Pet Food Packaging

Getting the barrier right matters. We source, print, and supply flexible packaging films for pet food manufacturers - matching materials to your products and your shelf life targets. Flow wrap, lidding films, barrier bags. From Gloucestershire, with four decades of experience in food packaging.

Flow Wrap for Dry Food

Flow wrap film for horizontal and vertical form-fill-seal lines packing dry food (kibble), biscuits, and dry treats. Compatible with Ilapak, Bosch, Ishida, and similar equipment.

Dry pet food needs protection from moisture - it causes biscuits to go soft and stale. It also needs protection from oxygen - fats in the food oxidise and go rancid, creating off-flavours pets will reject. Standard BOPP provides basic protection, but most dry pet food applications need barrier film.

Metallised films are common for dry pet food - the aluminium layer provides good oxygen and moisture barrier, plus light protection for products containing oils. Metallised BOPP or metallised PET depending on your requirements.

EVOH laminates offer excellent oxygen barrier while remaining transparent - useful when you want to show the product through a window in the pack.

We stock popular widths for quick dispatch. Barrier films, custom widths, and printed reels typically take 3-4 weeks.

Lidding Films for Wet Food

Lidding films for tray sealing lines packing wet pet food - chunks in gravy, pâté, and similar formats. We supply films that seal to APET, CPET, and PP trays.

Wet pet food is typically sterilised after filling, which means the lidding film needs to withstand retort processing. We can source retort-compatible lidding with the barrier properties these applications require.

Peel or weld seal depending on your requirements. Easy-peel for consumer convenience. Weld seal where maximum barrier or tamper evidence matters more.

Printed lidding with your branding - up to ten colours for shelf standout in a competitive category.

Bags for Treats and Snacks

Not everything runs through a flow wrapper. For treats, training rewards, and smaller portions, we supply bags in barrier materials.

Back seal bags - the format you see on most retail treat products. Centre seal on the back, fin seals top and bottom. Available in metallised, laminated, or standard film depending on your barrier requirements. Euro slots for retail hanging, tear notches for easy opening.

Side weld bags for simpler applications. Open top, seals on both sides. Available with euro slots, tear notches, and other features.

Pet treats often contain higher fat content than regular pet food, which means they’re particularly susceptible to oxidation. Barrier packaging is usually essential for reasonable shelf life.

Barrier Requirements

Pet food is demanding to package. Fats oxidise and go rancid. Kibble absorbs moisture and goes soft. Aromas escape - and dogs in particular can detect when food smells “off” long before visible spoilage occurs. The barrier properties of your packaging directly affect how long your products stay sellable.

Protection Required	Material Options
Oxygen barrier	Metallised films, AlOx coated, EVOH laminates, foil structures
Moisture barrier	Metallised films, PE laminates, PVDC coated
Aroma barrier	Metallised films, EVOH laminates, foil structures
Light barrier	Metallised films, foil laminates, opaque structures
Puncture resistance	PET laminates, nylon-containing structures, thicker PE (for kibble and hard treats)
Basic protection	Standard BOPP, PET

Dry food and biscuits typically need good moisture barrier to prevent softening, plus oxygen barrier to prevent fat rancidity. Metallised films are common - they provide both plus light protection.

Wet food needs high barrier to maintain the atmosphere created during sterilisation. Foil-based or high-barrier laminate structures are typical.

Treats vary widely - from simple BOPP for low-fat products with short shelf life, through to high-barrier metallised or laminated structures for fatty treats needing months of shelf life.

Not sure what barrier level you need? Tell us your product and what you’re trying to achieve. We’ll recommend the right structure.

Puncture Resistance

Kibble and certain treats have sharp edges that can puncture packaging - especially during transit when bags are stacked and compressed. Puncture failures lead to complaints, returns, and lost customers.

For most dry pet food, a PET-based laminate or thicker PE structure provides adequate puncture resistance. For harder products like bones and rawhide chews, nylon-containing laminates offer superior protection.

Premium and Fresh Pet Food

The pet food market is premiumising - owners increasingly treat pets as family members and expect food quality to match. Fresh pet food, subscription delivery, and “human-grade” products are growing segments.

For fresh and chilled pet food, packaging requirements are similar to human food - MAP compatibility, anti-fog coatings for visibility, high barrier for extended shelf life. If you’re entering this segment, we can advise on formats and materials that work.

Who We Supply

Pet food manufacturers - Dry food, wet food, treats. Flow wrap for your production lines, lidding films for your tray sealers, barrier bags for your treats. From artisan producers to established brands.

Contract packers - Multiple customers, changing specifications, variable demand. We hold original artwork files and turn around repeat orders without starting from scratch. Stock and Serve arrangements for consistent supply.

Treat producers - From training treats to dental chews. Barrier packaging matched to your products and target shelf life.

What We Don’t Supply

We’re a flexible packaging manufacturer - films and bags. We don’t supply rigid trays, tubs, or containers. We supply the lidding films that seal to those trays, not the trays themselves. We don’t manufacture pre-made pouches with zippers - we supply film reels for form-fill-seal lines.

Sustainable Options

Sustainability pressure on pet food packaging mirrors human food - customers increasingly expect recyclable or sustainable options. Traditional barrier laminates are difficult to recycle due to mixed materials.

The industry is moving toward mono-material structures where possible:

Material	Type	End of Life	Trade-offs
Mono-PE with EVOH	Single polymer family	Recyclable	Needs specialised recycling
Mono-PP structures	Single polymer	Recyclable	Lower barrier than multi-layer
Biodegradable BOPP	Modified polypropylene	Recyclable + biodegrades if it escapes	Similar properties to standard BOPP
Paper/PE laminates	Paper-based	Paper recyclable where facilities exist	Barrier limitations

For many pet food applications, current sustainable alternatives can’t match the barrier performance of traditional structures. We can advise on what’s realistic for your products - sometimes the honest answer is that proven barrier materials remain the right choice for product protection.

Quality and Accreditation

BRCGS AA(*) accredited - the standard major retailers require. Full batch traceability from raw material to finished product. Certificates of conformity when your auditors need them.

All films are food-grade, EU 10/2011 compliant. Pet food packaging regulations mirror food packaging requirements. If you’re supplying supermarkets or pet retail chains with audit requirements, we can support that.

Get in Touch

Tell us what you’re packing - dry food, wet food, treats, fresh pet food. We’ll recommend the right formats and materials, send samples for line trials, and give you honest pricing. If you’re not sure what barrier level you need, that’s a conversation we have regularly - working it out is part of what we do.