Food packaging has changed a great deal over the years. Milk used to be sold exclusively in glass bottles, and even material like metals and aluminum were prevalent in packing industry. In recent years plastic packaging companies have taken the lead in the marketplace, and with good reason. Plastic is cheap, efficient, and easy to recycle in most cases. In fact, the gallon milk jug used today weighs 30% less than 20 years ago.

More and more companies are utilizing flexible packaging and other innovative techniques in their products. This growing industry is expected to top $100 million by the year 2018. One pound of plastic packaging can reduce food waste by about 1.7 pounds on average according to experts.

Mondi is one company on the cutting edge of this field. According to Packaging Digest, an industry publication, they have developed a disposable pouch packaging for a craft beer dispenser made by Synek. The idea is you buy the dispenser to have in your home, and then buy these pouches and bring them to breweries, pubs, restaurants, or fill them yourself if you do your own brewing.

The creators hope this will be an alternative to growler buyers and other craft beer enthusiasts who love the idea of having quality craft beer at their fingertips. It has a three layer design which ensures the beer will stay fresh for up to 30 days, and the flexible pouches hold 128 ounces.

It’s ideas like this in the beverage and food packaging industry that will continue to make growth and innovation a success. While this is certainly more of a niche audience, it will be interesting to see how successful it becomes. While there are differences, just look at the popularity of boxed wines. They use similar plastic pouches that allow for easier and safer transportation.

The flexible food packaging market is predicted to only grow in the next several years by an average rate of 3.4%. It will soon reach almost $250 billion proving that if you can’t keep up with the changing times, get out of the packaging industry.