What is The Best Packaging for Snacks?

Just what is the best packaging for snacks? Having worked in this industry for over a decade, we know more than anyone that navigating through the vast array of packaging options available to snack food companies in today's marketplace can indeed appear a formidable challenge. The diversity of choices is extraordinary, encompassing a broad spectrum […]

Just what is the best packaging for snacks?

Having worked in this industry for over a decade, we know more than anyone that navigating through the vast array of packaging options available to snack food companies in today's marketplace can indeed appear a formidable challenge.

The diversity of choices is extraordinary, encompassing a broad spectrum of materials and formats that extend beyond just the containment function of packaging.

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE?

From shrink bags to cardboard boxes, paperboard tubes to flexible pouches, the selection not only serves the practical need for product protection and preservation, but it also plays a crucial role in brand differentiation, sustainability objectives, and consumer engagement.


What is The Best Packaging for Snacks And Why Do You Need Custom Snack Packaging?

Well-designed packaging goes a long way in increasing sales. Let us see some of the benefits of creating and packaging your snacks.

1. Protection from contamination

With the right packaging, your snacks will be safe from contaminants such as odor, moisture, light, oxygen, and heat. Ensuring that your packaging material has high barrier qualities ensures that the snacks don’t go bad prematurely, thus reducing food wastage.

Packaging your snacks in resealable pouches helps your customer to store the leftovers for later. It keeps the remaining contents well preserved.  

2. Making it Easy to Recognize Your Brand

Talking about what is the best packaging for snacks is not complete without this point. Brand recognition is when your customers can recognize products affiliated with your brand without reading their names.

Using the same design across all your products is a simple way of building and preserving brand recognition. Some of the features you can duplicate on different product packaging may be fonts, colors, images, and packaging style.

Our packaging choices, including custom snack pouches for granola, jerky, popcorn, candy, cookies, dried fruit, and nuts, have special qualities to accommodate your unique packaging wants and needs.

Once you have established brand recognition, take time before making major adjustments to your packaging since it draws customers and helps them remember your products. Any significant change may cause a flop in brand recognition.

3. Relaying Information

Packaging is the billboard that offers important product information to customers while also serving other marketing and practical needs. Because it embodies the character and values of your firm, your packaging communicates a lot about it.

For example, mentioning that you use the minimum possible resources during manufacture or printing the “recycle” symbol on your snack packaging shows consumers that your brand cares for the environment.

Also, if your product is packaged in a way that makes it seem upmarket, customers will perceive it as being of more value and want it more than other similar snacks on the shelves. This means that you can sell it at a higher price than your competitors and still make good sales.

4. Setting Your Brand Apart

Other than establishing brand recognition, well-designed packaging also helps set your brand and products apart. It makes it easier for customers to tell you apart from your rivals. This is not to be confused with #2!

This is about being distinct and really thinking about features (colors, packaging add-ons, the whole experience) to set yourself as different. Potato chips are all the same chips without any packaging.

For instance, Lay's distinctive yellow packaging with its red logo is easily identifiable. This recognizable packaging distinguishes Lay's products from those made by other snack manufacturers and serves to effectively identify the company's brand.


Essential Things to Take Into Account When Choosing the Right Packaging for Snacks

1. Ease of Transportation

When designing packaging for your snacks, it is always important to consider the materials and sealing that will withstand the rough process. Also, the more stackable your packaging is the more products you can ship, and the lower the transportation cost.

2. Brand Appropriate Material and Packaging Design

All aspects of packaging are a chance for you to strengthen your brand, elicit the right emotional response, and tell your clients who you are as a business. Particularly for snacks, appealing packaging is important.

Also, make it easy to handle and store. If the process is overly complicated, store owners are less likely to store your merchandise. Additionally, make it easy for customers to unpack. Provide a delightful and exciting experience.

3. Sustainability

The adverse effect waste has on the environment is a serious concern for everyone including consumers. Therefore, people are quick to buy from a brand that shows its concern for environmental conservation.

If your packaging is made of recyclable material, it is worth mentioning.

  1. Right Packaging Size

You need enough space to display important information, but you must also consider the size or amount of the contents being packaged.

Packaging that is too big for their content is a turn-off for customers. You must right-size your snack packaging.

While we are aware that you want to tell every important detail about your product and brand, trust us, not everything may interest them.

 Be brief and precise, with only important information such as brand name, product name, logo, expiry date, and nutritional information. 

  1. Product Safety and Protection

Food products may be at risk of becoming poisoned or degraded if exposed to dampness, sunlight, oxygen, or other natural external factors. As a manufacturer, it is your responsibility to ensure that your snacks adhere to the FDA standards.


Why Flexible Packaging is the Best for Snack Packaging

Owing to their busy daily schedules, many people don’t get enough time to sit and have a proper meal.

As such, snack consumption has risen, leading to considerable growth in the industry over the past few years.

