Coffee is one of the most favorite drinks around the world. For most people, a cup of fresh coffee is crucial to kick-start their day. A survey revealed that cafes sell around two billion cups of coffee daily globally.
Moreover, according to BCA, people drink 98 million cups of coffee in the UK daily. Wow! What a significant number of coffee lovers worldwide?
But with such high demand, the concern for coffee brands has increased. They are trying and testing innovative packaging designs. The right packaging plays a vital role in preserving its flavor and freshness.
In a pool of flexible designs, two styles are leading the food packaging industry. One is a flat bottom pouch, and the second is a stand up pouch. Both these pouches provide many features that are hard to ignore.
Hence, specialty roasters find it challenging to select the perfect coffee package. Are you one of these brands? Do you want to know what is best for your coffee, a stand up pouch or a flat bottom pouch?
If so, we are here to get you out of this difficulty. Let’s start a battle, i.e., stand up pouches vs. flat bottom pouches for coffee. And see who will be the perfect packaging style for your roasted coffee.
Importance of the right coffee packaging format
Suppose you are a customer who walks into a store, and there are two packages of coffee on the store shelf. The one with a unique style and logo grabs your attention. And the other looks ordinary in shape, plain, and dull. Without tasting either, you may have already decided to buy the unique one since it seems like a quality product.
That’s how powerful the right packaging is! There’s no doubt that the taste and aroma of the coffee beans will be the primary selecting factor. But, before getting to that point, the packaging will be the first thing that grabs your attention.
The same goes for your customers. It can influence a person’s buying decision without knowing what’s inside. That’s why businesses need to get their food packaging right.
Apart from building trust, attractive packages reflect brand identity. Businesses that choose the right packaging format for their coffee attract more customers.
Nowadays, flexible packaging has become very popular. It helps preserve freshness, reduce spoilage, and keep flavor. Flexible pouches are also ideal for pet food packaging.
Additionally, they provide ample space for customization. It enables brands to personalize their design according to their target audience. These are stand-up packs, gusseted bags, side-gusseted bags, flat-bottom packs, and even kraft paper bags.
But stand up pouch, and flat bottom pouches are gaining much popularity. They are efficient in shipping, storage, and shelf display. Both offer their benefits and drawbacks.
Hence, it can be hard to decide on the best coffee pouches. Let’s look at each type of packaging to help you determine the perfect one by all means.
Flat bottom pouches
Flat bottom or block bottom bag has a five-corner seal with a rectangular bottom gusset. The flat bottom pouch has gussets on both sides. It allows for extra strength and space to hold larger product quantities.
Additionally, due to its rectangular base, it stands upright after filling. You can stack flat bottom pouch on store shelves. It allows retailers to display their products in an organized manner. And when retailers find your packages easier to stack, they order more!
Stand up pouches
Stand up pouch is a W-shaped packaging that stands upright due to the gusset on the bottom. The gusset allows the bag to expand on either side of the seal line. It creates an opening at the top of the bag, forming a spout.
It makes it easy to fill the bag with the product and close it afterward. Stand up pouch is also called doy pack. It’s ideal for selling dry products such as coffee beans and grounds, tea bags, snacks, and candy.
Doy pack protects against light, moisture, oxygen, and flavor transfer. Additionally, they come in all sorts of sizes. It makes a stand up pouch great for small stock and large bulk items.
Flat bottom pouches vs. stand up pouches for coffee
Similarities
Both offer customization: Regarding personalization, you can never go wrong with a stand up pouch and flat bottom pouch. You can add your logo or design to the front and back panels with both packaging styles. This feature will help makes your product stand on shelves.
Both offer barrier properties: Barrier protection is essential for any food product, including pet food packaging. And for coffee, it is even more critical due to its sensitive nature. Both flat bottom pouch and stand up pouch materials provide effective barrier properties.
These packages protect the coffee against air, water vapor, and odor. In addition, you can also opt for laminated material that is more resistant to punctures and tears.
Both offer add-on features: Both flat bottom pouch and stand up pouch can have extra features. It includes resealable zippers, tear notch, spout, hang hole, tin tie, etc. It allows customers to easily access the contents inside without making a mess.
Both are safe to transport and store: These packages are lightweight, space efficient, and easy to store or transport. You can stack them on top of one another without worrying about crushing them. They are flexible enough to take on different shapes without compromising their contents.
Both are cost-effective: Compared to regular tins and cans, both stand up pouches and flat bottom pouch need less material. It means you can save money on the production costs associated with them. Moreover, because of their lightweight design, these packaging solutions are cheaper to transport.
Both are sustainable: Block bottom bag or stand up pouches are 100% recyclable and biodegradable. It makes sustainable flat standup pouch the ideal option to cut environmental footprint.
Differences
Flat bottom pouch offer more significant branding opportunities: Due to the five sides, block bottom bags provide greater surface area for branding. Stand-up pouches have just two sides available for printing in comparison. With a flat pouch, you can use all sides and its base.
This extra space allows you to get creative when designing your packaging. It provides a larger canvas than a stand up pouch to showcase your brand. Hence, your customers will attract more toward your product when they see it on store shelves.
The flat pouch offers easy and quick filling: Block bottom pouches are much easier to fill than stand-up pouches. Since they have a wide opening, it’s easy to add a large scoop of coffee powder, close it up, and move on to the next step. Additionally, it’s also fewer chances of spillage during the filling process.
It makes the packaging process more efficient. But, stand up pouches are narrow at the top. Hence, pouring the correct amount of coffee in may take time without spilling any.
The flat bottom remains upright even when empty: One benefit of flat-bottom pouches is that they can remain standing even when empty. It is ideal if you sell small volumes of coffee.
In contrast, stand up bags can’t stay upright when half-filled or empty. Hence, you can’t use them as sample coffee pouches.
Flat bottom can hold a large volume of coffee: Another advantage of flat bottom pouches is that they can also have a much larger volume of coffee. These bags are rectangular rather than cylindrical or cone-shaped, like the stand-up pouch.
It allows a flat pouch to hold more products in the same size packaging. This feature makes them perfect for those looking to package bulk coffee.
Stand up pouch is much more cost effective than block bottom bag: Besides the fact that both pouches need less material in production, stand up bags are much cost effective than flat bottom bags. Manufacturers say that stand up pouch carries 15 % less material and other resources.
Moreover, they are much lighter than block boxes. Hence, you can save on transportation and shipping, too.
The verdict
So, what is best for your coffee, a stand up pouch or a block bottom bag? The above debate shows that block bottom bags have won the battle.
Hence, if you want more personalization, trade on a significant level, and a big investment doesn’t bother you, flat bottom pouches will be your best bet. But, if you are starting in the coffee business and want regular branding on a limited budget, go with stand up pouches.
The ultimate decision is yours. Both styles offer greater protection. Hence, you can be confident that your coffee will remain flavorful in these pouches.
