Stick Packs.

A stick pack is formed from roll stock on a vertical machine that seals a long back seam and then crimps the top and bottom. The result is a tall narrow tube rather than a flat pillow, and multi-lane machines produce many sticks side by side at once. That is what makes single-serve viable at volume.

There is no gusset and no zipper. The pack is torn once and emptied.

The narrow opening is the whole point: torn across the top, the stick funnels its contents straight into a bottle neck without spilling. An easy-tear sealant layer is specified so the film opens cleanly across the top rather than ripping down one side and dumping powder sideways.

The tear notch guides that opening, which matters when the pack is being opened one-handed on the move.

A PET / AL / PE foil laminate is the standard for hygroscopic powders that cake with any moisture. Metallised laminate is the cheaper option for less sensitive powders and shorter shelf lives. Paper / foil / PE, a paper outer over foil, is the food-service structure for sugar and sweetener sticks.

Clear PET / LLDPE is available where the colour of the powder is part of the appeal, at the cost of light and moisture barrier. Liquid and gel fills run on the same machinery with a sealant chosen for the fill.

Hierarchy does the work on a stick pack, because the brand, flavour and variant all share a face about an inch across. Matte lamination dominates in premium supplements, gloss lifts colour on a small area for mass retail, and a metallic reveal leaves unprinted film showing the foil layer, a convention in sports nutrition.

Batch codes and lot numbers can be printed inline during production. A kraft or paper outer is available for natural ranges.

Three sizes cover most fills: 0.8 by 4 inches, 1 by 5 inches and 1.2 by 6 inches. The measurement is simply width by length across the flat tube, since there is no gusset to add. The fill volume then depends on the density of what goes in.

We will size a stick to your fill weight and the machine it runs on, because lane width on the filling line sets the upper limit.

500 sticks is the floor, and this format only gets cheap at volume. There is more film per gram of product than in any bag, and the machinery rewards long runs. Tiered pricing kicks in above 1,000 and keeps falling well past that.

Runs of up to 100,000 are quoted from the same roll stock.

Production takes 7 to 10 business days after proof approval, or 5 to 7 on the rush schedule. Samples are ready in 5 to 7 business days, and a sealed sample should go through your filling line before the full order.

Sample fees are deducted from the production invoice, and delivery covers every US state.

Usually, yes: the stick carries the dose and a folding carton carries the retail message. The multipack outer has the panel space for the full product story, and the sticks inside only need the brand, the variant and the required marks. We can print both as one job so the colour matches.

For transit, a foil stick is tough on its own. The carton mostly protects the sticks from being crushed flat in a case.