Custom Printed Sachets for Samples and Single Serves

What is a printed sachet?

A printed sachet is a small pouch cut and sealed to the size of a single portion, with your branding printed on the face. Front and back are one laminate, sealed on three sides, open at the top until you fill it.

Most sachets are flat. Some carry a small bottom gusset so a 30 g or 50 g sample can stand on a counter display or a shelf edge.

The photos above show both kinds: flat zip sachets in brown and silver film, and a small printed stand up sachet with a zipper across the top. Both sit within our flat and three side seal pouch range, cut smaller.

Which products go into printed sachets?

Sachets do one job well: a single portion that opens once. Trial sizes, sample packs, subscription box inserts and single-serve retail all use them.

A tea blender in Leeds might use 10 g sachets for a tasting flight of six. A protein brand might send 30 g scoops of three flavours before a customer commits to a 1 kg tub.

The full-size version of the same powder usually lives in our supplement pouches for powders and capsules, so the sample and the retail pack can share one design.

• Single-serve coffee, 12 g to 20 g of ground or whole bean
• Tea tasting packs, 5 g to 10 g of loose leaf
• Protein and pre-workout samples, 25 g to 40 g
• Seasoning rubs and spice blends, 20 g to 50 g
• Bath salt and body scrub trial sizes, 30 g to 60 g
• Pet treat taster packs sent with a first order

What size sachet holds 10 g, 25 g or 50 g?

Sachet sizes are set by the product's bulk density, not just its weight. Ground coffee takes far more space than the same weight of bath salt, and whole beans more again.

The sizes in the table above are guidance. Send us a fill weight and the product, and we size the sachet to it on the proof.

Density is also what decides whether a stand up form will work. Our guide to UK pouch sizes by fill weight shows how the same weight changes shape from product to product.

Flat sachet or small stand up sachet?

Flat sachets are the cheaper and simpler form. They stack in a box, slip into a mailer and use the least film per portion.

A small stand up sachet costs more film and more seal area. In return it stands on a counter, faces forward and carries a zipper comfortably.

If the sachet lives inside another pack or a subscription box, go flat. If it sells on its own at a till, consider the stand up form, or look at our mini mylar bags with a bottom gusset for the foil version.

Laminates and barrier for single portions

Small portions have a high surface area for their weight, so the film matters more than it does on a 1 kg bag. Ground coffee in a thin clear sachet loses aroma within days.

PET / foil / PE gives the strongest barrier against oxygen and moisture. Metallised PET / PE costs less and suits most dry samples. Kraft / PET / PE gives a paper look for tea and bath products.

Food-contact, high-barrier and compostable film options can be requested for sachets and are written into the quote. Each layer is explained in our barrier films and laminates guide.

Heat seal only, tear notch or a small zipper?

Most sachets are opened once and used up, so a plain heat seal with a tear notch is enough. The notch is a 2 mm cut in the side seal that starts the tear cleanly.

A press-to-close zipper makes sense above about 30 g, where a customer takes two or three servings. Below that weight a zipper takes up a large share of the sachet and adds cost for little use.

Hang holes suit sachets sold on a peg strip near a till. A round hole or a euro slot sits in the top seal, above the zipper if there is one.

Printing small artwork so it stays readable

A sachet front can be as small as 60 × 70 mm once seals are taken out. Logos that look fine on a 1 kg bag turn into a smudge at that scale.

Keep body text at 7 pt or larger and give the logo at least 15 mm of width. Full colour digital print handles photographs and gradients; one or two colour print keeps simple marks crisp.

On foil and kraft films a white under-print sits beneath your colours so they stay bright instead of taking on the film's tone. Our artwork guide for printed pouches covers bleed, seal areas and file types.

How do you fill and seal sachets by hand or on a line?

Sachets are filled through the open top, then closed with a hand sealer, a foot-operated bar sealer or an automatic line. The routine is the same at any scale.

1. Weigh the portion on a scale reading to 0.1 g, since a 1 g error on a 10 g sachet is ten per cent.
2. Use a funnel or a scoop with a spout so powder stays off the inner seal area.
3. Tap the sachet on the bench so the product settles below the seal line.
4. Seal at the temperature and dwell time on the spec sheet we send, then let the seal cool before stacking.
5. Pull the first ten seals apart by hand; the film should stretch before the seal gives.
6. Pack sachets in cartons of a known count so your reorder maths stays simple.

Mistakes we see on sachet orders

Ordering by weight alone without naming the product. Twenty grams of whole bean coffee needs twice the space of 20 g of fine salt, so the proof shows the wrong size.

Filling sachets right to the top. Product trapped in the seal gives a weak or leaking seal, and the sachet looks bloated.

Choosing a zipper on a 10 g sachet out of habit. It doubles the film area and the customer never uses it.

Forgetting a batch code or best before space. Leave a plain area on the back for a date stamp. If you run form-fill-seal equipment, printed film rolls for sachet machines are the better route than pre-made sachets.

How to order printed sachets

Send the product, the fill weight, flat or stand up, zipper or heat seal, and a rough quantity. Quantities are quoted per order; the price starts from £0.25 per unit and the written quote confirms it for your sachet size.

Our designers set your artwork on the sachet dieline and send a free proof. Nothing is printed until you approve it. Start with the short form above or the full quote request form if you have several sizes.

Once approved, the sachets take 4–6 business days to make. Delivery is free and tracked to any UK address in 2–3 business days, and misprints or damage reported within 10 days with photos are reprinted or refunded.