According to a new report on the stand-up pouch market, PCI Films Consulting forecasts that US demand for pouches will grow by around 7%/pa to reach nearly 24BN units in 2018. The US stand-up pouch market has seen dramatic growth over the past five years, increasing by 50% in unit volume terms to around 17BN units in 2013. Beverages and pet food are the largest end use categories, each accounting for one third of demand, closely followed by human food applications with a 30% share. Stimulating the recent growth in pouches has been the drive to replace plastic and glass bottles and cans, packaging cost reduction and new consumer convenience. Future increases in volume are expected to come from a wide variety of end uses - frozen foods and fruit compotes, frozen spirits, cocktails, baby food, shredded and diced cheese, laundry and dishwashing refill packs and soups.
