Choosing the Right Edible Mylar Bags: A Practical Guide for Brands

A pouch that looks fantastic in a design file may still fail on a dispensary shelf, unless the film design, closure and compliance information have been buttoned out first. Packaging of edibles has an added burden over most consumer goods; it must meet child-resistant testing, remain opaque where needed and remain strong enough as a shelf-presentable branding device. This is how to reason about Edible Mylar Bags as a manufacturer would, before one design is developed.

Understand the Product Before the Packaging

The pouch spec should be determined by the product and not vice versa. Gummies, chocolates, baked edibles all react differently to moisture content, oil content and oxygen and light sensitivity; each variable affects the barrier level that the film must offer. Leaving this step out is by far one of the most frequent causes of Mylar Bags for Edibles not performing as they should after they have gone down the production line. Heat-sealed edges that seemed good on a sample bag can break in the course of weeks of handling unless the film was matched to the product.

Get the Barrier Properties Right

The print on the outside is not what safeguards the product but the barrier performance. The rate of oxygen transmission, rate of moisture vapor transmission and the general film thickness must be chosen according to the desired shelf life. Specifically, cannabinoids and terpenes decay when exposed to light and oxygen, thus metallized or foil-laminate designs are typical in Custom Mylar Bags for Edibles with long shelf life.

Build In Compliance From the Start, Not as an Afterthought

Most flexible packaging types are not regulated as heavily as edibles packaging and retrofitting compliance late in a project typically requires a redesign. The majority of legal markets have child-resistant closures that are certified to standards like ASTM D3475 or 16 CFR 1700.20, and have opaque requirements to ensure the product is not seen outside the bag. By incorporating these requirements into the spec during its initial design, instead of adding them to an existing design, it eliminates the need to do a second round of tooling and testing.

Design for the Shelf, Not Just the Mockup

The base stability, gusset type and general footprint determine what the actual result of a pouch would be once it is sitting in a dispensary case among a dozen other competing brands. An upright pouch that stands reliably and fills shelf space well is much more consistently faced than one that folds or occupies more space than it should.

Choose a Closure That Matches How the Product Is Handled

Closures aren’t interchangeable. Repeat-access edibles such as gummies use child-resistant zippers, as a customer should be able to close the bag after each consumption. Heat seals are used in single-serving or tamper-evident packages where the bag is not supposed to be reopened and resealed. The mylar bag packaging also impacts the cost of bag packaging in large quantities, as childproofing devices generally increase the cost of materials and test costs over a simple seal.

Account for Distribution, Not Just Retail Display

Even a bag that is designed to look good in dispensary light might break down during transit. Distribution stresses such as stacking pressure, temperature variations and repetitive handling are not the same stresses that a pouch undergoes when stored on a shelf. Brands with multiple states of shipping or with multiple points of distribution tend to justify the incremental cost by using reinforced seals and film gauges slightly heavier.

Run a Trial Batch Before Committing to Full Production

By omitting a sample run to save several days, costs nearly always increase in the long run. Sealing, filling and transportation testing with the real product rather than a dummy reveals issues when they are still inexpensive to correct. A seal or zipper that works well on a test bag that is empty may act in other ways when it has to carry the weight and oils of a packed edible product.

Evaluate the Manufacturer, Not Just the Spec Sheet

The ideal pouch specification is as effective as the manufacturer of the pouch. Some of these things that should be checked before engaging a supplier:

• Having all the material, printing, and sealing under a single roof is more likely to yield more homogeneous output compared to work distributed among vendors.
• The sampling process of a manufacturer that does not want to run a small batch before placing a large order should be reevaluated.
• Compliance experience: Not all packaging vendors are established to support child-resistant certification and state-specific labeling.
• Print consistency of color during reorders is more important when a brand is large enough to scale beyond its initial production run.
• When communicating on setup, the responsiveness of a supplier during sampling is normally an indication of how a supplier is going to respond to a problem in the future.

U.S. Packaging Suppliers Differ

Even custom packaging firms that cater to the edibles and cannabis industry have different specializations; some are dedicated to rigid boxes and inserts, others to flexible film work. Below is a comparison of three players in this area.

Kwick Packaging

Kwick Packaging produces Edible Mylar Bags whose material structures, closures and finishes are chosen according to the actual barrier and compliance requirements of the product – sourcing of the handling material, printing and sealing occur in a single process, as opposed to dividing the tasks among vendors. The brands collaborating with the team mention being responsive in the design and sampling:

“The boxes that we received from Kwick Packaging were excellent. We received outstanding design support, order status updates, and a faster-than-expected delivery even during this COVID-19 situation. We are very pleased with Melvin and Kwick Packaging and will use them for our box needs going forward. They are highly recommended.” DoPura LLC

“Our customers often comment on how well-designed and functional these custom 8 oz mylar bags are. It’s a win-win situation for them and us. These 8 oz bags are a reflection of our brand’s personality. They’ve given our business a unique edge. Will ship again & again.” Nicholas Hope

Bowepack

The Bowepack offerings are more of rigid custom boxes and printed cartons than flexible film pouches. Edible mylar formats that are child-resistant brands will be better suited to box-style retail packaging than pouch manufacturing.

Weeprint

Weeprint is centered on custom printed packaging that is fast-turnaround, concentrating on box and carton-like packaging and short reorder cycles versus the film-engineering component of flexible pouches.

Common Mistakes Brands Make With Edibles Packaging

The most common problems: selecting the thickness of the film depending on cost, not product compatibility; child-resistant compliance is a checkbox instead of a design input; trial fill is skipped and the artwork is finished before the barrier and seal test is complete. All these are much cheaper to repair during sampling as opposed to when a complete production run has already been shipped.

Conclusion

Consistent edibles packaging requires alignment between the film and the closure to the actual item creating conformity at the beginning and collaborating with a manufacturer that can maintain consistency in each re-order not only the first sample.

FAQs

1. What is the shelf life of mylar bags?

 It varies with the film and the product but a mylar pouch with a barrier rating can keep the product fresh and potent for several months as it restricts exposure to oxygen, moisture and light.

2. Do edible mylar bags have the ability to be printed in full or are they restricted to stock designs? 

Most manufacturers can do full custom printing (matte, gloss, metallized) and stock sizes, so brands aren’t confined to generic packages, even with smaller order quantities.