Flexible pouches, sachets, and packettes offer distinctive advantages to beauty and personal care brands hoping to minimize their packaging footprint. 

Small tear-open sachets and packettes are perfect for limited-use travel products and single-use product sampling. Larger-sized flexible packages, outfitted with pour spouts and resealable caps, are ideal for refilling primary vessels like jars and bottles. Best of all, there’s plenty of real estate for brand messaging in the form of printed text and graphics. 

The Pros & Cons of Flexible Packaging

Typically comprised of thin layers of protective plastic, foil and/or paper, flexible packages do a great job of protecting product formulations from light and oxidation, but in terms of sustainability, they are like most other packaging solutions: they have advantages and drawbacks. 

“Flexible packaging can be economical, versatile, durable, portable, and contribute to a smaller environmental footprint due to its light weight (resulting in reduced transportation and energy costs, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and greater efficiencies throughout the supply chain),” says Moira Stein, Market Insights and Brand Strategy Specialist at Berlin Packaging.

But while flexible packages are flat and lightweight for transport and storage, enabling them to take up less space before and after the package is used, they face challenges on the recyclability front due to their multi-layered combinations of plastic, paper, and foil. Some store drop-off programs facilitate PE pouch recycling, but other multi-layer pouches present unique challenges for typical consumer curbside recycling programs. 

Stein points to a Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) estimate that just 5% of the film is collected through store drop-off for recycling. “Eco-conscious brands need to be careful when selecting the right flexible packaging solution,” she says. “Innovations are being made with recyclable mono-material flexible packaging, reusable pouches, and films made with recycled content.”

Berlin Packaging provides beauty and personal care brands with flexible pouches and bags in a variety of shapes, styles, materials, and closure types. The company has exclusive product offerings (like its Sashi refill pouch) and also sources flexible pouches from its vast network of global supplier partners. Beyond flexible stock options, Berlin’s Studio One Eleven design and innovation division provides custom design and branding services to meet a variety of customer needs. 

Flexible Pouches for Refillable Packaging Systems

Several of Berlin Packaging’s customers opt for flexible pouches as a strategic part of a refill system, reducing their environmental impact due to decreased material use, weight, and transportation emissions associated with flexible packaging. “Berlin Packaging’s dedicated team of sustainability experts conducts lifecycle assessments (LCAs) that measure the environmental impact of different packaging options to help our customers select the most effective and impactful solution,” Stein says.

The company recently entered into an exclusive agreement with Xela Pack to supply paper-based packets to customers. “They are perfect for a variety of beauty and personal care applications and especially great for sample, trial, and small retail-size products with easy bend-and-tear tabs, self-closing orifices for single- or multi-dose, tamper evidence, and more,” Stein explains.

Most recently, Berlin Packaging helped Babo Botanicals launch their first eco-friendly refill pouch for their shampoo and wash collection. The pouches are made with 30% post-consumer recycled plastic and use 80% less plastic than two 16oz bottles, reducing the company’s use of virgin plastic. Stein reports that the pouches quickly became Babo Botanicals’ top-selling SKUs.

Advice on Choosing the Right Flexible Solution

Zacros America specializes in protective flexible packaging for liquid products. The company’s comprehensive range of flexible packaging for beauty and personal care liquid products includes spouted and spoutless pouches from 60ml to 3L. All of its products are available in recycle-ready mono-solutions formats, which consist of mono-material films designed for recyclability and meeting sustainability demands without compromising performance.

When it comes to flexible packaging for beauty and personal care products, John Patterson, the Senior Business Development Manager at Zacros America, says there are several key considerations he recommends brand owners take into account.

First up is chemical compatibility. “While protection from oxygen, light, or moisture is widely understood, potential interactions between the product and flexible films are often overlooked,” he says. “Testing is recommended to ensure product integrity, especially when switching to flexible formats.”

Next is design and production alignment. “Pouch design must align with equipment capabilities,” comments Patterson. “Early collaboration between brand owners, co-packers, and suppliers helps avoid costly production issues and ensures smooth manufacturing.”

Finally, there’s determining which material aligns best with a brand’s sustainability goals. “Flexible packaging offers a variety of options to meet different sustainability needs, including reducing plastic usage, incorporating PCR content, and using mono-material structures, while each approach should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis,” he says. “We emphasize that true sustainability also takes into account raw material sourcing, transportation, and the overall environmental footprint across the supply chain.”

The company’s Flowpack pouch can be an alternative to spouted pouches, and saves up to 40% of material use by comparison. Like a spouted pouch, Flowpack has various opening dimension options to support different content viscosity, and avoids leak issues with a completely sealed structure.

More Supplier Innovations in Flexible Pouches & Sachets

Zacros America’s signature sachet packaging film is a glass-like non-interactive film (NIf) that mimics the performance of glass without the weight or fragility. Patterson says the NIf series is especially suited for formulas that may react with conventional flexible films.

The company has made many advancements in the past year, including the development of PET-based and polyolefin-based mono-material sachet films, expanding mono-material refill pouches to smaller sizes, and strengthened collaborations with co-packers. 

Zacros America also worked with an unnamed global cosmetics brand on a sample sachet film, where optimizing brand image through sample products was a key priority. “They have been utilizing conventional films for sample packaging; however, their products were interacting with the films, causing delamination issues,” Patterson explains, noting its NIf non-interactive film provided the perfect solution to prevent this problem. “In addition, we were able to improve their production yield due to our film’s higher printing alignment tolerance and its ability to run at lower sealing temperatures.”  

