Jun. 09, 2025
Packaging & Printing
Are you looking for something to elevate your product and its packaging to the next level? What if we told you that there is a type of packaging that elevates your brand’s presence on the shelves while also being functional for your products and sustainable for the environment? The packaging we’re referring to is custom pouches.
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With the rise in demand for packaged food, businesses are increasingly adopting flexible packaging for their products that cater to cost-effectiveness, sustainability and aesthetic appeal. Pouches are just one type of flexible packaging that’s seen an increase in popularity in recent years, and for good reason.
Pouches are versatile for many industries, such as food, beverage, medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and personal care, with MarketsandMarkets projecting stand-up pouches to dominate the pouch market from to . Stand up pouches for food and drink, in particular, have seen a spike in demand due to their inherent synergies with the products and abundant benefits to the food industry. So, in this guide, we will cover everything you need to know before beginning your pouch packaging project!
The Flexible Packaging Association states that flexible packaging is one of the fastest-growing packaging industry sectors. Additionally, according to a industry report by GlobalData, businesses that switched to stand-up pouches reported a 25% increase in shelf impact and a 30% reduction in packaging costs.
Flexible packaging and, by extension, pouches packaging add value to food and non-food products by combining the best protective qualities of plastic, film, paper, and aluminum foil while using the least amount of materials. Pouches offer:
While the benefits mentioned above can extend to both custom and premade pouches, custom-made pouches offer so much more than stock pouches. Though premade pouches are lower in cost, customization is almost non-existent, a significant disadvantage to your brand in today’s market.
On the other hand, custom stand up pouches are designed from scratch to fit your product and branding requirements. The possibilities are endless, and at PakFactory, you can customize everything from the type of pouch to the materials, coating, layers and features. By developing a unique design that’s pleasing to the eye, convenient, and functional for customers, you are creating a positive image of your brand that will help distinguish you from the competition!
So, with custom pouches in mind, the first thing you can decide is the type of pouch you want for your product. Different pouches have their own set of benefits, but the ability to choose the one that best fits your product is another plus over premade pouches.
Stand up pouch bags are ideal for storing and displaying foods or other retail products. They are one of the main go-to options for flexible packaging and are available in various sub-styles.
The block bottom bag, or flat bottom bag, is a pouch with a flat rectangular base that is sometimes gusseted on the sides, allowing it to stand upright. This pouch offers the maximum balance of stability and presence for your product as it can stand upright on the shelf, has good volume and space for heavier products and features 360 degrees of surface area for custom printing.
Block bottom bags are excellent for products such as coffee, pet food, spices, sweets, frozen foods, nutritional products, household chemicals and high-density products.
Bottom gusset bags are a type of stand-up pouch with a rounded gusset bottom that allows the bag to stand independently without support. They are stronger and hold more weight than block bottom pouches. They are also generally larger than side gusset pouches, allowing more products to be packaged. This pouch type is flexible and suitable for many products, such as snacks, candy, coffee, baking powder, custards, liquids, hygiene products, and medical products.
The three main types of bottom gusset pouches available to you include;
The side gusset is the last sub-style of stand up pouches. As the name suggests, side gusset pouches feature gusseted sides and two flat panels on the front and back, making this style less box-shaped. Side gusset bags take up less space on the shelf but can still hold a good amount of product. Still, their smaller package size makes them more cost-effective, less wasteful, and perfect for storage.
Side gusset bags are popular for snacks, dry ingredients, frozen food, coffee and tea.
A flat pouch, or lay-flat pouch, is a style of flexible pouch packaging that is the most economical out of the other options we will cover in this guide. As the name suggests, lay-flat pouches are designed to lay on the shelf but still offer stability and a large printable surface for customization.
The three main styles available for flat pouches include;
The pillow pouch packaging style is the most common type of flexible packaging. When filled, the pouch expands in the middle and flattens out at the top and bottom seals to resemble a pillow. Pillow pouches are cost-effective, use little space during storage and transport, allow for complete customization on the package’s front and back, and are ideal for single-serve products, snacks, frozen foods, and meal kits.
