Flexible packaging is any package built from film, foil or paper that bends, folds and takes its shape from the product inside it rather than from a mold. A stand up pouch, a stick pack, a sachet, a flow wrapped protein bar and a roll of printed film all belong to the same family. There is no rigid wall anywhere in it, and the package is finished by a seal rather than by a cap or a lid.
It is the fastest growing packaging segment at K. Sidrane, and in 2023 we opened a facility in Farmingdale, New York dedicated to producing it. This is a complete guide to flexible packaging: the formats that fall under flexible packaging, the films and barriers that hold a product’s shelf life, the closures and finishes available on a pouch, how the film is printed, the form fill and seal equipment it has to run on, and the industries buying it. All of it reflects what we actually print and convert, so you can read it as a spec sheet rather than a category overview.
What Is Flexible Packaging?
A pouch is a film structure before it is a printed surface. The structure decides shelf life, the print decides the sale, and the two are specified separately. That single idea is the difference between flexible packaging and everything else in the packaging aisle, and it is the order we work in when a project comes to us. A rigid container is specified by wall thickness, neck finish and closure diameter. A flexible package is specified by what the film is made of, how many layers it carries, where the seals fall and what features get built into the web before it ever reaches a filling line.
The category covers preformed packages, which arrive at your facility already converted into a pouch and ready to fill, and printed roll stock, which arrives as a flat printed roll and becomes a package on your own equipment. Both are flexible packaging. They differ only in where the forming happens. Getting that distinction right early is what keeps a project from being quoted twice, which is why our quote form asks what you are filling on before it asks anything about artwork.
Flexible Packaging vs. Rigid Packaging
How the two categories differ once you get past appearance.
| Consideration | Flexible packaging | Rigid packaging |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Comes from the fill and the seal. Empty packages ship and store flat. | Fixed by the mold. Empty containers ship and store as air. |
| Print surface | Front panel, back panel and gusset are one continuous printed web with no label edge to work around. | Decorated with an applied label, a sleeve or direct print onto a curved wall. |
| Barrier | Built into the film structure and chosen against the product’s specific vulnerability. | Comes from the container material and the closure seal. |
| Shipping and storage | Sleek build allows easy bulk storage in a warehouse and more economical shipping to the final destination. | Volume travels whether the container is full or not. |
| Consumer handling | Wider, more flexible opening. Many consumers find the product easier to reach. | Rigid opening, often with a scoop or a measuring step. |
| Disposal | More eco friendly once disposed of than larger containers like glass jars or plastic tubs. | Bulky at end of life unless the material is widely collected. |
Types of Flexible Packaging
Six formats cover almost everything sold as flexible packaging in the United States, and we print and convert all six. Two of them are preformed pouches that arrive at your facility ready to fill. The other four come off a printed roll and become a package on your own line. The table below is the short version, and the sections under it explain what each format is, how it runs and what typically goes inside.
Types of Flexible Packaging at a Glance
Every format below is printed digitally and converted in New York.
| Format | Delivered as | How it is formed | Seal | Typical products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Stand up pouches |
Preformed pouch | Converted before it reaches you, filled through the open top | Bottom gusset, side seals, top seal or zipper | Coffee, protein powder, granola, pet treats, flower, bath soak |
 Lay flat pouches |
Preformed pouch | Converted before it reaches you, filled through the open top | Three side seal, top seal or zipper | Jerky, tea, face masks, supplements, samples, hanging retail items |
 Printed roll stock |
Flat printed roll | Formed, filled and sealed on your own equipment | Set by your machine | Anything running on a form fill and seal line |
 Stick packs |
Flat printed roll | Vertical form fill and seal, film wrapped into a narrow tube | Sealed at both ends of the tube | Drink mixes, greens, electrolytes, instant coffee, seasoning, sweetener |
 Sachets |
Flat printed roll | Horizontal form fill and seal into a flat packet | Three sided seal | Powders, liquids and gels, trial sizes, gift with purchase, promo inserts |
 Flow wrap |
Flat printed roll | Continuous wrap formed around the product on the line | Fin seal on the back, crimped at both ends | Bars, baked goods, confection, medical supplies, toys |
Stand Up Pouches
Custom stand up pouches have a gusseted bottom that keeps them standing upright for display on the shelf, and high quality artwork pops even more on a stand up pouch because of the way it is displayed. The gusset opens out when the pouch is filled. With front and back panels plus that bottom gusset, a stand up pouch gives a brand maximized space to tell its story, and it is the format most brands land on when the package has to hold a shelf face against national competition. Available in metallized, clear or white base material with tear notches, resealable and childproof zippers, handles, windows and hang holes. If you are weighing the format against a flat pouch, our post on stand up pouches versus lay flat pouches walks through the decision in detail.
