Sachets come in a variety of formats, each suited to different applications and production methods. At SPS Pouches, we offer three core types: 3-side seal for flat, single-serve formats; stick packs for slim, portion-controlled dosing; and printed rollstock film for automated form-fill-seal lines. Whether you’re looking for hand-filled samples or fully automated production, we help you choose the right sachet format that aligns with your product, budget, and sustainability goals.
Kraft pouches are flexible paper-based packaging options that offer a natural, tactile aesthetic while maintaining barrier performance through laminated layers. They’re especially popular with food, supplement and lifestyle brands looking to communicate sustainability, simplicity and authenticity on shelf.
At SPS Pouches, we supply kraft bags and pouches in both traditional paper-foil laminates and recyclable alternatives, depending on your barrier and environmental requirements. Whether you need full kraft for a rustic feel or a kraft front with a clear window, we help you select a format that protects your product, supports your sustainability goals, and fits your brand narrative.
Kraft pouches are available in stand-up, flat, or resealable formats — giving you flexibility without compromising appearance or performance.
Windowed pouches feature a clear or semi-transparent panel that allows the product to be partially visible, while still benefiting from the barrier protection of flexible packaging. They’re ideal for food, wellness, and lifestyle brands that want to showcase colour, texture or ingredient quality without opening the pack.
At SPS Pouches, we offer a range of window options — from shaped cut-outs to fully transparent panels. Whether you’re aiming for a premium natural look or bold shelf presence, windowed pouches can build trust and support buying decisions without compromising product integrity. We’ll guide you on the right window style for your product type, packaging design and sustainability goals.
Aluminium pouches are high-barrier flexible packs that use a thin layer of foil to protect products from oxygen, moisture, light and external odours. They’re commonly used for sensitive products like powders, supplements, pet treats, and long-life foods where product stability is critical as well as for brands that need an opaque printing surface.
At SPS Pouches, we offer both traditional foil-based laminates and next-generation high-barrier alternatives that reduce environmental impact through specialised vacuum metallised coatings. Whilst aluminium provides unrivalled protection, it can limit recyclability which is why we also supply recyclable mono-material structures that replicate foil performance without compromising end-of-life options.
If your product needs extended shelf life or protection in harsh conditions, an aluminium pouch may be the right fit. We help you balance barrier performance, brand appeal and sustainability, so your packaging delivers long after filling.
Square bottom pouches — also known as box bottom or flat-bottom pouches and bags — are a premium flexible packaging format that combines maximum shelf stability with a high-end, box-like appearance. Unlike traditional stand-up pouches, the square base allows the pack to sit upright more securely, while offering five printable panels for impactful branding and product information.
At SPS Pouches, we recommend square bottom pouches for brands that need visual presence and structural strength — especially in categories like coffee, pet food, and sports nutrition. These pouches are ideal for heavier or bulkier products, as they distribute weight evenly and optimise space on shelf and during transit. They are particularly useful for heavy weight formats of 2kg, 3kg and 5kg.
We supply square bottom pouches with high-barrier recyclable films, optional zippers or valves, and custom finishes. Whether you’re elevating an established brand or launching in retail for the first time, square bottom packaging delivers both function and shelf appeal.
Coffee pouches and bags are a specialised form of flexible packaging designed to protect the freshness, aroma, and flavour of roasted coffee. Typically made with high-barrier films or foil laminates, these pouches prevent oxygen, moisture, and light from degrading the beans or grounds inside — which is critical for preserving taste and shelf life.
At SPS Pouches, we offer customisable coffee pouches with optional degassing valves (to release CO₂ without letting air in), resealable zippers, and recyclable barrier structures. Whether you’re launching a single-origin range or scaling your brand across retail and e-commerce, we help you choose a pouch format that performs technically and aligns with your sustainability goals.
Coffee bags can be supplied in a variety of formats — from stand-up and flat-bottom designs to kraft or fully printed options — giving you complete flexibility to match your brand identity, protect your product, and reduce packaging waste.
Clear pouches are a flexible packaging format made with transparent barrier films that allow the product inside to remain visible, while still offering excellent protection against moisture and oxygen. This visibility builds trust with consumers — especially for products like snacks, supplements, powders or beauty goods where colour and texture influence buying decisions.
At SPS Pouches, we supply recyclable and mono-material clear pouches that balance performance with sustainability. Whether you need partial windows or fully transparent packs, we help brands choose the right structure based on product type, barrier requirements, and visual impact.
Transparent pouch packaging is particularly well-suited to growing direct-to-consumer brands that value clean design, ingredient transparency, and flexible minimum order volumes. Explore the possibilities of using clear pouches for your product and see how they can align with your commercial and environmental goals.
A spout pouch is a flexible packaging format that includes a reclosable cap and spout, making it ideal for liquids, gels, or products that require controlled dispensing. Unlike rigid plastic bottles or glass jars, spouted pouches are lightweight, customisable and highly efficient in terms of both space and material use — offering up to 70% material savings compared to traditional formats. Our goal is to provide brands with future-proof packaging options that reduce plastic use whilst maintaining product integrity.
