To paraphrase the paunchy boozer who gave Dustin Hoffman famous career advice in The Graduate, “I have one word for you: Pouches.”

That's good advice for flexible-packaging converters now and for the rest of the decade. Spurred on by the continued expansion of the standup pouch (SUP) and healthy gains for flat pouches, US pouch demand is expected to climb 6.3 percent a year through 2010. Based on a new study by Cleveland-based researcher The Freedonia Group, sales will top $6.5 billion four years hence from a total of about $4.8 billion last year.

Pouches, particularly SUPs, will benefit from a host of value-added features and properties such as spouts, zippers, retortability and microwaveability. Hot end-use markets for the trendy SUP include cheese, processed foods, and consumer and industrial products, Freedonia says, while strong growth for flat pouches will be registered in such fields as fresh produce, medical and pharmaceutical items, and consumer products.

SUP demand should be driven by the package's aesthetic appeal, reclosability, freshness protection and ability to differentiate products on store shelves. Innovations such as retortable zippers will also heighten sales and expand the number of applications. Also, the relative novelty of SUPs as a packaging form in the domestic market is likely to bolster gains as packagers seek to update mature products, the study suggests. For example, fully 13 winners in the 2006 FPA Achievement Awards competition were standup pouches.

Despite all the positives in the SUP's favor though, sales growth will clearly moderate from the torrid pace of 2000-2005, Freedonia predicts. SUP demand will fall from 24.4 percent to 11.6 percent annually through 2010—still a rate many other packaging types would envy.

Flat pouches will stay the dominant type through 2010 with side-seal versions chiefly serving markets such as cheese, yogurt, pudding and pharma. Pillow pouches will remain the largest flat-pouch category based on extensive use for snack foods.

In food and beverage markets, pouches are forecasted to 6.1 percent annually through 2010 to $5.2 billion. Above-average opportunities lie in beverages, processed foods, pet food, fresh/frozen meats/seafood, and fresh produce. Nonfood pouch demand will climb even higher, Freedonia says, at 6.9 percent a year to $1.3 billion in 2010. Top end-users will be pharma and lawn & garden product packagers.