Lay Flat Pouches
Lay flat pouches are flatter than a stand up pouch and designed to lay on the shelf for display, or to be stacked on a hook using hang holes. They carry the same customization options as a stand up pouch and the same digital print quality, in a format that suits a lighter fill and a hanging display rather than a shelf face. Jerky, tea, single sheet masks, sample sizes and anything sold off a peg strip tend to end up here. Because the pouch has no gusset to open out, the whole front panel reads as one flat billboard, which is worth having when the artwork is the reason someone picks it up. We print both formats on the same presses, so a brand running a stand up pouch and a lay flat pouch in the same line holds one color standard across both.
Printed Roll Stock
Roll stock is printable film that comes in a flat, printed roll and is then formed, filled and sealed at the manufacturer’s facility. It is the material behind stick packs, sachets and flow wrap alike, and it is the most common flexible packaging format for single serve and sample sized products. Because the package is created on your line rather than ours, roll stock gets specified to your machine: web width, unwind direction, eye mark placement for registration and the seal temperature your jaws run at. Send us the make and model and the film gets specified around it, which is the part that keeps a first run from jamming a line that has been running fine for years.
Stick Packs
Stick packs are a great option when the end consumer will be on the go. They work in vertical form, fill and seal machines and typically get filled multiple units across at one time, with the film formed into a narrow tube, filled and sealed at both ends. The material is easy to tear open and dispose of after a single serve, which also makes stick packs a strong way to hand samples to consumers. Drink mixes, greens, protein, electrolytes, instant coffee, seasoning, sweetener and single serve condiments all run this way. Nutraceutical brands use them to turn a tub into a trial, because one stick is one serving and the scoop disappears. Base material is chosen around the powder going into it, and seal construction is matched to the fill so protein and greens do not compromise the seal. Our guide to stick pack packaging and printed roll stock covers what to send us before a quote.
Sachets
Sachets work with a horizontal form, fill and seal machine for a three sided seal, turning into flat sealed packets that suit powders, liquids and gels. Many manufacturers rely on them for promotional sample items, trial sizes, gift with purchase inserts and anything that has to sit flat inside a carton or an envelope. The distinction between a sachet and a stick pack comes down to the machine more than the product: a stick pack is tall, narrow and runs vertically, while a sachet runs horizontally into a flat packet. We make both, so the right question at quote time is which line you are filling on, not which format sounds better. Our comparison of stick packs versus sachets lays the two side by side.
Flow Wrap
Flow wraps are typically made with plastic films to create a package with a fin seal on the back, filled in a continuous packing method that seals off the product on both ends. The wrapper forms around the product on your line, which is why flow wrap suits solid items with a consistent shape: bars, cookies, confection, medical supplies and toys. It is not a resealable format, since flow wrapped items are intended for a single use rather than for repackaging and storage. All of our flow wraps are custom printed, and the items offered include snack webs, cosmetic web, forming films and heat seal polypros, with special items available on request. If you want the mechanics in more depth, we wrote up how flow wrap packaging works and the films used.
