Recently, a Finnish natural pet food brand commissioned Longine to produce a batch of high-barrier aluminum foil stand-up pouches for its new line of chicken and beef wet cat food. Designed primarily for high-temperature retort-processed wet pet food, this packaging required high standards for barrier performance, heat-seal stability, and shelf display appeal. Following multiple rounds of communication and sample approval, Longine provided the client with a comprehensive custom solution for the aluminum foil bags.
Client Background and Packaging Requirements
Focus on Natural Wet Pet Food Products
This client has long specialized in natural wet cat food products, with primary sales channels including local pet supermarket chains, e-commerce platforms, and veterinary clinics. As brand sales have grown, the client plans to launch a new chicken and beef wet cat food series and has set higher standards for the packaging.
Since the product is positioned as a premium natural pet food, the client hopes the new packaging will convey a cleaner, more natural, and high-quality visual style while being suitable for high-temperature retort sterilization processes.
Issues with the Existing Packaging
During actual use, the client’s existing packaging gradually revealed several issues, including:
- Lack of dimensionality in the bag
- Minor deformation of heat-sealed edges
- Insufficient print fineness
- Minor bulging in some packages after high-temperature sterilization
- Lack of clarity in multilingual text areas
Based on these requirements, the client sought to custom-design a new aluminum foil bag that balances aesthetic quality with packaging stability.
Optimizing Bag Shape and Material Structure for Wet Pet Food Characteristics
The product being packaged is a wet cat food containing chicken breast and beef, with shredded meat and a jelly-like broth. This formulation demands high levels of barrier performance and heat resistance from the packaging.
Taking into account the client’s filling and sterilization processes, Longine recommended the following:
High-barrier aluminum foil bags
The overall packaging utilizes:
- PET/AL/RCPP laminate structure
- High-barrier aluminum foil middle layer
- 121°C retort-resistant inner layer material
- Rounded-corner stand-up pouch design
Pouch dimensions:
- 100mm × 160mm + 30mm bottom gusset
- Capacity: approximately 70g–80g
The client specifically requested that the aluminum foil food bags stand upright naturally on store shelves, so the bottom support structure was reinforced to ensure better stability after filling.
The initial custom order quantity reached 26,000 units
This product series features four custom flavors, each distinguished by a different background color.
Specifically:
- Chicken & Beef Formula: 80,000 units
- Tuna & Chicken Formula: 60,000 units
- Salmon & Chicken Formula: 60,000 units
- Chicken & Shrimp Formula: 60,000 units
The front of the aluminum foil bags feature a design with large areas of white space, paired with images of real meat strips, creating a visual aesthetic that aligns closely with the brand’s positioning as a natural pet food.
Additionally, the client requested the following features for the packaging:
Information in three languages: English, Finnish, and Swedish
- Matte surface finish
- Easy-tear opening
- High-precision color printing
- Leak-proof heat-sealed structure
Prior to mass production, Longine made multiple adjustments to the aluminum foil cooking bags layout details to ensure the arrangement of content in different languages was clear and organized.
Greater Emphasis on Bag Stability After Retorting
Since wet pet food requires high-temperature sterilization, the client’s primary concern was whether the aluminum foil bags would delaminate, wrinkle, or experience seal deformation after retorting.
During production, Longine focused on controlling the following key processes:
Laminate strength control: Enhanced the bond stability between the aluminum foil layer and the inner material to reduce the risk of delamination after high-temperature processing.
Optimization of heat-seal width: Adjusted the seal width to match the client’s filling equipment, improving seal stability.
Retort testing: Conducted high-temperature retort testing at 121°C prior to production to ensure the aluminum foil bag for food remains flat after sterilization.
Print abrasion resistance testing: Prevented surface scratches or color fading during transportation.
Additionally, to meet the client’s maritime shipping requirements, the outer carton was equipped with a moisture-proof inner bag and compartment dividers to minimize the impact of extended transit on the packaging.
More Consistent Packaging Display After Market Launch
After the product officially entered the market, the client reported that the new aluminum foil bags performed more consistently in several areas:
- Neater shelf displays
- Significantly improved stand-up performance
- Higher consumer ratings for packaging quality
- Flatter bag appearance after retorting
- Clearer readability of multilingual information
Particularly in high-end pet supply retail chains, the new packaging’s overall visual appeal better aligns with the natural pet food positioning.
The client has already begun planning a new series of pet treat packaging and will continue to utilize the high-barrier aluminum foil pouch solution provided by Longine.
Longine Offers a Wide Range of Customized Flexible Packaging Solutions for Pet Food
For products such as wet pet food, freeze-dried food, and pet treats, Longine offers:
- Boil-safe aluminum foil pouches
- Stand-up pouches for pet food
- High-barrier flexible packaging
- Matte-finish pet food packaging
- Multilingual custom packaging
- Customization services for both small and large batches
From material composition and pouch design to printing and production, we provide stable and professional packaging solutions tailored to the specific characteristics of different pet foods. If you have any food packaging needs, please contact us immediately for a customized solution.
