Ember Sadler
A gusseted pillow bag is a standard pillow bag with two side gussets folded into the package, giving it extra depth and volume. It is one of the most economical, predictable, and fastest-running bag styles you can produce on a vertical form fill seal (VFFS) machine, which is why it remains one of the most common flexible packages on store shelves.
Quick answer: A gusseted pillow bag adds two side folds to a classic pillow bag, increasing volume while preserving fast VFFS production, efficient film use, predictable sealing, and compact case packing. It works best for free-flowing products when stand-up shelf presentation and uninterrupted back-panel graphics are not essential.
In this post, part of our Brown Bag Blog series, we cover how the gusseted pillow bag is formed, where it outperforms other bag styles, where it falls short, and which products it fits best.
Why should you compare VFFS bag styles before choosing one?
The bag style you run affects your production speed, film usage, shelf presence, and secondary packaging efficiency. Choosing the default style without weighing the alternatives can lock in unnecessary costs for the life of the product. That is why this series looks at one bag style at a time.
Every few weeks, we devote one of these short posts to exploring the components of one specific style of VFFS bag. We outline the advantages and considerations, talk about its appearance and how it is formed, and discuss its place within current market trends.
If you missed the first post on the block bottom bag, be sure to check it out here!
In our first post, we talked about why it is critical to consider the pros and cons of each bag style for your VFFS machine, rather than merely accepting the default. We want to support you in making a choice that, in both the short and long term, is beneficial for you, your customers, and your product.
The blog posts in this series are a great starting point. If you are looking for a more in-depth analysis, be sure to check out our Rovema Bag Style Guide.
What is a gusseted pillow bag?
A gusseted pillow bag is a variation of the classic pillow bag that adds two side gussets, folds of film tucked into each side of the package. The gussets give the bag an extra dimension while keeping the lay-flat structure, cost efficiency, and high production speeds that made the standard pillow bag the original VFFS package.
Like its standard counterpart, the gusseted pillow bag is cost-effective and easy to manufacture. The added dimension supports high-speed production, efficient packaging in cartons, and consistent results, making it a popular choice among Rovema VFFS machine users.
How is a gusseted pillow bag designed and sealed?
Gusseted pillow bags are sealed at the top and bottom, with a vertical fin or lap seal at the back and two side gussets formed into the package. The construction is simple, which is what makes the style so repeatable at high speeds.
That simplicity also makes the format forgiving. Gusseted pillow bags reliably handle a wide range of flexible film materials, including many of the recyclable and paper-based structures brands are moving toward. If your film supply or material strategy changes, this bag style rarely becomes the constraint.
What are the advantages of gusseted pillow bag packaging?
The gusseted pillow bag is predictable, consistent, and economical to make, and it typically runs faster than a standard pillow bag of equal volume. The gussets allow the use of a larger forming tube than a standard pillow bag, which often equates to higher speeds and cleaner charges from the filling component.
As the original style of vertical bag, the pillow bag has stood the test of time for good reason. Its close relative, the gusseted pillow bag, shares many of the same advantages. Running this style of bag on your VFFS machine makes it easy to achieve very high production speeds.
Beyond speed and efficiency, several customizable features can be included on a gusseted pillow bag to meet your product’s needs. It can feature different hole punch styles for merchandising, as well as easy-open and reclosable features like a zipper and perforation line.
Because of its simplicity and dependability, the gusseted pillow bag is a strong bag style choice for many products across different industries.
What are the limitations of a gusseted pillow bag?
The gusseted pillow bag cannot stand upright on a shelf, its back seal can interfere with backside graphics, and its popularity means it offers little visual differentiation from competing packages. Whether those trade-offs matter depends on your product and how it is merchandised.
Ask yourself three questions if you are considering a gusseted pillow bag.
Do I need a pouch with stand up ability? If so, you should explore other options like the RoPack, Stabilo, or Block Bottom Bag, as gusseted pillow bags do not have this feature.
Do I want a bag that is distinct from other styles found in the market? Because it is dependable, customizable, and efficient, the gusseted pillow bag is everywhere. If shelf differentiation is a priority for your brand, you may want to check out a different style.
How important are backside graphics on my product’s pouch? Due to the longitudinal seal, the gusseted pillow bag may obscure any graphics on the backside. While an offset vertical seal is available as an alternative, it cannot be placed directly in the corner, making it not a true offset. If this is a crucial factor for you, there are several other options, such as the block bottom bag, which offers a true offset vertical seal.
We want to support you in making the best decision for your products, operations, and customers. These are just a few of the questions we’d encourage you to consider, and we’re happy to provide more individualized thoughts for a specific project if you'd like to reach out to us here.
What products are gusseted pillow bags best suited for?
Gusseted pillow bags work well for free-flowing and granular products packed at high speeds, including cereals, snacks, powders, rice and grains, pet foods, and salt, sugar, and spices. The style’s predictability and efficiency make it a fit across many different industries and for many different products running on VFFS machines. In our experience, some of these include:
- Bag-In-Box Breakfast Cereal
- Snacking and Bakery
- Powders
- Rice and Grains
- Pet Foods
- Powdered Infant Formula
- Construction Powders
- Salt, Sugar and Spices
Why do gusseted pillow bags fit today’s market pressures?
Gusseted pillow bags help manufacturers protect margins because they use film efficiently, run at high speeds, and require no premium features to perform. When input costs rise and retailers push back on pricing, the economics of the bag style itself become part of the answer.
Shoppers continue to watch their spending closely. That, coupled with the pressure ingredient and other input prices put on food producers, has squeezed manufacturers’ margins. Bag styles like the gusseted pillow bag are a great choice for our customers feeling these pressures, because the format can be produced simply, efficiently, and at high production speeds.
How can Rovema help you choose the right VFFS bag style?
Rovema helps you evaluate bag styles against your product, film, and production goals before you commit, so the package you choose serves you in both the short and long term. This Brown Bag Blog series is here to serve as a resource because we want to ensure you’ve made the bag style choice for your VFFS machine that is best for your individual needs.
Whether you think that’s a gusseted pillow bag, a block bottom bag, or one of the many other bag style options available to you, we are here to support you throughout your decision-making process.
Because it is simple and economical to make, consistent and predictable, and can easily achieve very high production speeds, many choose the gusseted pillow bag for their Rovema VFFS machine. If you are interested in learning more about running gusseted pillow bags on your Rovema VFFS bagger, or in investing in a Rovema VFFS machine with capabilities of producing these types of bags, please reach out to us here.
Note that if you are a current customer running a BVC Flex machine and are considering switching to a gusseted pillow bag from any other package style, you can use your current machinery to test this in your market. Contact our Life Cycle Services department about tool-less changeover training and what else you need to consider, according to your specific solution.