Flexible Packaging Materials and Films
How well the film keeps air and moisture out sets how long the product inside stays fresh. That is the whole job of the material specification, and it is decided before anyone opens the artwork file. A high fat snack, a dried powder and whole bean coffee each fail in a different way. Fat goes rancid with oxygen, powder cakes with moisture, and coffee off gasses after roast, which is why coffee additionally needs a venting valve so gas can escape without letting air back in. The film structure is chosen against whichever of those the product is most vulnerable to, which is why our quote conversation starts with what is going inside rather than with how the package should look.
Clear, White and Metallized Base Materials
Metallized, clear and white base materials are all available across our pouch formats, and the metallized option is often specified for what it does to shelf life rather than for how it looks. Clear film shows the product, which sells whole bean coffee, colored bath salts and anything where the contents are the argument. White film gives artwork a clean printing base and hides a product that is not photogenic. Metallized film blocks light and gives the strongest barrier of the three, which is why actives, high fat snacks and long shelf life SKUs land there. We can also print a window into a white or metallized pouch, so a package can carry the barrier of an opaque film and still show the product through a panel.
Flexible Packaging Base Materials
The three base films available across our pouch formats, and what each one is normally chosen for.
| Base material | What it looks like | Usually specified for | Common products |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clear | Transparent, product fully visible | Selling the contents on sight | Whole bean coffee, granola, bath salts, pet treats, candy |
| White | Opaque white printing base | Clean color reproduction and hiding an unappealing fill | Protein powder, supplements, cleaning refills, drink mixes |
| Metallized | Opaque silver, reflective | Light block and the strongest barrier of the three | Coffee, high fat snacks, actives, long shelf life SKUs |
| Clear or translucent window | A printed panel with a viewing area | Barrier of an opaque film with the product still visible | Flower, jerky, dried fruit, pet treats, roasted nuts |
Films Used in Roll Stock Formats
Roll stock films get named by application rather than by appearance. Snack webs run food products on high speed lines. Cosmetic web handles the fills and the finishes a beauty product needs. Forming films are engineered to stretch and hold a shape as the machine draws them. Heat seal polypros give the sealant layer that closes the package under the jaws. All four are on our flow wrap offering, along with special items on request, and the reason we ask for the machine make and model is that these films only perform inside the seal temperature and web width the equipment expects. Our post on pouch materials and high barrier film goes deeper on how the layers stack up.
Closures, Features and Finishes
Once the film structure is settled, the feature set is what the consumer actually touches. On a preformed pouch these get built in during conversion at our New York facility, so we quote them from the start rather than adding them after a proof.
Closures and Features Available on Custom Pouches
Built into the pouch during conversion at our New York facility.
| Feature | What it does | Typically used on |
|---|---|---|
| Tear notch | Gives a clean, repeatable opening point so the consumer does not fight the seal | Almost every pouch, and stick packs for single serve tearing |
| Resealable zipper | Press to close track that lets the package close again between uses | Coffee, snacks, powders, pet treats, anything used over several sittings |
| Childproof zipper | Closure that requires an adult action to open | Products where an adult only opening is part of the package |
| Handles | Carrying point built into a larger or heavier pouch | Bulk pet food, large format powders, refill sizes |
| Clear or translucent window | Displays the product through an otherwise opaque printed panel | Flower, jerky, dried fruit, roasted nuts, treats |
| Hang holes | Die cut hole that lets the package stack on a peg strip | Lay flat pouches and any hanging retail display |
Specialty Finishes on Flexible Packaging
Finishing is where a pouch stops looking printed and starts looking made. Premium soft touch matte lamination changes how the package feels in the hand, which carries more weight in supplements and beauty than any color choice on the panel. Spot UV highlights a specific part of the design against the surrounding surface. Cold foil allows clear or white packages to use metallic effects without moving to a metallized base film. Those three are the finishes published for our pouches, and the wider list on our specialty finishing page covers what else we run across the rest of the packaging line.