Pillow pouches also have other optional features, such as press-to-close zippers, hanger holes, product display windows, and tear notches.
Three-sided sealed bags are similar to their four-sided cousin but are sealed on three sides and folded on one. The fold is generally featured on the bottom of the package to allow flexibility and the product to settle at the bottom of the bag, making this pouch ideal for ground products, coffee, snacks, spices, pet food, and produce.
A three-side sealed bag offers the same optional features as the other flat pouch styles while providing more bag volume than the four-side sealed bag and maintaining cost-effectiveness, efficient storage and transportation and good package uniformity for cartoning.
As the name suggests, a four-sided sealed bag is sealed on all sides to provide the best protection against leakage while still being customizable on the front and back panels. Unlike a pillow bag, this flat pouch cannot flex and expand as much, but it is a popular choice for liquid, medical, or sample products.
Four-sided sealed bags are also cost-effective, efficient to store and transport, and offer the same optional features as pillow bags.
Roll stock is a printed and laminated film on a roll that is then used with Form, Fill, Seal (FFS) machinery to form a package, fill it with a product, and seal it. This package option allows brands to create pouches using their own equipment, allowing for high speed and output over long runs.
Roll stock is perfect for smaller items such as nutrition bars, packaged snacks, single-serve samples and stick packs.
Custom shaped pouches offer the ultimate form of customization for your flexible packaging endeavors. If none of the above styles fit your brand’s identity, consider creating a shape that best suits you! Whether you are looking for a standing or flat pouch, you can always customize the bag to suit your desire. From the shape, size and openings to other optional features, a custom shaped pouch is guaranteed to elevate your packaging further.
After deciding on the type of flexible pouch that fits your product, you need to consider the materials you want to use to create it. How pouches are made plays an equally crucial role in your packaging project as the type of pouch you choose, so it is worth considering all the options when making your decision. Some typical pouch materials used include plastic, metal foil, paper, and bioplastics.
Plastic is an excellent barrier against contaminants like oxygen, moisture, dust and UV light. It helps maintain your product’s freshness and has good material qualities like rigidity, stability, flexibility, tensile strength and transparency.
However, plastic has a low melting point and cannot withstand high temperatures. It has a shorter life cycle than containers like glass or metal and is very environmentally harmful, with challenges related to waste, disposal, and recycling.
Plastic materials for pouches are typically made of;
Metal foil provides maximum protection for your product against moisture, light, aromas, and oxygen, extending its shelf life. Foil packaging is durable, resistant to punctures and tears, and can withstand various temperatures.
However, it must be noted that foil still cannot be microwaved and is also harmful to the environment when improperly disposed of. Like plastic, it is non-biodegradable and can take hundreds of years to break down. In addition, foil is more expensive than other materials, such as paper and plastic.
Paper materials are available in natural brown or white kraft. Unlike plastic and foil, kraft stand up pouches are naturally compostable while offering excellent barrier properties that protect a product from spills, pests, UV rays, oxygen, and moisture. Kraft paper also provides a high tensile strength, making the pouch resistant to punctures.
However, though kraft paper offers moisture protection, it still has poor water resistance and strength compared to other materials.
Bioplastics are an environmental alternative to traditional plastics, offering similar protective properties while being less environmentally impactful. Made from plants or other biological materials like polylactic acid (PLA), bioplastic reduces carbon emissions by being biodegradable, breaking down naturally without releasing harmful chemicals. Bioplastics are also resealable, allowing the use of recyclable pouches to further contribute to a sustainable initiative.
However, though bioplastics seem to have all the benefits of plastic without the negatives, this is untrue. Bioplastics generally cost more—though their recyclability somewhat counteracts this—and sometimes have a shorter lifespan than traditional plastics, depending on the type of material used. Also, though bioplastics are biodegradable, they require special facilities and proper disposal to reduce pollution effectively.