Simply put, they are a lightweight and resource-efficient packaging format. They use less material than many alternatives, reduce transportation weight and take up minimum space in shipping due to their excellent product/packaging ratio. All of that reduces emissions across the supply chain which is supported by mutiple life cycle analysis studies. Even without being recyclable, a pouch still performs better than a glass jar or aluminium can on most environmental metrics.
If your interested in finding more about what we are doing to improve the recyclability of pouches we'd love to discuss this with you.
Most pouches are sealed with heat. The inner layer (usually polyethylene) softens under pressure, bonding to itself and forming a tight seal. You can use a simple impulse sealer for short runs or a band sealer for higher volumes. We also over peel and seal options for specific applications.
The material structure of your pouch can sometimes requires narrower sealing windows which mean you’ll want to refine the time and temperature carefully. If your seals fail, it’s usually due to poor heat contact, dust or moisture in the sealing area or the wrong pressure settings. If you have any questions surrounding this please speak to one of our packaging specialists.
Most brands choose between digital and gravure printing methods. Digital printing is fast, flexible and requires no plates or set up costs, it's great for multiple designs, smaller print runs or frequent artwork changes. Gravure is better for large volumes where consistency and colour control such as using complex gradients matter more, and it is very cost effective on bulk quantities. Generally speaking it's really difficult to tell the difference between the two unless you put them side by side, however we will always discuss the best option for your packaging project. Check our our pouch printing blog for a more detailed explanation.
It largely depends on your products however most pouches are made from laminated films. Traditionally a stand up pouch would be made of mutiple layers of plastic such PET, PE, PA or PP, sometimes with a foil or barrier layer with specific protective or functional properties: one provides print quality, another blocks moisture and oxygen, and an internal food safe contact layer that is heat sealable. We are now offering PE mono-material pouches which are designed for recyclablility.
If you're packaging something sensitive like supplements or oils, you may require a high barrier pouch. If sustainability is your priority, a mono-material laminate might be the way to go. Check our our blog on improving the recyclability of pouches or feel free to get in touch to learn more.
Stand-up pouches — or doypacks, as they’re sometimes called are a flexible packaging format that quite literally stands up for itself. Thanks to a gusseted base, the pouch expands as it’s filled, allowing it to sit upright without support. This makes it ideal for retail shelves, ecommerce shipments and cupboard storage.
There’s nothing complex about why brands like them: they look sharp on shelf, they’re lightweight, and they don’t break in transit. They can hold dry goods, liquids, powders, and everything in between. Most importantly, they’re customisable — size, structure, closure, print and finish — so the pouch becomes part of the brand experience. If you’re new to this format and want a no-fluff explanation, here's our guide on doypacks.
The drive towards using some biodegradable and compostable materials represents a challenge and is not always considered to be helpful. Mixing bio-degradable materials with others represents a test for the current mechanical recycling schemes where they are perceived as a disruptor to conventional plastic recycling.
Bioplastics generally refers to three main types of packaging materials; oxo-degradable, biodegradable, and compostable. These terms are incorrectly often used interchangeably causing confusion, and where it concerns the disposal of bioplastic products, it can have serious adverse consequences.
Claiming a plastic is biodegradable without any further context, is misleading. Oxo-degradable has been heavily criticised by leading environmental groups, and there have been calls for it to be banned. Given enough time, nearly every material will biodegrade. Biodegradable is the ability of a material to undergo a chemical process during which micro-organisms convert materials into natural substances.
Compostable products require that the material biodegrades within a certain period of time and leaves no toxic residue in the soil.
Generally speaking compostable waste requires separate collection and sorting, and the packaging cannot just be thrown on the garden compost heap as much of the marketing would suggest.
The overall environmental effect of flexible packaging is misunderstood. With limited national infrastructure for the collection of waste, it is increasingly important that recycling technology continues to develop. Approximately 80% of local authorities accept clean PE films for recycling, although no local authorities offering collection of PP films. The recycling infrastructure will not change overnight, and it has been estimated that £100 million industry wide recycling investment is required.
Before becoming waste, analysis shows the carbon footprint of a pouch to be considerably lower than that of a plastic bottle. Pouches are a lightweight solution which allow material and cost savings. Pouches occupy less space during transportation in comparison to glass or aluminium or plastic containers, resulting in a smaller environmental footprint.
We support the circular economy, the reduction of waste and encourage the drive to ever increasing rates of recycling. Our aim is to be at the forefront of sustainability initiatives and to fully engage in this key issue. SPS Pouches are closely following the work and research of leading independent organisations to design waste out of our pouch packaging.
We consider recyclability at the outset when designing your doypack packaging to ensure your bespoke pouches are designed to increase their suitability for recycling. Changes to packaging design and manufacture must be taken in the context of overall packaging performance and not in isolation, which is how SPS Pouches can assist you.
Stand up pouches help prevent waste which is the starting point of circular economy thinking. Changes to the design should not jeopardise the primary function of packaging, which is to protect the product it contains and avoid waste. It is a misconception that flexible packaging has unnecessary adverse environmental consequences; food waste is even more damaging. For food products, flexible packaging plays a prominent role in preserving freshness, quality and flavour.
We pride ourselves on great quality, technical expertise and sustainable packaging know-how. Our packaging specialists want to help you get the right results for your business with competitive pricing, great service and reasonable minimum order quantities.
Please provide us with as much detail as possible about your packaging requirements.