How Flexible Packaging Printing Works
The majority of our work is printed on a fleet of HP digital presses ranging from 13 inches to 30 inches in width, which is enough range to accommodate every type of packaging from labels to shrink sleeves, pouches, roll stock, folding cartons and more. Digital printing is what lets a brand run a six flavor line without giving each flavor its own long run, and it is the reason our pricing does not change with the number of colors on the panel. Every custom pouch, stick pack, sachet and flow wrap film we quote comes off that same fleet.
We use four color process, cyan, magenta, yellow and black, with the option to add extended gamut colors and specialty spot colors for the perfect match, which covers effectively any color a designer specifies. Our HP presses are equipped to print metallic ink, fluorescent ink and premium white for a more upscale look. Because digital removes the plates, color consistency holds run after run, and line variations and multiple color plates stop being a factor in what a design can do. Our latest press investment brought us into UV inkjet printing, which offers the benefits of flexo on longer runs while holding quality in appearance. The full breakdown lives on our digital label printing page.
Form, Fill and Seal: Matching Film to Your Line
Roll stock runs on the manufacturer’s own equipment, so the film is specified to that machine. Web width, unwind direction, eye mark placement for registration and the seal temperature the jaws run at all have to match before a roll is worth printing. Stick packs run vertical, sachets run horizontal, and flow wrap runs continuous with a fin seal, so the format is often decided by the line that is already installed rather than by preference. We specify the film against that machine rather than asking a line to adapt to a stock roll.
Two things are worth knowing before a first order. We print and build the film, and we are a printer and converter rather than a contract filler, so roll stock formats need a form fill and seal line on your side or at a co-packer. And the eye mark is not decoration: it is the register mark the machine reads to cut and seal in the right place, so it gets positioned during prepress and not adjusted later. Send us the make and model and the film gets specified around it.
Industries That Use Flexible Packaging
Flexible packaging shows up in almost every consumer category, but the reason it gets chosen changes by industry. Food buys it for barrier and portion control. Nutraceuticals buy it for dosing and sampling. Cannabis buys it for closures and shelf presence. The table below maps the industries we print for against the products and formats that come up most.
Industries and Products Packaged in Flexible Packaging
Every industry below has a page on ksidrane.com with the products and formats we run for it.
| Industry | Products commonly packaged | Formats used most |
|---|---|---|
| Specialty Food & Meat | Jerky, snacks, granola, coffee, dried fruit, nuts, seasoning, sauces, baked goods, confection, cheese, frozen items | Stand up pouches, lay flat pouches, flow wrap, sachets |
| Nutraceuticals | Protein powder, greens, electrolytes, capsules, gummies, single serve doses, trial sizes | Stick packs, stand up pouches, sachets |
| Cannabis & CBD | Flower, pre rolls, edibles, tinctures, topicals, concentrates | Stand up pouches with childproof zippers, lay flat pouches, windows |
| Beverages | Instant coffee, tea, drink mixes, powdered hydration, coffee beans, juice and water programs | Stick packs, sachets, stand up pouches with venting valves |
| Pet | Dry food, treats, freeze dried raw, supplements, chews, litter additives | Stand up pouches with handles, lay flat pouches, resealable zippers |
| Beauty & Cosmetics | Sheet masks, serums, sample sizes, bath soaks, hair treatments, gift with purchase inserts | Sachets, lay flat pouches, cosmetic web flow wrap |
| Household & Consumer Goods | Detergent pods, cleaning refills, air care, candles, paper goods, seasonal items | Stand up pouches, lay flat pouches, flow wrap |
| Industrial | Chemicals, lubricants, automotive care, adhesives, wipes, hardware and parts kits | Stand up pouches, sachets, flow wrap |
| Beer | Merchandise, snack pairings, promotional and sample items | Lay flat pouches, sachets, flow wrap |
| Wine | Promotional items, tasting room retail, accessory and gift packaging | Lay flat pouches, sachets |
| Spirits | Cocktail mixers, rimming salt and sugar, promotional single serves | Stick packs, sachets, lay flat pouches |
Pouches are quickly becoming the go to option for many manufacturers of food, nutraceuticals and consumer goods among other industries, and the pattern repeats across categories. A brand starts with one SKU in a pouch, adds flavors, and then wants the sample program, the retail face and the label on a second product line to match. Because we print pressure sensitive labels, shrink sleeves, folding cartons and flexible packaging under one roof, that match is a production decision rather than a vendor negotiation.
Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Flexible Packaging
Leaving a habitable, safe and healthy world for future generations is a top concern of manufacturers and consumers alike, and product packaging is one of the places that concern shows up first on a shelf. On the flexible side we offer post consumer recycled material, compostable pouch layers and recyclable film options, so a brand committing to a sustainability target has something to actually specify rather than a promise to make. Those options carry their own performance characteristics, which is why the material conversation and the shelf life conversation happen together rather than in sequence. Our eco-friendly packaging page lists what is available across labels, laminations, shrink sleeves and flexible packaging.
Where Flexible Packaging Is Made Changes the Plan
As a flexible packaging manufacturer we are prepared to print and convert all of your flexible packaging needs domestically right here in New York, and the reason that matters is money rather than patriotism. Ordering pouches from overseas means committing to a container quantity months before knowing whether the SKU sells, and eating a warehouse of film when the formula changes. Domestic printing and converting turns that into weeks, which is the entire argument for buying custom flexible packaging here rather than abroad. In 2023 K. Sidrane opened our newest facility dedicated to producing flexible packaging, equipped with a fleet of new state of the art equipment, so a brand can launch a format, see how it performs and revise the artwork without an ocean in the middle of the decision. We wrote more on that tradeoff in domestic versus overseas flexible packaging.
Flexible Packaging Questions
What is flexible packaging?
Any package made from film, foil or paper that bends and takes its shape from the product and the seal rather than from a rigid wall. Pouches, stick packs, sachets, flow wrap and printed roll stock are all flexible packaging, and we print and convert every one of them in New York.
What are the main types of flexible packaging?
Stand up pouches and lay flat pouches arrive preformed and ready to fill. Printed roll stock arrives as a flat printed roll and becomes stick packs, sachets or flow wrap on a form fill and seal line. We print and convert all of them in Farmingdale, New York.
What is the difference between a stand up and a lay flat pouch?
Display. A stand up pouch has a gusseted bottom that keeps it upright on the shelf. A lay flat pouch is flatter and lies on the shelf or hangs from a hook. We print both on the same presses, so a brand running the two together holds one color standard across them.
What base materials do pouches come in?
Metallized, clear or white, and we can print a clear or translucent window into an otherwise opaque panel. Metallized is usually chosen for shelf life rather than for appearance.
What closures and features are available on pouches?
Tear notch, resealable zipper, childproof zipper, handles, clear or translucent window, hang holes, soft touch matte lamination, spot UV and cold foil. We build them into custom pouches during conversion, so tell us which ones you need with the fill weight.
Do I need my own filling equipment for roll stock?
Roll stock formats need a form fill and seal line, since the package is created around the product on that machine. We print and build the film as a printer and converter rather than a contract filler. Preformed pouches do not carry that requirement.
Where is your flexible packaging printed?
Printed and converted domestically in New York, in a facility opened in 2023 and dedicated to flexible packaging.
Get a Quote on Custom Flexible Packaging
Send your product, your fill weight, your target shelf life and your filling equipment if you have it, and we will quote your pouches, stick packs, sachets or flow wrap. K. Sidrane is a third generation label and packaging manufacturer at 24 Baiting Place Road in Farmingdale, New York.