Flexible packaging stands as the optimal choice for snack products due to its unparalleled advantages.

  • It provides superior protection, ensuring the freshness and quality of snacks by resisting environmental factors like moisture, light, and air.
  • Additionally, its lightweight and easy-to-handle nature offers unmatched convenience for consumers, making it the ideal packaging solution in the snack industry.

Types of Flexible Packaging Available for Snack Packaging

Featuring strong and secure seals, flexible packaging bags and pouches are designed to keep your snacks crisp, fresh, and flavorful for a prolonged period.

Most snack brands use flexible packaging and we expect more to follow suit!

Based on our experience with our own production, the snack food market commonly uses the following flexible pouches:


Lay Flat Pouches (2-Side Seal Pouches)

Pillow pouches, as they are commonly known, lay flat on the shelf. Many of our snack business customers use pillow pouches as displayed inside branded boxes on gondola ends as well. 

What is the best packaging for snacks? Try snack pillow pouches.

We can produce these with any kind of hang hole to enable store owners to display your snacks more easily so they are more accessible to customers.


Flat Pouches (3-Side Seal Pouches)

Also known as 3-side seal pouches, these are compact and economical packaging options ideal for smaller, single-serve snacks. 

Their flat design makes them incredibly space-efficient, allowing for easy storage and transport. 

Plus, they offer the full front and back surface area for branding and labeling, ensuring that your product stands out on the shelves.


Stand Up Pouches (Doypacks)

Stand-up pouches (SUPs) have a bottom “gusset,” which is extra material that enables it to expand when filled.

This feature gives the pouch a stable base for it to stand upright on its own, which is particularly useful for display purposes on store shelves.

Gussets not only enable stand-up pouches to have a larger capacity without increasing their footprint but also add to the package’s overall strength and durability.

As such, they are an integral part of many flexible custom snack packaging designs.


Rollstock (Roll Film)

Snack packaging roll film is a flexible material used in automated Form-Fill-Seal (FFS) machines for efficient food packaging, where it automates the forming, filling, and sealing of packages.

We print these for our snack business customers who feed the snack packaging roll film into their machines, which shapes it into packages, fills them, and then seals them.

What is the best packaging for snacks - most vending machine snacks use roll film packaging
Most vending machines have snacks that use roll film to package snacks

The roll film you use can be made from a variety of materials. We typically build these as layered structures to enhance properties like barrier capabilities, sealability, and printability.


Benefits of Packaging Snacks in Flexible Pouches

  • Convenience

Imagine you are at work on a busy day and you want to take a bite and carry on with your errands.

A snack in a glass jar won’t be so convenient, right?

This is where flexible packaging comes in handy. The light weight of flexible pouches makes it easy for on-the-go consumption.

Being easy to open (and reseal) makes it easy to eat the snack. 

  • Shelf appeal

Considering how many other brands are in the market, designing strategic packaging that is appealing is crucial.

Consider how the package will appear on the shelves, both online and in physical stores. 

Ensure clear messaging, quality graphics, and carefully-picked colors.

  • Smart packaging

The smartphone age has made things quite easy for businesses. With QR codes, you can seize the chance and interact with consumers.

The serialized codes can lead the customer to a promotion; download a coupon, sign up for a newsletter, etc. Pouch Me’s professional team will walk the stretch with you.

  • Reduced food wastage

Flexible packaging is made with various films that act as a barrier for added protection against sunlight, odors, heat, and oxygen.

This prevents premature spoilage, which means reduced food waste.

Also, the resalable features keep snacks from going stale between uses.


What is The Best Packaging for Snacks: Stand Up Pouches?

Flexible packaging has become commonplace in different industries.

Unlike the typical rigid packaging, flexible packaging pouches come with many advantages, both for manufacturers and their customers.

Of the many flexible packaging bags available, the stand-up pouch is the most commonly used. Let’s see why.

  1. Usability

Stand-up pouches allow manufacturers to add some features that make things easier for consumers.

For example, some manufacturers design pouches that allow consumers to hang their snacks on hooks in their cabinets.

Reclosable zippers make it easy to store any snacks that remain after the first serving, while tear notches also enable customers to easily access snacks when and where they want.   

  1. Product protection

When we’re packaging more fragile snacks, like fries, for example, we can fill the stand-up pouch with nitrogen for added protection.

This is impossible with other packaging types, such as plastic jars and cardboard boxes.

  1. Affordability

Compared to boxes, stand-up pouches cost less to produce, store, and ship.

This and other advantages make flexible stand-up bags a better option compared to other packaging types. 


Conclusion: What is The Best Packaging for Snacks?

It might be the most common, but flexible packaging is not the only form of packaging for snacks.

However, of many of the options, flexible packaging has more advantages.

Remember: The type of snack is what determines the type of packaging you will choose.

When it comes to flexible packaging, count on us. Our comprehensive services will not disappoint.