We briefly mentioned the optional customization earlier in this guide, but more than a brief mention is needed to show you the breadth of what you can do with a custom pouch. Pouches feature many customizable options, such as various fitments, closures, merchandising features, layers, and shapes.
The first type of customization we will look at are the fitments and closures. These customizations contribute to the longevity of your product by determining how the pouch dispenses your product and whether it can be closed again. Popular options include;
These customization options help display your pouch on store shelves and attract potential customers with convenient additions to your packaging. Options include;
Barrier and coating layers come in direct contact with the product and protect the pouch and its contents against contaminants by providing crucial barrier properties. These customizations improve packaging integrity and structure while increasing shelf life and preventing food waste. Barrier properties for stand-up and flat barrier pouches include;
Typical coating materials to achieve the above barrier properties include aluminum foil, EVOH resin, transparent film, nylon, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), and breathable or permeable barriers.
Pouches typically have multiple layers of material structure, all of which can be customized for different functions to market, protect, and preserve a product. Layers include;
With your packaging customized to your liking, it’s time to consider one of the most crucial factors in your pouch packaging endeavor: how to fill stand-up pouches.
Not only do different treatment and packaging techniques contribute to your product’s ability to maintain taste and freshness while having an optimal shelf life, but they are also crucial to meeting safety, compliance, and quality standards established by regulatory bodies like the FDA.
Standards for product sterility, sterile zones in the manufacturing process, packaging systems, materials and more are all requirements, so carefully considering your treatment and filling methods and ensuring they meet FDA or other regulatory body standards is essential. Common filling and treatment methods include;
The most basic and generally low-cost method of filling involves using a scoop or similar tool to fill a pouch by hand. The bag is then manually sealed using impulse heat-sealing or direct heat-sealing equipment. Manual filling allows greater control over quantity and quality but may only be suitable for small-scale operations or starting businesses, as this is far from ideal at larger scales.
Aseptic packaging is the typical method used in the food and pharmaceutical industry. The product is sterilized through quick exposure to high heat in a technique known as flash pasteurization and then rapidly cooled to room temperature. The product is then filled into sterilized pouches and sealed in a sterile environment, enabling the packaged contents to last up to 18 months.
Ideal applications for aseptic filling include liquid pouch packaging for milk or high-acid products such as juices in glass, aluminum or PET containers.
The retort-filling method involves filling a package with a non-sterile product and sealing it in a non-sterile, retort-able flexible pouch with heat-resistant plastic layers that can withstand high temperatures with or without aluminum foil so the product can be thermo-processed. The retort pouches are then loaded into a retort pressure chamber and sterilized with heated pressurized steam.
Retort pouch packaging is ideal for foods with a pH level greater than or equal to 4.5, such as chicken breasts, chili, ham, and tuna.
The hot-filling process involves sterilizing a product through high heat before filling it into a non-sterile container and immediately cooling it to preserve taste and quality. Opposite to retort packaging, hot-filling is suitable for foods with a pH lower than 4.5 and is also cost-effective for various liquids, including soft drinks, non-carbonated beverages, juices, water, and teas.
The design and print are the final things to consider when planning your pouch project. Depending on the purpose, budget, and type of finish you are looking for, one technique might better suit your needs than the others.
But before we discuss the various techniques available to you, it is important to note that color matching with packages involving two or more components of different materials may be difficult regardless of your chosen printing technique. So, with this in mind, let’s look at the various other pros and cons each printing technique offers.
Flexography is the most commonly used technique for pouch printing and works very well on pouches made of kraft material. It involves rolling the pouch through a printing press and then pulling it into several printing units. Flexography is best for larger runs, as it has high setup costs but has the lowest cost per unit among the other printing options. It offers minimal coloring and lower print qualities unsuitable for photo images but excellent for simple designs and a quick turnaround time.
This printing method works well on a wide selection of materials and involves engraving the image design on multiple color plates and transferring it onto the pouch. Like flexography, rotogravure is best for larger runs with a high setup cost and a lower cost per unit. However, unlike flexography, rotogravure offers crisper colors and exceptional image quality.
