The Stabilo® Quad Seal Coffee Bag: Brown Bag Blog Series

Welcome Back: The Rovema Brown Bag Blog Series

Hello hello! We hope you’re doing well. Welcome to this month’s edition of our Brown Bag Blog Series. We’re glad that you’re here.

If you’re a regular reader and are up to date on this blog series, we recommend you skip this first section (unless you’d like a quick review of our “why” for this series).

This is part 5 of our Brown Bag Blog Series. Throughout this series, we’ve explored the many different bag style options available for your Rovema VFFS machine. These posts, like brown bag webinars or in-person meetings, are designed to be short, sweet, and to the point.

At Rovema, we know how important it is to take the time to carefully consider which bag style best suits your product. We know this because, over our many years of experience, we’ve seen that it is common in the industry to choose VFFS bag styles by default, without much thought. It might seem like a small detail, but thinking through the strengths and considerations of different VFFS bag styles pays off greatly over time.

Because of this, we’re releasing these posts to give you a quick overview of the various bag style options for your Rovema VFFS machine. In each of these Brown Bag Blog Series posts, we outline the advantages and considerations of a given bag style, talk about its appearance and how it is formed, and discuss its place within current market trends.

Here’s what we’ve covered in past posts:

1. Block Bottom Bags
2. Gusseted Pillow Bags
3. Flex Can Stand Up Pouches
4. Sachet Style Packages

Today’s focus: Stabilo^® Bags Quad Seal Packages.

Find Yourself Wanting More? Our Comprehensive Bag Style Guide is a Great Free Resource to Help you Dig Deeper!

Though these blog posts are a great starting point for finding the right bag style for your Rovema VFFS machine, we know that some folks want more info. The great news: our bag style guide is a great, free resource with more details and handy charts to allow you to further dig into the strengths and considerations of different bag styles.

You can check out our Rovema VFFS Bag Style Guide here.

Stabilo^® AKA Quad Seal Packages: The Block Bottom Bag Style with Premium Shelf Presence and Stand Up Ability

What is a Stabilo® or Quad Seal Package?

Stabilo^® or Quad Seal stand up pouch is a variation of the block bottom style bag with four (quad) seals in each of the vertical corners. The actual process for forming Stabilo® bags was invented by Rovema, with the intent of providing extremely solid stability, as well as a shelf appearance that mirrors that of traditional paperboard cartons.

Extremely common for premium retail coffee packaging , the Stabilo^® or Quad Seal bag, like any stand up pouch, has a great shelf presence and is prized by marketing teams for their optional full front and back panel exposure for graphics. 

What is the design of a Stabilo^® or Quad Seal Package?

The Stabilo^® or Quad Seal Style Bag is a specific style of block bottom bag. Created through an innovative, patented process, these packages are designed to mimic the stability characteristics and shelf presence of traditional paperboard cartons. This style is achieved through four seals: one at each of the vertical corners (hence, the name “quad seal package.”).

To achieve premium presentation and appearance for these stand up pouches, Rovema experts recommend using film with an outer sealant layer, allowing the VFFS machine to tack the bottom and top gussets during the sealing process. This ensures that the gusset ears don’t flare open on the sides, allowing for better overall presentation, ensuring the gable top remains intact, and preserving the block bottom after it is placed on the shelf for its point of sale presentation.

Other design features of the Stabilo^®  Bag include:

• An optional offset vertical seal, which allows for full front and back panel exposure for graphics.
• Options for easy open and reclosable features, such as tin tie or tape
• The option to fit a one-way degassing valve during the bagging process, which prevents pressure build-up in packages of whole coffee beans as the beans continue to de-gas.

What are the advantages of a Stabilo^® or Quad Seal Package?

Stabilo® or Quad Seal Packages are incredibly attractive for many reasons. Perhaps most significant? Their standout shelf appearance. For those wanting the premium look, this style of stand up pouch allows for full front and back panel exposure for graphics and has solid stand-up ability. Rovema’s patented process for the stabilizing vertical seals on each corner is what allows for this great shelf presence.

Beyond their overall appearance, Quad Seal Packages are easily customizable to meet your product’s particular needs. Whether that means including easy-open and reclosable features, tacking the bottom and top gussets for better presentation, or fitting with a one-way degassing valve to allow fresh roasted coffee beans to continue to de-gas, these packages offer many appealing features.

What are considerations for these styles of packages?

When choosing which bag style to use for your Rovema VFFS bagger, it is important to think through both the strengths and considerations of a given bag style. A few questions we encourage our customers to consider when thinking about using Stabilo® or Quad Seal Style Packages for their product are:

1. Am I willing to have a higher package material to product ratio? To achieve their premium look and rock-solid stand-up ability, Stabilo® packages do require more packaging material.
2. How important is package recyclability to me? The ​​outer sealant layer that aids package stability may prevent recyclability.
3. How critical is high production speed to me? If wanting to package your product at a high speed, we recommend checking out the Gusseted Pillow Bag or other Pillow Bag variations.
4. Am I willing to spend more on the premium film material that leads to the stellar appearance of this style of bag?

What types of products would a Stabilo^® or Quad Seal Package be good for?

The most distinct advantages of the Stabilo® or Quad Seal Style Bag are its rock-solid stand-up ability and premium shelf presence for point of sale presentation. In our experience, customers with Rovema VFFS machines often opt for this package style for the following products:

• Coffee Packaging (For this industry in particular, the ability to include a one-way degassing valve during the bagging process makes these packages especially attractive.)
• Snack Packaging
• Baked Good Packaging
• Short Cut Pasta Packaging
• Infant and Baby Formula Packaging

Feel like the Stabilo^® package might be the right fit for your Rovema VFFS bagger? Get in contact so we can support you!

We know that choosing the correct bag style can be overwhelming, and we’re happy to help. If you’re thinking that a Quad Seal package might be a good fit for your product, or if you’re leaning towards one of the many other bag style options available to you, we are here to support you as you weigh different options for your VFFS bagger.

If you want to learn more about running Stabilo^® or Quad Seal Style on your Rovema VFFS bagger, or if you want to learn more about Rovema VFFS machines with capabilities of producing these styles of bags, hit us up!