If you are unsure of which way to go in packaging your snacks, look at more options and information, e-mail, or call us and we’ll be happy to address all your concerns so you are confident and sure.


What is The Best Packaging for Snacks FAQs

+ What is the most popular type of snack packaging?

Flexible packaging is a popular choice among snack manufacturers.

The flexible packaging market category, according to Market Research Future, accounted for the greatest market share of the worldwide snack food packaging market in 2018 and is predicted to expand at the highest CAGR over the next seven years.

+ What is the most sustainable type of snack packaging?

The accumulation of plastics in landfills is a worldwide concern, and snack packaging is fast shifting to biodegradable flexible plastics. Other brands are encouraging reusing and recycling packaging.

Modern plastic is being manufactured from renewable materials such as cotton and corn instead of traditional petroleum and gas.

+ What is the best type of packaging to preserve the freshness of food?

High quality packaging that maintains food freshness is well-sealed, multilayered, and has barriers.

This preserves the smell, taste, look, and nutritional value of the food product. Flexible packaging is made of materials that meet these standards, and working with a renowned packaging manufacturer will ensure proper sealing and protection of the food product. 

+ How do I package my snacks?

Use suitable materials, consider portion sizes, ensure airtight packaging, think about storage, and design attractively.

  • Choose the Right Material: Depending on the type of snack, different packaging materials may be more suitable. For instance, plastic pouch bags are commonly used for snacks as they can be filled with nitrogen to protect fragile items. Cardboard boxes, jars, and cans are also popular choices.
  • Consider Portion Sizes: If you're packaging single-serve snacks, consider using smaller, individual packaging. This can help maintain freshness and make the snacks more convenient for consumers to eat on the go.
  • Make It Airtight: To maintain the freshness of your snacks, it's important to use airtight packaging. This can help prevent the snacks from going stale and extend their shelf life.
  • Think About Storage: Consider how your snacks will be stored. If they'll be on a shelf, you might want to choose packaging that's stackable to save space. If they'll be in a fridge or freezer, make sure the packaging is suitable for those conditions.
  • Don't Forget About Design: The design of your snack packaging is also important. It should be attractive and eye-catching to draw in consumers. Additionally, it should clearly display important information like the snack's name, ingredients, and nutritional information.

+ How do you package homemade treats?

  • Use festive candy-like wrapping, like cellophane, for small treats.
  • Mason jars are perfect for delicate treats like crumbly cookies, and eco-friendly egg cartons are great for smaller treats like truffles.
  • Use coasters as decorative little plates, similar to using individual serving dishes that will be more hardy and fit more treats.
  • Custom printed pouches are the best option for looking most professional, and aren’t that expensive when you order more units.

Packaging homemade treats can be a fun and creative process. Let’s get more into it below:

  1. Use Flexible Barrier Pouches: Flexible barrier pouches are a versatile and practical packaging option. They are made from materials that provide excellent barrier properties to keep your homemade treats fresh for longer. These pouches are lightweight, easy to seal, and can be customized to fit a variety of treat sizes. They're perfect for cookies, granola, or any other treat that may need a little extra protection from moisture or air.
  2. Use Mason Jars: Mason jars are a great option for packaging homemade treats. They're sturdy, reusable, and give your treats a charming, homemade look.
  3. Try Individual Serving Dishes: If you're giving your treats as a gift, consider packaging them in individual serving dishes. This can make the gift feel more personal and special.
  4. Wrap Like Candy: For smaller treats, consider wrapping them like candy. You can use colorful wrapping paper or cellophane and tie the ends with a ribbon.
  5. Use Egg Cartons: If you're packaging smaller treats like truffles or mini muffins, egg cartons can be a unique and eco-friendly packaging option.
  6. Stack on Coasters: Coasters can make perfect decorative little plates for your treats. This can be a fun and creative way to present your homemade goodies.

+ What type of packaging is best for food?

The best type of packaging for food depends on the specific type of food, its shelf life, and how it will be stored and transported. Flexible high barrier pouches, cans, glass containers, plastic containers, or paper boxes are types of packaging best for food.

Let’s learn more about each type below:

  • Cans: Cans are steel or thin metal containers coated with tin to prevent corrosion. They're best at preserving food and protecting it from light since the container is opaque.
  • Glass Jars and Containers: Glass is a popular choice for food packaging because it's non-reactive and doesn't leach any substances into the food. It's also reusable and recyclable.
  • Plastic: Plastic is commonly used for food packaging because it's lightweight, durable, and versatile. It can be molded into a variety of shapes and sizes, and it can be transparent or opaque.
  • Paperboard Boxes: Paperboard boxes are often used for dry foods like cereal and pasta. They're lightweight and can be printed with colorful designs and information about the food.
  • Flexible Packaging: This includes things like plastic bags and wrap, which are often used for snacks, fresh produce, and baked goods. Flexible packaging is lightweight and can be sealed to maintain freshness.

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