When looking for product packaging, one of the key variables to consider is the flexibility or rigidity of your chosen solution. It goes without saying that flexible packing offers a host of benefits that are different to those found with rigid packaging styles.
In basic terms, flexible packaging is defined by its ability to be ‘bent without breaking’. It can be bent, folded and shaped into many different forms, making it an appropriate packaging solution for a whole host of products. The most prototypical forms of flexible packaging include pouches and bags.
Here at Fillcon, we offer a wide variety of flexible packaging solutions. Our range includes sachets, tubes and pouches, all of which can be customised to meet the design preferences of our clients.
In this blog, our experts outline key uses for flexible packaging as well as some of its benefits.
What is Flexible Packaging Used For?
Flexible packaging styles have gained huge popularity over recent decades, largely due to their diverse uses. Flexible packing provides an ideal storage solution for a wide range of products across a selection of key industries. One of its most popular uses is for the storage of food, becoming the standard solution for goods such as sweets, crisps and nuts as well as liquid products such as juices, purees and baby foods. Flexible storage of food and drink products allows a business to really push convenience within a product’s marketing and also allows users to easily transport their edible goods. This is especially valuable in times that place such value on products that can be used ‘on-the-go’.
In addition to food products, flexible packaging provides a highly appropriate packaging solution for household products, such as cleaning agents and cosmetics (like makeup). As many businesses move towards more environmental and sustainable practices, flexible packaging offers an ideal opportunity for brands wishing to create refill products as a part of their sustainability attempts. Refill pouches are becoming increasingly prevalent within the sustainability missions of many consumer goods businesses. Such missions often foreground reducing packaging and encouraging more minimalist shopping habits on behalf of their customers.
Flexible packaging also offers unique appropriateness for businesses who wish to produce samples of products to offer to their customers. This is particularly commonplace within the cosmetic industry which heavily utilises sachet packaging to let customers sample their products.
Benefits of Flexible Packaging
The ever-growing popularity of flexible packaging can be attributed to a variety of benefits. Here we explain some of them.
Variety of Shapes & Sizes
One of the most central benefits of flexible packaging solutions is their wide variety of shapes and sizes, which make them flexible in function as well as form. This style of packaging can be customised to fit almost any product need, making it an ideal candidate for packaging across a range of industries.
360° Branding
Another key benefit of flexible packaging is that it allows businesses to create packaging with 360° branding. In addition to functionality, packaging plays a huge role in the generation of brand identity and brand identifiability. Highly customised packaging is likely to result in more consumers reaching for a product from a crowded supermarket shelf.
In terms of design logistics, flexible packaging allows for the printing of high impact, high quality branding and imagery. So in essence, opting for flexible packaging gives your brand the freedom to be more creative with packaging, instead of having to keep to one label.
Extended Shelf Life
It has also been suggested that flexible packaging extends the shelf life of a product. It is understood that common features of flexible packaging, such as airtight seals and high barrier films, prolong shelf life by limiting the exposure of perishable goods to oxygen and external moisture, thus allowing them to stay fresher for longer. Longer shelf life makes for less waste, an ideal benefit for families looking to reduce the amount of food they throw away.
Eco Friendly
A lot of businesses incorporate flexible (particularly resealable) packaging into their attempts to operate more sustainably. Many companies utilise flexible packaging for refill products that are marketed towards reducing waste, as they produce less waste at all stages of its lifecycle.
Flexible packaging also often holds less weight than rigid alternatives, with lighter weights resulting in less CO2 production during transportation.
Customer Friendly
A frequently pinpointed advantage of flexible packaging is its customer friendly properties. Not only are flexible packages easier to hold, carry and transport from one place to another, they are also easier to store. Bulky rigid packaging varieties can be inconvenient to store and more difficult to fit into bags at a supermarket.
Products that are easy to move around also have the benefit of being suitable to on the go use, which is especially beneficial for food products such as drinks and baby food, which may be needed anywhere at any time.
Flexible Packaging with Fillcon
Here at Fillcon, we specialise in manufacturing and filling a whole host of flexible packaging solutions. From sachets and tubes to bottles and pouches, we have the capability to fill sachets with all kinds of products for all types of markets.
Our expert team are on hand to advise on all things packaging whether that be customisation, size or even just selecting the right variety for your product. To speak to a member of our team, get in touch or request a free quote today.
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