Summer is quickly approaching, which means sunny days spent at the pool, park, or embarking upon exciting outdoor adventures.

As we spend these warm-weather months catching rays, it’s important to stay hydrated and properly nourished. Families often participate in camping or embark upon many other outdoor adventures, and packing the right food, drink, and supplies in a convenient and protective manner is important.

Ah, chocolate. Who doesn’t love this rich, sweet delicacy?

While many types of stand up pouches for chocolate will work to preserve the structure of this type of candy, flexible packaging can be produced with a wide range of sizes, shapes, structures, and finishes... and the options can seem overwhelming.

When people think of food packaged in stand up pouches, often the first product that comes to mind is granola.

The majority of today’s brands have chosen stand up pouches as their preferred granola packaging because they’re lightweight, easy to take on the go and can be resealed to lock in the freshness of the crunchy product. Not to mention, they stand up and look great on shelves. 

Here we are in year 2017, accompanied by self driving cars, cell phones that replace computers and an avocado holder invention that stops your other, uneaten half from browning.

And still, it amazes me that cereal is still being packaged in those cardboard boxes that rip, without a doubt, and are sure to never keep your cereal from going stale. What's up with that? Why haven't companies like Kellogg's or General Mills embraced the year of 2017 where we are all far better than packaging cereal in useless cardboard boxes? Your guess is as good as mine.

"91% of consumers have mistakenly thrown away past-date food, even though the label only signals the manufacturer's guess at its peak quality"  

Face it — We all know certain types of packaging are frustrating or nearly impossible to open, resulting in angry customers who won't shy away from publicly voicing their complaints.

Many CPG companies think their product packaging is working fine — after all, it seems to function, it keeps items contained, and it offers enough space to print their branding and graphic designs on the outside.

However, too few businesses take a deeper look into how their packaging performs next to similar items on store shelves. This isn’t surprising, as so much time and attention to detail goes into perfecting the product itself. The container is often viewed as an afterthought... but what's the first thing shoppers see, touch, and experience on the shelves? That's right: the packaging.

Since 1981, the United States military has been providing nourishing meals to its enlisted soldiers via Meal, Ready-to-Eat rations. These packaged meal alternatives help keep up endurance, strength, and motivation.

As any hard worker knows, hunger can be a highly detrimental distraction, leading to a loss of focus on the job. It’s important for the men and women defending our country to consume adequate nutritious goods that are easy to carry, open, and ingest during the stressful times in battle.

Let’s face it — not every food brand on the market specializes in clean label products with organic, natural ingredients.

Though consumer demand for wholesome, nutritious meals and snacks is soaring, there is still a desire for quick, easy, convenient “guilty pleasure” junk food. However, brands specializing in treats like candy, cookies, potato chips, and other greasy or sugary fare face the challenge of targeting new consumer sects and convincing health-conscious customers to give their products a try.