A new, lower-cost form of flexible packaging for 8-ounce milk packaging has been announced by The Barton Group of New York.

“The typical 8-ounce milk serving is a perfect application for our new Stand-Up SqueezyStraw Pouch packaging technology,” says company president Lew Barton. “Low cost, easy to use, easy disposal, high-speed production and the elimination of the need for any other accessory item such as a straw or cup make the Stand-Up SqueezyStraw Pouch the ideal candidate to fill the needs of this category.

“The Stand Up SqueezyStraw Pouch is superior in many ways to the typical paper carton used for milk packaging,” he explains. “First of all, the [pouch] is much less expensive. Our market information indicates that the current cost of the paper carton is approximately 6¢ each. The Stand Up SqueezyStraw Pouch is estimated to cost less than 4¢ each in large volume quantities (50,000,000 packs / year or more).”

The pouch requires no straw or cup, and compresses into a small mass when empty for efficient and low-cost disposal. In addition, it is, or can be, transparent, thus indicating the fill level of the package, and the squeeze feature allows for maximum evacuation of the milk.

Stand-Up SqueezyStraw Pouch production requires a horizontal thermoform / fill / seal machine equipped with die-cutting capabilities such as Multivac, Ulma or other similar machines. The 8-ounce prototype was produced on a Multivac (multivac.com) machine. Multivac estimates cost of such a machine at $500,000 or $1,000,000, depending on production requirements, Barton says. The estimated $1,000,000 Multivac machine is projected to produce 400 to 500 8-ounce pouches per minute. 

Stand Up SqueezyStraw™ Pouch is not a physical product for sale but a patented technology available for licensing from The Barton Group, Inc. See squeezystraw.com for details.