This is a standup vacuum package well intended for 100-gram sunflower seeds, produced for a well-known brand in the Chinese market. The products are vacuum-packed in this pouch, which can keep the original flavor of sunflower seeds for a prolonged period.
To meet the requirements for the vacuum packages, we need to make the best use of film materials in the current market, listed below
- fossil chemical polymer films
- Aluminum foil metal sheet
- vacuum metalized film materials
- Ceramic film substrates
- plant-based biopolymer materials
- biodegradable film materials
- compostable substrate films
- Fully recyclable substrate films
Here, please allow us to give a further analysis.
Laminated Foil Materials
We adopt a superior foil structure, as shown in below graphic. Usually we name it Matte BOPP/Kraft Paper/VMPET/LDPE.
- With a matte finish effect on the outside, matte BOPP Filmworks as the outside print layer can improve the visual effect and add a fashionable touch to the packaging.
- Kraft paper is one of the most commonly used materials to increase the eco-friendliness and sustainability of the packages. Kraft paper in natural color with a weight of 70 gsm works as the intermediate layer. It is of good stiffness and a supportive layer.
- VMPET film, with the most common thickness of 12 microns, works as the main barrier layer in this foil laminate, which can well protect sunflower seeds from moisture vapor and oxygen.
- LDPE film, with a thickness adjustable against the requirements of the final package, works as the inner sealing layer.
Let’s get a more understanding on each substrate film.
Matte BOPP Film
Matte BOPP, or matte biaxially oriented polypropylene, is a polymer film with a matte finish that absorbs light instead of reflecting it. With a matte finish effect on the outside, matte BOPP film is widely used to improve visual effects and add a fashionable touch to the packaging.
It’s made up of multiple layers, including a polypropylene core and tie layers, and is often co-extruded with a skin copolymer layer on one or both sides.
The film is prepared through extrusion and biaxial orientation and can be made using either the tubular or tenter frame process.
Kraft Paper Film
Brown kraft paper is a heavy-duty, durable, and tear-resistant paper that is usually brown in color and made from wood pulp. It’s known for its natural wood fibers and textures and has an earthy, rugged look. Kraft paper is versatile and can be used for a variety of packaging purposes, such as shipping, wrapping, corrugated boxes, carton boxes, and flexible packaging.
VMPET Film
VMPET12, means vacuum metallized polyester film with thickness 12 microns (equals to 0.48 gauge), is the most common used aluminum-metallized film in the flexible packaging field. The VMPET layer is a key component for barrier performance. It offers an effective barrier against oxygen, moisture, and light. Oxygen can cause oxidation of the sunflower seed, leading to rancidity and a loss of flavor. Moisture can make the sunflower seeds soggy and affect their texture. Light can also degrade the quality of the sunflower seed over time. The VMPET layer, in combination with the other layers, significantly reduces the permeation of these harmful elements, thereby extending the shelf life of the sunflower seed and maintaining its quality and taste.
LDPE Film
LDPE, means low density polyethylene film, it is environmentally friendly, low-cost, and low-energy. It is the most used inner sealing layer for the sunflower seed bag. It is able to provide enough sealing strength and airtight property for the final packages.
Thickness
In the picture below, we can see the overall thickness of this pouch is 0.359 mm, which equals 359 microns for this laminated foil.
So, how do these films perform when it is intended for the sunflower seed bag? Will it protect the sunflower seeds?
Great Vacuum Effect
The finished foil bag is going to provide a stable performance during the vacuum process. First, the shells of the sunflower seeds will never pierce the bag, and outside forces will not break the packages. A good anti-puncture property is achieved based on the thickness provided.
In our laboratory, there are more serious measures to evaluate the performance of vacuum package. WVTR (short for water vapor transmission rate) and OTR (Oxygen Transmission Rate) are two essential parameters. You can easily find out the typical values of moisture vapor transmission rate and oxygen transmission rate of this multilayer foil Matte BOPP/Kraft Paper/VMPET/LDPE
| Item | Standard | Unit | Typical Value |
| Water Vapor Transimission Rate | ASTM E 96 | g/m2/24hr | 0.85 |
| Oxygen Transmission Rate | ASTM D 372-99 | cc/m2/24hr | 1.2 |
Excellent Sunlight Shielding
The sunflower seeds can be better protected in this vacuum package, as of its superior sun-light shielding performance. Sunflower seeds contain more oil under light conditions, especially long-term strong light irradiation, which is easy to cause oil oxidation and odor, which affects the taste and quality of sunflower seeds.
