Packing
a punch
Rohit
Chawla delves deep into the business of pouch packaging and outlines
the criterion vital to ascertain the true mettle of this popular packaging
material
One
of the most versatile and widely accepted forms of packaging today is
the pouch or the sachet. The introduction of pouch packaging has indeed
revolutionised the consumer market, especially the food and beverage
industry. For years on end Tang (the imported, instant orange drink
in powder form) ruled the taste buds in India. However the costing of
the package (plastic or glass jar) was out of the reach of the masses.
Recently Rasna (Pioma Industries) and Coca-Cola came out with their
products like Rasna Rozana and Utsav and Sunfil in pouch packaging and
introduced a radically economical way for people to enjoy fruit flavoured
drinks. Coca-Cola’s Sunfil went a step ahead and even introduced single
serving packs for people on the go. This would have not been possible
without the popularisation of pouch packaging in India over the last
few years.
What
is a pouch? Pouch packaging is a primary form of packaging as it comes
in direct contact with the product. A pouch plays a very important role
as a sample and a trial pack, regular use pack and even bulk and refill
pack. It comes in sizes as small as 5 ml or 5 g to as large as 5 litres
or 5 kg. Pouches are designed to be cost effective, space savers and
generally create a lesser wastage of packaging material. They are of
a very wide variety but can be broadly defined as a bag of non-porous
material made from a single or multiple sheets of a packaging substrate.
The packaging substrate can be paper, plastic, foil or a combination
of these. Multiple sheets of packaging substrates are bonded together
with a combination of adhesive, heat and pressure and are called laminates.
The inner most layer of a pouch is made of low density polyethylene
(LDPE), which is a quick- melting material and acts as a very good sealing
media.
Varieties
of pouches
Over
the years hundreds of pouches have been invented and are in use across
the world. Some of the generic varieties are pillow packs, three side
sealed pouch, four side sealed pouch, stand-up pouch and retort packs.
Pillow
packs:
These are the most common forms of pouches used in the market. These
pouches are named so because of their look, which resembles a pillow.
They have a top seal, a bottom seal and a centre seal running longitudinally
from the top to the bottom. Examples could be packs used for tea, milk,
oil and water. When fried products like wafers and chips are to be packed,
the pack is filled with inert gasses like carbon dioxide or nitrogen.
This is done to prevent the product from reacting with air and to avoid
oxidation of the oil component. Another benefit of such a gas-flushed
pack is that the gas present inside gives a cushioning effect to the
contents, which are very delicate. The downside of this kind of packaging
is that it wastes a lot of space in transit or storage.
Three
side sealed pouches:
These pouches have a top seal, a bottom seal and a side seal running
along one side of the pouch. They are very common for low volume packing.
Four
side sealed pouches:
These pouches are pre-formed and sealed from three sides. The machine
automatically fills in the product and seals the fourth side to form
the package.
Stand-up
pouches:
Though the other pouches are faster, easier and cheaper to produce,
they lack a shelf appeal. To overcome this drawback, a new kind of pack
was designed which had a flat base and could stand by itself on a shelf
or rack of a merchandise shop. The package not only acts as a container
to the product but also a presentation tool. These packages are very
attractive compared to others.
Retort
packs:
A retort pack is made from special laminates that can withstand high
temperatures. This kind of packaging is used for the food industry where
preservation is...
...CONTD
TO
READ FURTHER... SUBSCRIBE TO YOUR
COPY TODAY!!!
