What Is a Stand-Up Pouch?
A stand-up pouch is a pouch that can stand on its own and has folds at the bottom. The technology was introduced in France in the 1960s and gradually spread throughout the 1980s.
The characteristics of this type of pouch are that it is excellent for displaying products, and it can also be used to create attractive displays. In addition, the notched opening, zipper, or stopper can be selected according to the contents to be filled. Also, depending on the way the contents are to be used, it is used for a variety of applications, including food and toiletry products. In recent years, with the increase in environmental awareness, they are also used for refillable products.
Uses of Stand-Up Pouches
Stand-up pouches are currently used in a wide range of products, including seasonings, miso, soft drinks, soups, pouch foods, and dressings.
The first commercial products were developed for use in packaging processed marine products and processed agricultural products that had previously been packed in cans or bottles. Later, as technology advanced, it became possible to add various properties such as moisture resistance, transparency, suitability for vacuum packaging, low-temperature resistance, impact resistance, abrasion resistance, gas barrier property, light shielding property, and oil resistance, making it suitable for a wide variety of applications. Those with stoppers are also used for jelly beverages and refillable edible oils.
Characteristics of Stand-Up Pouches
Stand-up pouches are made up of two parts, depending on the pouch production method. One consists of a two-piece body and bottom, and the other consists of a single piece. The materials used include biaxially oriented polyester film, cellophane, and aluminum film.
Stand-up pouches use a barrier material to prevent deterioration of the contents, but the barrier material has been gradually changing with technological advances. When first introduced to Japan, PVDC coated film and AL foil were commonly used. However, in the 1970s, EVOH resin and other barrier materials became available, and the development of laminated films that could be retorted using high-performance urethane adhesives and other materials led to the popularization of stand-up pouches as packaging materials.
Pouches for beverages became popular as a new application after they revised food sanitation laws to allow the use of polyester and NY as materials. In the case of beverage use, the emphasis is on flavor matching with the packaging material.
Later, dessert pouches were commercialized using food preservation techniques that combine low PH and high sugar content of the food itself, boil sterilization, and food deterioration prevention techniques such as packaging materials incorporating barrier materials such as EVOH in laminated films. In addition, the use of O-NY, which is easily torn in one direction, in laminated films to improve tear capability, has evolved into a commercial product.
Other recent improvements include the use of single-site polyethylene to increase material strength to prevent pinholes and ruptures, and the emergence of transparent vapor deposited films with silica or alumina barrier materials deposited on O-PET or O-NY.