Packaging and presentation of products play a key role in establishing a good brand reputation amongst the consumer. Packaging is a cornerstone for the effective delivery of products. While plastic remains a popular solution for this, there are some drawbacks. Plastics are harmful to the environment and they are not GMO free. You cannot use plastic for your food products because they can contaminate your products. Hence companies are now including towards using environmentally-friendly products and offer good storage solutions while reducing the cost. In this blog, we are going to explore more about flexible packaging and its uses.
What is a flexible packaging?
As evident from the name, flexible packaging makes use of non-rigid materials. It is a cost-effective and customizable option. Some of the popular materials used for flexible packaging are:
1. Foil
2. Plastic
3. Paper
4. Pliable containers
This type of packaging is useful for industries that require a unique style of packaging. Industries like food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and personal care use flexible packaging. You can customize these packaging materials according to your product size, shape and weight.
The different forms of flexible packaging
Despite being new in trend, flexible packaging has gained momentum, and you can find myriads of variants under this category. Some of the popular choices are:
1. Flexible packaging type 1: Packaging Bags- The first category under flexible packaging is packaging bags; these are again subdivided into the following categories:
1.1 Paper bags- The first option that we have is paper bags. These are very popular in the market. You can easily spot them in the retail store, gift shops and online stores. The best part is that these are available in different colours and sizes and they are completely eco-friendly. These are also popularly used as gift bags. But, you cannot pack your heavy goods with these bags and you cannot pack your beverages with paper bags. They are not durable and leak-proof.
1.2 Non-woven bags- These are the favourite choice because of their reusability factor. These are made of entangling fibres and then sticking them with adhesive. These are highly versatile and are available in different colour options. You can use them as shopping bags.
1.3 High Molecular carry bags- These are often used in a pharmacy store or are used for storing food and stationery. Their lightweight, versatility and cost-effectiveness make them a popular choice.
1.4 Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene) bags- These are waterproof bags and have high tensile strength. These are used for storing perishable products like food, confectionery, animal feed etc.
1.5 LDPE bags- You can find them in a retail store, stationery store and others. These bags have lower melting points, and you can use them for your food industry.
1.6 HDPE trash bags- These are used in the kitchen, bathrooms, and office. These are light in weight but can easily tear-off when they come in contact with sharp objects.
1.7 PE bags- These are used for storing food. These bags are made from food grade PE materials.
2. Flexible packaging type 2: Packaging Bags- As evident from the name, these are used for securing products. These are of the following types:
2.1 Courier bags- These bags are highly versatile and easy to use. Their higher strength makes them suitable for packaging and transportation of products.
2.2 Bubble wrap- The most common type of packaging is bubble wrap. These are particularly good for fragile products like crockery, ceramics, stoneware etc. You can use them as filler and you need to cover these wraps with another box.
2.3 Foam packaging- These are highly vertical packaging material, and they can be used for packaging small materials to huge products. These have a shock-absorbing facility, which makes them a useful packaging product.
3. Flexible packaging type 3: Cartons or corrugated boxes have a lot of use for an e-commerce store. All the packaging and delivery is done with these boxes. Moreover, many packers and movers also use these sheets for the packaging of products for transportation.
4. Flexible packaging type 4: Pouches- Most of the food sellers or gourmet stores are using these pouches. These are again of the following types:
4.1 Ziplock- You can use such pouches for storing condiments, knick-knacks, food and spices. These are air-tight and keep the freshness of the product intact.
4.2 Stand-up pouches- These are a good choice for storage because they can easily stand on the shelf, and their air-tight features keep the stored product fresh.
Materials used for making flexible packaging
From the above information, you can now figure out that flexible packaging comes in a wide array of options. Based on your need and the kind of packaging you are looking for, you can choose the right type of flexible packaging. Some of the commonly used materials are:
Paper
Metallic foil
Bioplastic
Cellulosic films
Polymer film
Make sure, you must choose the best quality packaging materials which are GMO free and eco-friendly. Apart from that, you must check their durability and thickness before you buy.
What Are The Benefits Of Flexible Packaging?
Flexible packaging is very popular amongst different industries. There are several benefits of flexible packaging and few of them are stated below:
1. Eco-friendly- The primary reason that has propelled the demand for flexible packaging is that it is an eco-friendly material. Compared to other packaging, flexible packaging emits fewer amounts of greenhouse gases, making it an environment-friendly option.
2. Cost-effective- another factor that adds to flexible packaging’s popularity is that it is highly cost-effective packaging. You can buy such pouches and packs in bulk and you can save your cost.
3. Convenient- Flexible packaging like a zip lock, stand up pouches, resalable seals and spouts. All this makes its storage easier and you can provide complete flexibility to your customers and dealers.
4. Light in weight- When choosing the right type of packaging for transportation, its durability and weight play an important role. As compared to conventional packaging materials, flexible packaging is lighter in weight.
As a flexible packaging solution provider, what does Huawen offer?
There are many companies offering flexible packaging products, and one such name is Huawen Flexible Packaging. The company hails from Chiba and offers a wide range of flexible packaging products. It is an ISO certified company which adds to the credibility of the company. The company’s raw materials are CFIA / US FDA certified, thus making their packaging safe to use.
Some of the company’s popular products are shrink sleeves, stand-up pouches, flat bottom pouches, pillow pouches, packaging films, wicketed bags, die-cut handle bags, adhesive seal bags.
Since all these packaging materials are certified, and the products are done under stringent quality control, it makes their products safe to use. They have different types of packaging materials and you can customize these pouches, bags and roll stocks according to your needs.
Conclusion
The packaging demand will continue to grow, and so there will be a need for more innovative products. Flexible packaging is a new entrant, and it has witnessed massive growth and innovation in the last decade. There will be many new additions to this, and companies like Huawen Flexible Packaging are going to be the cornerstone of change in it.