Stick-pouches have been in existence since the 1970s, but it wasn't until 1998 when General Mills introduced Go-Gurt, grab-and-go yogurt in a tube, that the package design caught on in the US. In Japan and Europe, stick-pouches were already established by the late 1980s and early 90s, says Neil Kozarsky, president of T.H.E.M. (Technical Help in Engineering and Marketing, www.them.net), which specializes in providing packaging solutions to the food, beverage and healthcare marketers in the US.

These three-side-seal alternatives to traditional pouches not only stand out because they look different, but they also save about 35 percent on the cost of film when compared to a pouch. So why did it take decades for this type of packaging to hit it big here at home?

When Tokyo-based Sanko Machinery Co., Ltd. (www.sanko-ov.co.jp) brought its stick-packaging machinery to numerous US packaging trade shows more than a decade ago, it ended up having to ship them back. “We learned that while there was interest in our stick-packs and awareness of potential benefits, companies were in no hurry to scrap production infrastructure (of three- and four-side-seal pouches) that was already bought and paid for,” explains Shoichi Yaguchi, director of Sanko.

It wasn't until major film suppliers such as Curwood (www.curwood.com), which also has a significant converting operation, got in the act that stick-packs started gaining US acceptance, says Kozarsky. T.H.E.M. also played a part by approaching Sanko in 1996 and becoming its US representative. Between 1997 and 2000, stick-packs made their way to North American consumers filled with sugar, artificial sweeteners, soluble coffee and infant formula mixes.

The notable leap for stick visibility, however, came in the form of yogurt. When Go-Gurt was launched nine years ago, product sales soared, and Go-Gurt became the leader in sales because of this not-so-new package innovation. “It wasn't long after the Go-Gurt and infant formula successes that most US consumers at least recognized what a stick-pack was,” Kozarsky says.

Strangely enough, US consumers have known all along what stick-packs were; they just didn't realize it. “In fact, a familiar package known to almost all Americans growing up as Pixie Sticks actually hindered, more than helped, initial stick packaging growth in the US,” Kozarsky explains. “This is because most consumers perceived that such packages contained candy and were to be used in a direct pouch-to-mouth dispensing fashion. While not necessarily a big deal, this misperception was one of the factors that delayed expansion.”

But by 2003, several key elements fell into place to support stick packaging. Curwood acquired a Fancy Cut® easy-open film technology license from Tokyo's Hosokowa Yoko Co., Ltd., which it incorporated into its stick-pouch converting operation. This innovation increases consumer convenience by making it easier to tear open the stick-pack. Stick packaging machinery was now capable of filling 90 cycles/min across up to 26 lanes. Economical laminations became available to converters, and US consumers learned that stick-packs were not just for sugary confections, Kozarsky says.

Global consumption of stick pouches is currently running at nearly 200 billion per year, with some segments growing more than 30 percent annually, according to Allied Development Corp.'s stick pouches study (www.allied-dev.com). One segment adding signicant fuel to the stick-pack industry is bottled water. In the US alone, that market now exceeds $9 billion, and 50 percent of that segment is purchased and consumed one bottle at a time, according to Kozarsky. This is great news for stick-packs of powdered beverages meant for on-the-go consumption.

So after years of slowly filtering into the US market, stick-pouch popularity has increased among converters, packagers and consumers.

“There has to be a compelling reason evident to drive a new package integration,” Kozarsky says. “With so many options available to consumers, the new package has to solve an obvious problem or improve an everyday habit. Regardless of how exceptional an innovation may be, its value and acceptance will be a function of the synergies between the core product identity/positioning and its relationship with that innovation.”