Nathan Dube

By: Nathan Dube on July 26th, 2022

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Are You Ready For Single Serve Packaging?

Packaging Materials | Packaging Design

Have you considered single-serve packaging when trying to formulate new avenues for revenue? If not, it is something that you may want to think about.

 

Today, many consumers are looking to buy single servings of food or beverage products. This is due in part to the response to COVID.

 

As people wanted to prevent the spread of germs, many consumers began buying single-serve packages so individuals would get their own food or beverage without having to touch other people's items.

 

However, that is not the only driving factor behind consumers' push to buy single-serve products.

 

Regardless of the reasons that led to this push, offering single-serve products in single-serve packaging is a new way to get your products into previously unavailable places.

 

By offering single servings of your products, you have the opportunity to get your products onto shelves they have yet to be featured on.

 

When offering single servings of your products, you can engage consumers differently than you currently are. This opens up new opportunities to sell the same product in new ways or launch a new product.

 

But, is single serve packaging and product sales right for your business? What do you need to know before you start offering single serve products?

 

In this article, we will explore the current boom in single-serve packaging and provide information that will help you decide if single-serve packaging is suitable for your business.

 

   What Is Single Serve Packaging?

 

What Is Single Serve Packaging?

 

Single serve packaging is a type of packaging utilized to contain one single serving of a beverage or food product. The opposite of single serve packaging is bulk packaging. Bulk packaging is a type of packaging used to package multiple items of the same product.

 

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Types Of Single Serve Packaging Materials

 

A single-serve package can be created from various types of packaging materials. Common packaging materials used to develop single-serve packaging include:

 

  • Flexible Pouches - Flexible pouches are pouches that are made from plastic, foils, and other materials. These pouches may feature side or bottom gussets and sometimes have valves that allow consumers to smell the product contained within.
  • Cardboard Boxes - Cardboard boxes are boxes of varying sizes that are made from corrugated cardboard. Cardboard boxes can also have typography, graphics, and images printed directly onto the container. Cardboard boxes may also be branded with labels.
  • Paperboard Boxes - Paperboard boxes are boxes of varying sizes that are made from paper pulp. These boxes can be printed directly onto their surfaces or may be branded with labels.
  • Flexible Bagging - Flexible bags are made from different formulations of plastic, such as polypropylene. These bags may be printed directly onto or branded with a label.
  • Shrink Tubing - Shrink tubing is a kind of clear plastic tube that is made of shrink film. Shrink tubing can be printed upon or branded with labels.
  • Clamshells - Clamshells are a type of carded packaging material. These materials get their name from the sea creature they resemble. Clamshells are made from two plastic shells that are attached on one side.

While the list above represents some of the most popular types of packaging materials for single-serve packaging, various other types of flexible and rigid packaging can be used to package single servings of products.

 


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single serve packaging pickle

 

Stuck In A Pickle? Single Serve Packaging To The Rescue!

 

OK, I want you to close your eyes and tell me what you think of when you hear the word "pickles." Obviously, I cannot actually read your mind or see into your thoughts. But, I am willing to bet I have a good idea of what you see in your mind's eye.

 

If I had to guess, I bet that, among the various visualizations in your head, one of the things you envision is a glass jar of pickles.

 

For hundreds of years and multiple generations, pickles were and continue to be packaged in glass jars. When you crave a cool, crisp, dill or half-sour, chances are, you reach for the jar.

 

But today, there is another option when you are dying for a fresh brine-soaked cucumber. Thanks to the rise of flexible pouches, you can now buy a single pickle in a pouch!

 

I myself was recently overcome with a desire for a spicy pickle as I was at my local market. And low and behold, I found one giant spicy pickle as a single serving in a flexible pouch on a shelf near the register!

 

It was delicious, and I didn't have to crack open a jar or worry about storing a half-eaten jar of pickles. And this is precisely the ease of access and single-serving simplicity consumers are looking for today.

 

In fact, according to recent statistics, one or two-person households now make up more than sixty percent of all households in the USA. And, packages designed to serve one or two people have become a significant trend for consumers across the country.

 

In many instances, consumers are willing to pay more for a single serving of food or beverage. Most often, this is due to the consumer wanting the convenience and simplicity of single-serve packaging.

 

Suppose a consumer is waiting in line at the supermarket and suddenly craves a pickle but does not want to buy a whole jar.

