EUROPEAN PLASTICS NEWS
Published: June 4, 2014 11:42 am ET
Updated: June 4, 2014 11:45 am ET
PCI Films Consulting Ltd. has released a report showing the growth of the stand-up pouch in flexible packaging. The company says the packaging, which is being adopted world-wide for a variety of uses, has a current global demand of 80 billion units.
Of the 80 billion units, PCI estimates over 50 percent are in Europe and North America where unit volumes are growing by between 5 percent and 8 percent per year.
PCI states that recent studies show that a number of factors are pushing the growth of the stand-up pouch market. These include machinery improvements in terms of speed and ability to incorporate items such as zippers, improvements in barrier films, environmental benefits such as lower storage costs, consumer convenience such as being light weight and easy to open, increase of eating and drinking on the go, and attractiveness to retailers.
PCI says the U.S. market for stand-up pouches has seen dramatic growth, increasing by 50 percent over the last five years. Meanwhile the market for stand-up pouches currently accounts for around 6 percent of total European converted flexible packaging sales.
PCI says that it sees the stand-up pouch becoming a serious rival alternative to rigid formats as packagers replace aging machinery. | 
