Spout Pouches: The Cost of Choosing the Wrong Size
Choosing the wrong size spout pouch is like buying a shirt too large or too small; it doesn’t fit right and it ends up costing more than you planned for. Take for example a brand selling liquid hand soap in 100ml containers. They chose 200ml spout pouches for their hand soap. Each pouch is 200ml and comes with 100ml of soap. That means the pouch is half-empty. That brand is paying for wasted, excess packaging. Over a year, they could waste thousands of dollars on plastic alone. When customers see half-empty pouches, they may think the brand is ‘cutting corners’ even though the product is good. Could you picture what could happen if customers see half-empty spout pouches?
Conversely, choosing a small size can be equally exasperating. One beauty brand used 50ml spout pouches for their 60ml facial serum. To make the spout pouches work, the brand had to pack them so tightly the spouts would leak, leading customers to complain and the brand to recall the unit. They had to recall thousands of units, costing them time, money, and trust. Such issues are not a foregone conclusion; many brands base their spout pouch size estimates on guesswork. Fortunately, choosing the right size doesn’t have to be complicated. With a little more information, you can size pouches to products accurately.
Common Sizes and Their Uses
Spout pouches come in a variety of sizes, each designed for particular products. Let's start with the smaller sizes, typically ranging from 50ml to 100ml. These work well for samples, travel-sized products, and single-use items like the tiny shampoo pouches at hotels or the 80ml sauce packets that come with instant noodles. Small spout pouches are inexpensive to ship and have low weight, making them easy for customers to carry. Small pouches are excellent for brands trying to test a new product since customers can try it without buying the full version.
The most versatile sizes are the mediums, ranging from 200ml to 500ml. These work for everyday products customers buy frequently, but not in large amounts. This includes products like 300ml pouches of ketchup, 400ml pouches of yogurt drinks, and 250ml pouches of facial toner. Medium spout pouches provide convenience and value, as they are not too large to store in a cabinet and are not too small for customers that they would need to repurchase every week.
When you see larger containers like 1.5L laundry detergent or 2L fruit puree pouches for bakers and 1.2L vegetable oil pouches, these products are designed for families or bulk use. Large spout pouches are better than small pouches because they reduce customers packaging waste and are more convenient. They especially appeal to customers looking for a bargain. Keep in mind these larger pouches need stronger materials to support their weight so make sure the pouch size suitable for the weight.
Important Factors to Help Determine the Appropriate Size
Choosing the appropriate size for spout pouches is not just about “how much product fits”. It has to do with the product, customer, and the objective for your business. Start with your product characteristics. Is the product a liquid (juice) or thick (peanut butter)? Thick products need more space to flow so be careful with the size of the pouch to hold the product. Bigger pouches can cause drying which is a waste for customers. As an example, a family-sized 500ml peanut butter pouch is great, but for a single person a 100ml pouch is more suitable to avoid spoilage after opening.
The next thing to do is identify who your ideal customers are. Are they busy workers, travelers, or families? For example, busy professionals might want the 200ml pouches of coffee creamer since it would last them a week. Families would rather have the 1L pouches. Airline travelers would want the 100ml or smaller pouches. If you do not consider who is buying your products, you will end up with a product size that no one is interested in.
Lastly, think about your distribution channels. For example, in online stores, smaller pouches are easier to ship. If customers are looking to buy online and the spout pouches are too big, they might abandon their cart. In offline stores, average product sizes are easier to display because they are the right size to not be missed. Understanding these concepts will help you in deciding a product size that makes the most sense to the most people.
The Benefits of Tailoring the Size of Your Spout Pouches
Sometimes your product doesn’t fit into the standard sizes of pouches. For example, a 180ml herbal tea concentrate is too big for a 100ml pouch and too small for a 200ml pouch. Sometimes your product’s size might be boring, and that’s ok. In those cases, custom sizes are the best option.
Custom spout pouch sizes allow you to adapt the packaging to your product, not the other way around. For instance, with Kwinpack, a baby food company designed 120ml spout pouches, the exact portions a 6 month old baby eats during a meal. This meant zero food waste, and parents appreciated the added convenience. Custom sizes also aid in reinforcing a brand. A 350ml craft soda pouch in an unusual shape and size will draw customer attention more than a plain 500ml pouch.
Custom packaging offers more than convenience. There are also cost benefits. Custom pouches allow you to only pay for the material you need, eliminating costly empty spaces. In the first year after a sauce brand switched from standard 500ml pouches to custom 420ml pouches, packaging costs dropped 15%. Because Kwinpack thoroughly researches your product, customers, and packaging goals, custom sizes have your best business interests in mind.
Choosing the ideal spout pouch size isn't about selecting the "most popular" option, but about selecting the one that will suit your product, your clients, and your profits. The wrong size can overspend your budget, negatively impact consumer experience, and limit growth of your brand. Knowing the common sizes and their potential applications, understanding the characteristics of your product and your target audience, and using custom sizes when required will allow you to make the most of your packaging.
Custom sizes in particular allow you to differentiate yourself in the market. They convey to clients that you pay close attention to the small details, whether that is the size of the product or the ease of access. With the right type of custom sizes from your spout pouch provider, like Kwinpack, you will never have to go for an option that is "just about there". If you offer samples, daily use products, or large packs, you will always find the perfect fit for your spout pouch.
