The world of product packaging is transforming, and it’s important for online retailers to stay current in this area if they’re looking to achieve continuous business success. Flexible packaging is not a casual buzzword or a passing trend, but rather an increasingly popular means of deriving greater value and benefit from the product packaging process.

Flexible film is essential for any company that needs to package consumer and institutional products, especially for industrial applications. Exceptional flexibility is key to protect, market, and distribute a vast array of products without damage. From ensuring food safety and extending shelf life, to providing even heating, barrier protection, ease of use, resealability, and superb printability, the packaging industry continues to advance with flexible packaging offerings at an unprecedented rate. The benefits of flexible packaging cannot be overstated. Lightweight and easy to open, carry, store, and re-seal, flexible packaging extends the shelf life of many products, especially food, and has a positive sustainability profile.

If you haven’t switched over to flexible packaging yet (or you aren’t at least considering it), it’s time to stop and think about why. Flexible packaging has been at the forefront of packaging innovation for decades, and its popularity continues to explode across a myriad of product industries. Not sure why this packaging solution has become such a big deal? You might be missing some critical facts and insights that shed a bright light on the subject.

The use of flexible packaging and flexible films is growing across almost every industry, as manufacturers of consumer goods discover the innovation’s valuable advantages. Flexibility in a packaging solution, in and of itself, is reason to consider the option. But there’s even more benefit to glean from flexible packaging film. From customization and versatility to cost savings and consumer appeal, it’s difficult to find a reason not to employ this form of packaging.

If you’ve heard about the benefits of shrink film for product packaging and you’re interested in applying this option at your business, you’re making a smart move. Shrink film is an excellent packaging solution for many types of products, offering valuable advantages like flexibility, durability, printability, shelf appeal and environmental friendliness. Even so, implementing a shrink film packaging design and process can be confusing if you don’t have sufficient information.

Just a few short weeks ago, Governor Jerry Brown made California the first U.S. state to legally prohibit dine-in restaurants from automatically providing plastic straws to customers. Although this event marks one of the first legislative actions on the matter, the plastic straw ban has become a popular movement among companies and local governments across the country, with many vowing to completely end usage of plastic straws and packaging by the end of 2018.