The digital printing method involves printing digital-based images directly onto the pouch. This technique is best for smaller runs and dynamic content like special promotions and serialization as it has no setup costs but a higher price per unit. Digital printing offers the fastest turn-around time while having a high print quality and can be used on most materials.
Although this guide contains many factors to consider and may be overwhelming, they are all equally essential to a successful custom pouch project. However, you do not have to work alone. Whether you are looking for more help, are ready to find a pouch packaging manufacturer or partner, or want to jump right in and order custom pouches, PakFactory is the choice for you.
For an ecommerce business, the direct touch point that your brand has with your customer is when they receive the package and they unbox it.
Through custom packaging, you can build an everlasting connection with your customer by ensuring that they have an unforgettable unboxing experience.
One way for businesses to stand out is to invest in custom packaging, from eco-friendly options to highly branded and personalized experiences.
Below we share the top tips and best practices for brands considering utilizing custom packaging.
Custom packaging is an alternative to standard packaging used by ecommerce businesses looking to make a great first impression. It can be seen as an extension of a brand by elevating the unboxing experience with custom dimensions, colors, labels, and messaging.
Many times, custom packaging can also reflects a brand’s values, such as an environmentally-conscious business opting in for eco-friendly packaging materials.
Depending on the product, sometimes custom packaging is an essential to protect items during the shipping phase, if standard options fail to keep products safe from damages.
In such a dynamic and competitive market, there is one rather underestimated aspect that is now beginning to gain importance: having a custom packaging solution.
High-quality custom packaging boxes are more than just a container for your product. It plays a variety of other roles.
Here are notable reasons for your ecommerce business to begin using custom boxes and packaging today.
A crowded marketplace filled with a barrage of product messaging is confusing, but a unique first impression can make a brand stand out among the noise.
People are visual by nature, so we store information as we see it. That’s why attractive brand packaging not only attracts attention but it also retains it.
“In my business, packaging is a huge deal. Sometimes I feel like, packaging sells better than actual results do. Having been in business for a year and a half, it was time that I got more responsible with how my brand is aesthetically presented.”
Jalen, GOODESKIN
It’s also true that out of the many retailers offering similar kinds of products, people will remember those deliveries that were packaged in a more aesthetically pleasing way than the others.
Unique packaging designs make your shipments more memorable, which can help keep your brand top-of-mind for future purchase decisions.
After a positive unboxing experience, your customers are more likely to return for a repeat purchase.
Custom packaging allows a business to create a solution that will be personalized and tailored to meet the specific needs and demands of their product and will be in line with their brand values.
Custom packaging enables you to protect your products when your package gets shipped. Arka provides custom inserts which add a layer of protection for your product.
Custom inserts or packaging inserts are inlays that ensure your products are secure in their box. You may use the best and durable boxes or cartons to pack your products for shipping.
You will get efficient and thoughtful service from Yifu Packaging.
Suggested reading:Custom inserts or packaging inserts are inlays that ensure your products are secure in their box. You may use the best and durable boxes or cartons to pack your products for shipping.
You can safely add custom packaging to your branding and marketing plans, keeping an eye on the latest logo design trends. Full-color or eye-catching packaging with your brand name and logo stands out more than retail packaging and helps create high brand recall. Use this opportunity to build your brand further.
Capture your brand’s personality. If your brand is all about delicacy, customize your packaging to reflect that image in custom labels, custom tape, subtle colors, stickers, and box designs.
Likewise, if your brand image is rugged, utilize corrugated boxes with primary colors and bold designs to make a lasting statement.
Don’t have any design chops? Recruit some design contractors to draw your logos and designs for you. Twine, Fiverr and Upwork are great resources for this and you can find the right fit according to your design budget. To make sure your design files are ready for printing, they should be 300DPI and above as well as vector files.
