/INS. Snacks like sugar coated nuts, chocolate or dried fruit are typically packed in pouches. As the material tends to be sturdy, there is a risk of using too much effort when opening the pouch, increasing the risk of breaking it altogether.

Walki is now introducing a new, easy-open pouch concept for the fast-growing snack segment.

“We set out to innovate a pouch that consumers can open in a controlled and easy way”, explains Andreas Rothschink, Head of Product Development and Technical Service, Consumer Packaging (Business Area) at Walki Group.

Laser and specially formulated PE-films allow for controlled tearing. The pouch is constructed with a laminate of an MDO-PE film and a new developed LDPE- based film. The laser preformation in the centre of the side gusset fold of the bag is the starting point for the opening. By weakening the laminate in a controlled way, the material is thin enough to allow for a controlled opening of the pouch but still thick enough to protect the snacks inside.

You open the pouch in the centre, and the opening starts to tear in both directions until it reaches the cross seams that are transverse to make the pouch stable.

“You can open the pouch completely without destroying the shape. The large opening makes it easy to remove the snacks from the pouch”, explains Rothschink.

As the pouch is made from monomaterial PE, it is easy to recycle in the relevant plastics stream.

The pouch was developed in close collaboration with packaging machine producer Rovema.