Related: Flexible Packaging When Form Meets Function

He adds that Zacros America also successfully navigated the additional challenge of aligning the film colors for the brand’s sample packaging with those of the full-sized product bottles, which can be technically problematic due to differences in materials, finishes, and printing methods. “To address this, we worked closely with our printing partner and conducted multiple rounds of color proofing to ensure the final result met brand expectations,” he says.

L’Oreal Expands Its Refill Commitment

As beauty and personal care brands continue to embrace the pillars of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, product refills represent one of the biggest opportunities for flexible packaging.

L’Oréal recently created a new consumer awareness campaign that champions refills across its fragrance, skincare, and haircare franchises, and invites consumers around the world to join the movement.

The company announced that in keeping with its near 20-year commitment to reduce environmental impact and foster responsible consumption, it plans to accelerate the development and rollout of refillable solutions across its brand portfolio, commenting that “Refills represent more than a passing trend—they are a fundamental pillar of our vision for a more sustainable, desirable, and high-performing beauty industry.”

Having pioneered the original fragrance refill concept with the point-of-sale Mugler Fountain for refilling empty Mugler fragrance bottles, L’Oréal is extending the refill concept with solutions to all of its divisions.  

In Europe, the company says refillable pouches of Elvive haircare products reduce plastic use by 60% across several product lines, with the potential to impact millions of consumers.

L’Oréal Luxe also features refills, including skincare products like Lancôme Génifique Serum. Its newly designed refillable bottle maintains the product’s iconic look while at the same time, reducing resource use. The company maintains that the use of one 50ml refill allows for a 74% reduction in global weight compared to using the original preset bottle.   

“Refills allow us to merge sustainability, desirability, and performance—delivering the same exceptional formulations consumers love, in innovative packaging designed to significantly reduce resource use and environmental impact,” the company said in a statement.

L’Oréal’s refill crusade is supported by advertising and social media campaigns bearing the hashtag #JoinTheRefillMovement, meant to encourage participation and engagement among consumers. 

Beauty Brands Are Choosing Larger-Sized Flexible Pouches

Larger sized flexible pouches are proving to be ideal refill containers for a variety of prominent beauty and personal care brands.

ELEVEN Australia chose a 1000ml pouch for its limited-edition, hydrating Miracle Hair Treatment Shampoo and Conditioner Refill, which the company says delivers the same best-selling formula with 85% less waste.

“At ELEVEN Australia, we’re always looking for ways to minimize our environmental impact while still prioritizing quality,” says Joey Scandizzo, Celebrity Hairstylist and Co-Founder/Co-Creative Director of ELEVEN Australia. “Embracing refillable packaging allows us to cut out single-use plastic and give our community a more sustainable way to enjoy their favorite products.” 

Also in the haircare category, Hairstory has debuted a colorful new refillable Better Bottle to support its existing flexible pouches of New Wash haircare products. The 100% recyclable bottle is comprised of 50% post-consumer recycled (PCR) material and made for long-term refilling, using the brand’s new-look 8-, 20- and 32oz refill pouches.

The antimicrobial refillable bottle features a bottom-heavy, non-slip base plus a wide mouth for easy refilling, and has a pump designed specifically for thicker creams. Inside, it funnels the product toward the center to ensure every drop of product is used. 

The brand also unveiled a new look to mark its 10th anniversary this September. The aesthetic includes a super-sleek design with clearer usage instructions and a QR code to connect consumers with product information. 

Flexible Pouches That Reseal & Dispense

For those who love indulging in a warm bath, Formulary 55’s Bath Salt Soaks come packaged in a 32oz resealable foil pouch to help retain the muscle-soothing and skin-softening benefits of Epsom salt, the calming effects and promotion of better sleep with magnesium, and the mineral-rich nourishment of pink Himalayan salt. 

The Bath Salt Soaks range is available in three scents: Sea Salt & Sage, Jasmine & Marigold and Palo Santo & Oud. Each of the Soaks contains zero phthalates, parabens, SLS or dyes, and is also cruelty-free and vegan.

And finally, Fenty Skin has launched Butta Drop Hydrating Body Milk Refill, a spouted flexible pouch fitted with a dispensing spout. The 16oz refill enables consumers to refill the primary glass bottle two-and-a-half times.

Butta Drop Milk is a lotion version of the brand’s best-selling Butta Drop body cream, and has a lightweight, milky texture. 

Fenty Skin says it is fully committed to being more earth-conscious, as this refill demonstrates. The pouch is made from 70% post-consumer recycled material. The new product joins Fenty’s expansive variety of refillable beauty and personal care offerings, which the company says are part of its core principle of “less packaging and more value.”

 The pouch for the Butta Drop Milk refill protects its blend of Kalahari Melon, Baobab and Coconut Oils; Shea, Mango and Cocoa Butters, Vitamin E and Vitamin C-rich Barbados Cherry extract. It comes in two sizes, 185- and 500ml, and retails for $32 and $60, respectively. 

How Large is the Market for Flexible Packaging?

According to Bright Futures Research, the beauty and personal care flexible packaging market size was valued at $30.5 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $45.6 billion by 2033, fueled by a CAGR of 5.2% from 2026 to 2033. 

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