Premium packaging and shipping improves overall brand perception. When it comes to shoppers, 61% of them said premium packaging makes a brand seem more upscale.
That makes sense considering 49% of shoppers say that when they receive nice packaging, they are more excited about the brand.
Custom packaging can be a great way to spread the word about your products on social media. Instagram is filled with creative packaging photos.
Create hashtags for your brand (and have them printed on your boxes), then share pictures of excited customers posing with your beautiful packaging.
Consider adding custom packaging to your branding and marketing plans. Colorful or eye-catching packaging with your brand name and logo creates high brand recall.
When it comes to brand loyalty, 44% of shoppers said that when a product comes in premium packaging, it reinforces their confidence in the amount spent.
That’s a win because that involves less buyer’s remorse means that these customers are more likely to purchase from you again and recommend your brand to others.
According to McKinsey, one out of four consumers say they are planning to focus more on environmental issues and will pay more attention to social aspects in their shopping behavior.
83% of consumers now prefer positive activism, showing support for companies by buying from them, rather than avoiding those whose practices they disagree with.
This means that consumers will continue to shop online and make purchases that are more environmentally-friendly.
Eco-friendly packaging is becoming a best practice for many fast-growing online businesses. It refers to only using designs and packing materials that minimize the impact on the environment.
You can build an eco-friendly product packaging strategy that aligns with your brand’s values by opting into only using recyclable and biodegradable packaging options that you can customize as well.
There are several options for custom packaging for ecommerce businesses to choose from.
Below, we go over the top 10 most common types.
Corrugated boxes are the most common kind of shipping boxes. They are also known as “RSC boxes” meaning regular slotted container boxes. They’re a strong 32ECT kraft corrugated with a rugged look and feel.
Corrugated boxes have the following features:
As the name suggests, paperboard boxes are made from a sheet of paper which is strong but also lightweight. The sheets are either made from recycled waste paper or the fibrous material in wood.
These sheets can easily be folded into boxes and cut into various designs and shapes to suit your product’s dimensions.
Rigid boxes offer a premium solution for luxury products. These high end boxes are sturdy and offer excellent protection to the product.
These boxes provide a unique unboxing experience to your customers, increasing your brand values and creating brand awareness.
Depending on the box you choose and the products you need to package, you can also use custom designed inserts to hold your products in place inside your box.
Custom inserts add an extra touch of elegance to your unboxing experience while ensuring that your products are safely secured within the box at the same time.
Custom poly mailers are a great eco-friendly packaging option. It is made of a plastic substance called polyethylene. Bio-based polyethylene helps reduce the number of carbon emissions and also protects the environment.
It is the perfect choice for lightweight items. It is strong enough to withstand any tearing or tempering and is also waterproof.
Paper mailers are a great option for businesses that want a light-weight eco-friendly solution for their products.
Paper mailers give a luxurious feel with sharp digitally printed colors, you can customize them in line with your brand’s aesthetics. They are a great option for the apparel industry.
Paper mailers are ideal for shipping small or multiple products and provide a great unboxing experience.
Poly bags or poly mailers are a great eco-friendly and lightweight solution for soft items or apparel.
The smooth exterior of poly mailer bags make it easy and hassle free to label your shipments. They are tear, tamper and waterproof and also ensure the safety of your non-fragile products.
You can customize the poly mailer bags with the design and logo of your choice.
Foil sealed bags are a great packaging choice for food items. Arka offers a variety of eco-friendly options for foiled sealed bags:
Bottle and cap packaging is ideal to package liquids. Glass bottles are a great eco-friendly solution for packaging liquids.
There is a wide variety of options for packing caps including:
Jute packaging is a great eco-friendly option for dry foods and grains including wheat, rice, coffee beans, potatoes and onions, etc.
It is also one of the oldest and traditional forms of packaging. A jute package is durable, has natural ventilation, and prevents damage to packaged products.
Dunnage packaging is ideal for products that require extra padding and protection during the shipping process. There is a wide range of dunnage products, from bubble wraps to honeycomb kraft paper.
