solutions. Below are some of the top benefits of sachet packaging.
Protection
Due to the airtight, impenetrable makeup of sachets, they are extremely successful at keeping products safe from contaminants. This is especially critical for perishable or short-life products like food or cosmetic creams. As sachets are usually one-use, there is no risk that the product is opened then continually contaminated when reopened as with other packaging types.
Convenient
Sachets are easy to open, usually via tearing the top or special tab, when compared to jars or bottles that can be troublesome or inaccessible for consumers. The small, limited-use nature of sachets also make them convenient as they can be stored in cars, bags or packs for use whenever needed.
Range of sizes
There are a range of sachet sizes available to suit the fill dose, from 45mm x 45mm square to 100mm x 180mm. Fillcon can recommend a sachet size to suit the product viscosity and dose size. Small sample size sachets are useful for free giveaways or larger sachets can be used for retail purposes. Sachets are especially useful for portion control or as single-use application.
Flexible packaging
Sachets are popular packaging types for their sizes, shape and flexibility, meaning they take up little space and can be easily packed, unlike boxes for example. Sachets can be easily packed within other packaging, or commonly magazines, without bulking or adding weight.
Shipping
The light weight and flexibility of sachets make them cost-effective to ship thousands with minimal cost and space requirements.
Materials
There are various materials to choose from for sachet packaging. Recyclable materials are available that can create environmentally friendly packaging. Often sachets carrying liquids or other products may be Aluminium lined for protection and to prevent seepage, which can affect the recyclability of certain sachets.
How Are Sachets Filled?
Sachets are filled as they are formed using specialised vertical form fill seal (VFFS) machines or horizontal form fill seal (HFFS) machines. A roll of film is fed into the machine and formed into sachets as well as being filled in one streamlined process.
The process is; the film is formed and sealed at one end or edge, then the pre-weighed/measured product is dropped in, then the rest of the sachet edge is sealed and cut from the following sachet.
Check out the facilities page on our website to see a video of the sachet filling/forming process and learn more about our capabilities at our advanced site.
Sachet Filling Considerations
Once you have a brand and product, and you’ve decided on sachet packaging, there are still a few things to consider.
Sanitation
Sanitation and cleanliness is vital to successful sachet filling, and not just for edible items. Filling machines should be deep cleaned, especially between products, and entire facilities should be clean environments to ensure no contamination or product spoilage. Before the sachet is closed and airtight, it is critical nothing else comes in contact with the product.
Precision
All sachets should be uniform and consistent, filled precisely with equal amounts. Automation via machines helps to ensure the right amount is dispersed each time, importantly without spillages or waste.
Speed
The automation of sachet filling through machines make the entire process speedy and cost effective. In fact, some sachet fillers, like Fillcon, can produce tens of thousands of filled sachets a day. Once the machine is set up with sachet foil and liquid product our engineers are constantly quality checking the finished sachets.
Design
Sachets should be informative and attractive through the printing of artwork. At the very minimum, the product name and brand should be visible, as well as ingredients lists, key information, and use-by dates. Although many sachets are small, certain information is legally required and/or useful for consumers.
Sachet Filling with Fillcon
We manufacture, supply and fill sachets for a wide range of applications, most notably cosmetic sampling solutions. At our advanced facilities just outside Bristol we fill hundreds of thousands of sachets a day with all the relevant testing and sanitary measures to keep products in top condition for longer.
We offer liquid sachets, tissue sachets, sample sachets and other related services such as cosmetic tube filling, bottle filling and pack off into retail ready boxes and packaging! With a range of sachet sizes available, multiple colour printing services, twin pack sachets, various materials, Fillcon are the go-to sachet filling provider in the UK.
Get in touch today to discuss your sachet supply and manufacture needs.