The Exponential Shift to Pouches

Ahhh the price of convenience... Consumers these days, particularly Millenials, are choosing both flat and stand-up pouches to house their food over other, more traditional choices like paper, metal, glass and rigid plastic. Pouches are just easier to use, take up less space, and come in single-serve forms that make life oh so much easier. And with 25% of Millenials being parents, well, one can easily see just one of the driving factors.  Yet going beyond the look at Millenials and what they're buying (with their $200B in annual U.S. buying power), the pouches of today are benefiting from major advances in technology/quality/adoption, and with that, extreme market growth. In fact, global market demand is projected to rise 6.2% annually to $37.3 billion in 2018. These numbers can't be ignored. Of course, with pouches being out of the loop of recycling due to the multi-layer films that are used in their construction, more innovation is needed to make them more environmentally sound.Take a moment to read more about this fast-growing trend in this excellent article from Packaging Digest. Beyond our notes above, you'll pick up more about what's happening in the world of consumption meets flexible packaging and how this particular element should be top-of-mind for product packaging planners.