 

A properly placed single-serve pickle pouch would grab the consumer's attention and entice them to pay more for the single item than what they would pay for the same thing if it were part of a jar of pickles.

 

This lets you build incremental margin into your single-serve products that can help you generate new revenue that you would not have been able to develop otherwise.

 

Now, there is still plenty of demand for entire jars of pickles. Still, with the rise in popularity of single-serve packages, pickle packers now have a whole new revenue stream to supplement their traditional containers.

 

And this trend is booming for many different types of food and beverage products.

 

The Benefits Of Single Serve Packaging

 

Single-serve food and beverage products are booming in popularity. And there are various reasons why this is happening. Single-serve packaging offers multiple benefits such as:

 

  • Speed - With modern consumers being busier than ever, the speed at which they can grab lunch on the go is a massive incentive for purchase. With single-serve food or drinks, consumers can grab a package and get on with their day without being bogged down by preparing a full meal.
  • Ease of use - Single-serve packaging makes it easy for the consumer to purchase, open, and enjoy the product inside the packaging.
  • Portability - Single-serve packaging allows consumers to easily grab their food or beverage and go without slowing down or missing a beat.
  • Reduced Food Waste - With single-serve packaging, the consumer only buys a single serving and will consume the entire product upon opening. This results in less wasted food or beverages.
  • Nutrition - As single serve packaging only houses a single portion of food, the container makes it easy for the consumer to keep track of their calories and related nutritional information for each separate serving.
  • Spend - Many consumers are willing to pay more for single servings of food and beverages for convenience, which allows you to build incremental margin into your business with single-serve packaging.

 

Additionally, single-serve packaging such as flexible pouches often features clear or transparent sections that allow the consumer to visually inspect the product before they make a purchase.

 

This allows the brand to use single-serve packaging to display its product and entice consumers to purchase it.

 

Single Serve Packaging For Expanded Retail Footprint

 

When you start offering your products in single-serve packaging, you can get your products into other places in a retail environment that you do not currently have when selling bulk only.

 

For example, lets revisit the pickles. If you are a pickle manufacturer, for the most part, consumers will find your product in the condiment aisle at the grocery store.

 

But, when you start offering pickles in single-serve packaging, these single servings can be found with other snack foods near the cash register and other shelving and retail spaces where your products were not previously available.

 

Is Single Serve Packaging Right For You?

 

After reading this article, you are probably thinking about whether or not single serve packaging is right for your business.

 

But, before you implement single serve packaging for your products, you need to answer a few questions first.

 

With the answers to these questions, you should have everything you need to figure out if single-serve packaging is suitable for you.

 

  • Are you looking get your bulk packaged items on new shelves and areas in retail settings? - If you answered yes, then single serve packaging is right for you.
  • Are you looking to reduce the amount of packaging material that you use? - If you said yes, single serve packaging is not a good choice.
  • Are your consumers looking for a fast, easy, grab-and-go single product? - If your answer to this question is yes, single-serve packaging would be a good fit for your business.
  • Are your customers willing to pay more for a single serving of your product for the convenience of access to a single serving? - If yes is the answer, single serve packaging is a good idea for your business.
  • Are you primarily looking to package multiple products in one container? - If you answered yes, single serve packaging is not right for you.
  • Are you looking to offer single servings of products in a single packaging material? - If you said yes, single serve packaging is right for you!

 

Interested In Learning More About Or Purchasing Single Serve Packaging?

 

With the information you have acquired from reading this article, you should have a pretty good idea of whether or not single-serve packaging makes sense for your business.

 

With that being said, you may have additional questions about single-serve packaging now that you did not have before reading this article.

 

And, if you are interested in single-serve packaging, you are probably interested in getting pricing for single-serve packaging for your business.

 

Whether you are looking to do single-serve packaging in your own warehouse or outsource single-serve packaging through a contract packaging company, you will need to iron out a few details.

 

If you want to learn more about single-serve packaging or get pricing for these materials or services, please reach out to one of our packaging experts.

 

They will be able to help answer any questions you may have and provide you with pricing information for all your single-serve packaging needs.

 

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About Nathan Dube

As the Digital Marketing Specialist at Industrial Packaging, I am honored to create content for such a phenomenal company and work with one of the greatest teams in the Packaging Industry. Whether creating a video, writing blog posts or generating other pieces of content and multimedia, I am always excited to help educate and inspire our prospects and clients to reach their highest potential in regards to their packaging processes and needs.