tea-pouch-packaging

Why tea pouch packaging is the next big thing in the industry

Tea pouch packaging is considered the ideal tea bag packer format nowadays as well as one of the best packaging solutions in the whole sector. The pouch is not only used in the tea industry for tea bags, it is also applied to a wide range of industry segments, both as a primary and as a secondary package. There are several reasons for this:

  • It is designed to pack items in the easiest, most flexible way;
  • In terms of materials, the pouch can offer a wide range of solutions made of paper, plastic or aluminium and satisfy different market needs, including the growing demand for sustainable and eco-friendly packaging solutions;
  • It excels in convenience, providing a time-saving, unwasteful solution that suits the fast-paced, on-the-go lifestyle of modern consumers;
  • It is also resealable, enabling long-term preservation of the products.

Also due to its portability, the tea pouch seems a perfect choice for the tea market, especially considering that tea bags are still very popular to this day. Lately, though, they have been having quite a boom due to a rare but powerful combination of factors. So much so that, according to experts[1] , the automatic tea bag wrapping machine market is expected to rise at a 4.9% CAGR between 2021 and 2026.

There are many factors behind this growth:  

  1. Strong demand: The market is registering a tremendous boom of tea production and consumption worldwide[2] , especially in emerging markets, where tea is extremely popular. This global expansion is, in fact, largely driven by China and India, where the average disposable income and product variety are on the rise.
  2. Consumer awareness: In the pandemic world, hygiene and health are at the top of everyone's priority list.[3]   This makes tea a compelling beverage, given that it is considered healthy owing to the presence of a number of potent antioxidants and minerals such as potassium, manganese, magnesium and calcium. Indeed, it offers numerous health benefits such as reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke, weight loss, maintaining bone health, boosting immunity, and enhancing digestion.
  3. High number of market segments: the rise in disposable income has enabled tea manufacturers to launch new premium products, featuring healthy ingredients to target many common health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases etc. This has increased both revenues and the consumer population, adding fuel to the fire. At the same time, tea is relatively inexpensive to produce and widely accepted across all socio-economic groups, therefore it can be easily mass-marketed in low-income segments as well.[4]      

Top 4 reasons why tea pouch packaging is often a better option

The tea pouch, also called tea bag packer, is often a better option when compared to the alternatives, mainly due to four key features:

  • Space Saving
  • Cost-saving
  • Freshness & Fragrance
  • Flexibility

Space-saving

In the realm of tea bag packaging, the tea pouch is the most space-saving solution there is. The tea pouch makes it possible to seal from 20 up to 150 tea bags into one flexible bag. This enables unmatched space optimization, freeing up inventory space and putting less stress on logistics and supply chains.

Cost-saving

From a cost-saving point of view, nothing compares with tea pouch packaging. First, the material of which the tea pouch is made of is extremely inexpensive. Most importantly, tea pouches take up less space than alternative packaging formats. As a result, tea pouches allow significant savings in shipping costs. In times like this where the global supply chains are strangled, such a feature makes tea pouches way more attractive and sustainable due to their lower carbon footprint.

Freshness & Fragrance

Tea pouches are better when it comes to freshness and fragrance conservation. Indeed, this kind of packaging perfectly preserves the freshness and fragrance of tea, as it protects the leaves from atmospheric agents, such as light and air, that might modify or negatively impact the scent and taste of the product. Because of this, tea pouches are ideal for the Horeca market, where the need to protect the fragrance of tea is taken into high account with a predominant use of single-use tea bags.

Flexibility

The tea pouch is one of the most flexible options in tea packaging. Other formats tend to be rigid solutions: they are limited to specific shapes and to a small set of sizes. On the contrary, tea pouches are modular and can be made in various sizes depending on the customer's needs. Because of this, they allow the manufacturer to quickly adapt its product strategy to fast-changing market conditions.

Discover ACMA’s tea pouch packaging equipment portfolio

ACMA’s tea bag packaging equipment portfolio is very rich. The three most prominent machines are:

  • TE 500
  • TD 300
  • TM 320

The very first model developed by ACMA with pouch as end-of-line was the TE 500. Over time, as the company strengthened its know-how and technical expertise, it became possible to enable this packaging solution for the TD 300 and TM 320 as well. What’s more, in recent years, the R & D department has built a series of solutions that further expand the company's portfolio into secondary packaging, embracing tea bags packaging technologies in different formats and at different speeds to meet the needs of ACMA’s numerous customers. As a result, ACMA now counts on a first-class, flexible portfolio, able to cover every market need while keeping a strong focus on sustainability and cost reduction.

Going into detail, the TE 500 is a double chamber tea bag machine (500 ppm) with sealed filter paper, envelope and cartoner. It is a remarkably flexible tea packaging wrapper with an excellent speed to investment ratio that can work at the same speed, regardless of packaging configuration. Cherry on top, the lack of adhesive labels to attach string and tag greatly diminishes the production costs.

The TD 300, on the other hand, is a double chamber tea bag packing machine (300 ppm) with double knot and hard tag. It stands out for its capability to handle different tea bag sizes, ensuring high flexibility and versatility in a rapidly changing market. The use of a commercial needle, combined with the two knots simultaneously applied on both bag and tag, makes the TD 300 a highly eco-sustainable product and cost-efficient in terms of spare parts.

Last but not least, the TM 320 is a single chamber tea bags packer (320 ppm) with sealed filter paper, envelope and cartoner. Due to its modular structure, this tea packaging machine allows for different configurations depending on the customers' requests. The machine is extremely cost-effective and eco-friendly, since the minimal number of components reduces maintenance costs and spare parts consumption, also lowering the carbon footprint. In addition, it can handle biodegradable material, resulting in the reduction of filter paper.

If you are looking for a tea bag packaging machine, get in touch. Our portfolio is very wide, we always stay on top of trends and have decades of experience in the industry.


[1] Source:Mordor Intelligence
[2] Source:FAO
[3] Source:McKinsey
[4] Source:Imarc

 

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