Great Mechanical Property
The paper package will protect sunflower seeds in filling, transit, and distribution. Under the emergency circumstances of unexpected shock in delivery or packages falling off the goods shelf, the package will never be allowed to break.
This reinforced laminated foil is achieved with great mechanical strength, with some standard items as below.
- Tensile Strength
- Sealing Strength
- Anti-puncture Strength
- Burst Impact Strength
- Anti-pressure Property
The above tests are performed against each order based on customer requirements, and you may check the exact values of this foil material in the Technical Data Sheet part of this post.
In our daily QC work, there is a more reliable method to check if the bag strength is enough to meet the final requirements of various customers. We perform a drop test against each order, of course, the standard for this drop test should be decided against customer needs.
Here, we are going to fill 100 grams of sunflower seeds into this pouch, perform drops 3 times, and check if there is any breakage for the package.
Technical Data Sheet of 100-gram sunflower seeds bag
Here, we attach the specification sheet of the 100g sunflower seed paper standup bag based on film material MatteBOPP/Kraft/VMPET/LDPE.
More tests are included in this specification sheet with items available listed as below.
- Yield (grams per square meter)
- Tensile Strength (Mpa)
- Elongation Rate (%)
- Coefficient of friction, short as COF
- Solvents Left (mg/m2 )
- Sealing Strength (N/15mm)
- Sealing Conditions
- Bond Strength (N/15mm)
- Burst Strength (J)
- Anti-Puncture ability (N)
- Drop Test Ability (cm)
- Anti-pressure ability (kgs)
- Water Vapor Transmission Rate (g/m2/24hr)
- Oxygen Transmission Rate (cc/m2/24hr)
If you want to learn more about this Matte BOPP/Kraft paper/VMPET/LDPE laminated foil, you can read it here.
More Sustainable Materials Options
Along with the increasing burden of fossil-chemical polymer materials discarded into our environment, there is an unprecedented demand for sustainable packages, leading to a more eco-friendly business activity. Upon the recent investigation of the roasted sunflower seeds market, more and more consumers are more likely to purchase a product that acts toward environmental sustainability.
Here, we are going to share some of the trending sustainable packages for the roasted sunflower seeds market.
Compostable Packaging Materials
The compostable packages are based on plant-based fibers like cellulose, or bio-mass like corn starch, cassava, or sugarcane. The resins derived from these resources are usually named bio-polymer, which can break down into inorganic elements under the functions of algae, bacteria, and other microorganisms.
We have developed several compostable foil materials that can be intended for roasted sunflower seeds, with the list below.
- Cellulose/Metallized Cellulose/PLA+PBAT Film
- Metallized Paper/Cellulose/PLA+PBAT Film
- Kraft Paper/Metallized Cellulose/PLA+PBAT Film
Fully Recyclable Mono Materials
Compared with the high cost of compostable foil materials, fully recyclable materials sachets, and rolls are flooding the market for lightweight product packages in the market at much lower prices.
Along with the improvement of barrier performance of PE film materials, their foil laminate can be enabled with a fine property to keep the sunflower seeds from moisture. A layer of PVA coating is applied over the surface of LDPE and HDPE film to enhance the moisture barrier. EVOH can be included in the biaxially orientated film, which is usually called BOPE in the flexible packaging industry, to largely improve the oxygen barrier performance.
sunflower-seeds-package
Nowadays, we have developed some bags based on single resin film materials, that can be found in good application for sunflower seeds, with some foils below.
- MDOPE/BOPE/APE
- MDOPE/HDPE/EVOH-LDPE
- MDOPE/AVMDOPE/LDPE
That all. Just reach us if you have any questions. Have a good time!