Dunnage packaging provides extra cushioning for products and prevents them from bending or breaking.
Arka’s recycled kraft padded mailers are made from:
The recycled paperboard provides a rigid structure that is both durable and waterproof, while the honeycomb paper interior provides a layer of cushioning. Investing in recycled kraft padded dunnage package is a great option because it is:
Another eco-friendly option for dunnage packaging is compostable bubble mailers.
Arka’s home compostable padded mailer is made from renewable bioplastic film. The mailers break down into healthy compost leaving no microplastics and conform to all most major compost certifications
As mentioned earlier, the most popular ecommerce packaging types are mailers and shippers. These are available as plain boxes — sometimes called white-label — as well as custom printed boxes. Here’s how you can customize your packaging inside and out.
A popular and economical trend in the packaging business is digital printing. It’s fast, high-quality, usually hassle-free, and applicable to orders of anywhere from 10 boxes to 500.
This is Arka’s bread and butter. You can take your packaging to the next level with just some simple designs, quickly printed within two to three weeks.
Filler, tissue paper, insert cards, and inserts are a great way to surprise and delight your customers. It makes receiving a box order from your brand feel like receiving a gift.
You can use printed inserts as a promotional opportunity as well — include discount codes, thank you notes, special offers, and more.
Additionally, offering branded, personal gift notes to your shoppers will make the unboxing experience even more memorable (you can even let your customers add a custom gift note at checkout if they are sending a present to someone special).
While custom packaging can be a great investment for small businesses, it can also be unnecessarily expensive if you’re trying to cut costs.
If you’re not ready yet for custom packaging, unbranded boxes and mailers can still be a great option, with or without branded inserts.
That said, if you’re ready to take the next step into branded packaging, prices can range from $0.10 – $10.00 per box.
A lot of factors go into the cost of custom packaging, including size, materials, quantity, ink coverage, and tooling. And as the quantity goes up, the price goes down.
It is easy to get caught up in the aesthetics of custom packaging, but it’s important to look beyond what’s visually appealing and think about your audience, the size and shape of your product, and other factors.
Before designing customized packaging for your business, here are three questions to consider first.
Do you customers prefer luxury packaging or quirky homemade details?
Companies like Man Crates literally ship products in a crate that needs a crowbar to open. Focusing on your customers will help you pick color schemes and imagery that best market to your audience.
There are some funkily shaped products out there, but you want to make sure they’re packaged nice and snug.
Figuring out the right combination of size, shape, and security of boxes can take some trial and error, but don’t be afraid to choosecreative packagingoptions if you want a custom size or a unique box style.
Of course, nontraditional packaging may not always be safe for your products, especially if they’re fragile, so be sure to balance form and function.
The type of packaging you choose can make a difference in whether or not your product arrives broken to your customers’ doorsteps as shipping fragile items can lead to damages.
You’ll want to keep your products snug, perhaps with some additional cushioning such as airfill and other dunnage.
The two most popular types of packaging are shippers and mailers. Mailer boxes are ideal for keeping skincare, jewelry, and other smaller items safe.Bigger items such as appliances and kitchenware should be neatly wrapped in bigger shipping boxes.
When it comes to additional padding, crinkle paper, airfill, or bubble wrap can be economical options. If you have the budget, custom-fitted inserts are a great way to keep your products in place and safe.
The last thing your customer needs is to receive a pair of earrings in a large shipper box, layered in a million sheets of bubble wrap.
That’s a waste of material and can increase shipping and logistics costs, so make sure you’re using the right packaging for each product.
ShipBob partner Arka is a one-stop custom packaging shop for ecommerce packaging at highly competitive prices. Merchants can use an advanced design tool to mockup product packaging in minutes.
Our team of experts and designers will assist you through the entire design proof and production process. Plus, we accept minimum order quantities as small as 10 boxes.
Whether you need 10 boxes or 5,000, Arka is ready to help. Contact us today for competitive custom packaging deals for your ecommerce business.
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