by N. S.
To better understand these dynamics, we spoke with Francesco Secchiaroli, Sales Director America at Universal Pack, a company specialized in technologies for stick packs, sachets and automatic single-dose packaging. In North America, growth in single-dose packaging is being driven primarily by the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical sectors, while food remains the largest market by volume.
According to international estimates, Food & Beverage represents between 50% and 55% of demand, followed by pharmaceuticals at 20% to 25%, nutraceuticals at 15% to 20%, and personal care at 5% to 10%.
Single-serve packaging will continue to grow in North America, but it may not follow the same path as in Europe. (photo: Universal Pack)
The food sector is growing and will continue to grow, with an estimated annual increase of between 4% and 6% through 2030. This growth is supported by applications such as single-serve coffee, powdered beverages, sauces, condiments, protein products, snacks and food products designed for out-of-home consumption.
The pharmaceutical sector is expanding at a faster pace, with annual growth estimated between 7% and 9%. This trend is driven by population ageing, over-the-counter medicines, self-medication, accurate dosing and home delivery.
Nutraceuticals represent the most dynamic segment. Collagen, probiotics, vitamins, minerals, sports supplements and everyday wellness products are driving demand for single-dose packaging that is practical, lightweight and easy to use. In this sector, estimates indicate annual growth of more than 8% to 10%.
The United States, Canada and Mexico: key markets for single-dose packaging
The North American market for single-dose packaging is showing strong growth. “We are talking about a growing sector,” says Francesco Secchiaroli. “The trend was already clear before the pandemic, but between 2020 and 2022 it accelerated significantly, especially in the nutraceutical sector, where powders represent the most dynamic segment.”
For Universal Pack, this evolution is reflected in customers’ investment decisions. Nutraceuticals are one of the main drivers of demand for single-dose packaging, together with pharmaceuticals and high-value-added applications.
North America, however, is not a uniform market. “We divide the market between the United States and Canada on one side, and Mexico on the other,” explains Secchiaroli. “The former are oriented toward nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and functional products, while Mexico plays more of a role as a manufacturing platform, also serving neighboring countries.”
This scenario is closely linked to nearshoring: the decision to move part of production to countries located closer to the target markets. Compared with traditional offshoring, nearshoring reduces distances, improves response times and makes the supply chain more flexible.
“The market trend reflects the economic strength of each country,” Secchiaroli observes. “The United States generates higher sales volumes and, on its own, represents a larger market than Canada and Mexico combined.”
From an application standpoint, however, the United States and Canada are aligned. “If nutraceuticals grow in the United States, they also grow in Canada. If the coffee market grows in the United States, the same happens in Canada. They are two similar markets in terms of the type of machinery required.
Mexico shows different dynamics and a lower level of market maturity. This, however, creates new opportunities: new industrial players need modern technologies, while companies already operating in the market need to upgrade outdated equipment.”
How to overcome the challenge of new materials
In Europe, unlike in the North American market, sustainability, materials and single-use packaging are increasingly linked to regulatory requirements. (photo: Universal Pack)
The spread of stick packs and sachets is changing the way manufacturers evaluate packaging materials. In food, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, attention is increasingly focused on compostable, recycled or recyclable materials, especially in projects involving major international brands.
The North American market, however, is following a different path from Europe, where the transition toward more sustainable materials is also being driven by the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). In the United States and Canada, the push more often comes from companies’ internal policies and the sustainability goals of brand owners.
What are the main requirements Universal Pack is seeing in the North American market?
“We need to distinguish between multinationals and small and medium-sized enterprises,” explains Francesco Secchiaroli. “Multinationals require our machines to be able to process compostable materials and, in some cases, recycled or recyclable materials as well. This requirement is driven more by corporate policy than by regulatory obligation.”
Sustainability is present in the North American market, but it follows a different logic. In many cases, it is large companies that define internal standards, which then affect suppliers and contract manufacturers.
“This requirement is less pronounced among small and medium-sized enterprises,” Secchiaroli continues. “However, we also work with contract manufacturers that produce for multinational companies. In those cases, they too must comply with the specifications set by the end customer.
In the United States, applications using compostable, recycled or recyclable materials are growing, but they are not yet the standard. The most widely used materials remain traditional ones, including multilayer structures with aluminum. In Europe, by contrast, specific guidelines and regulatory obligations are pushing more strongly toward alternative solutions.”
Nutraceuticals drive demand for greater flexibility
In recent years, part of the machines sold in the United States have been dedicated to powder packaging applications. (photo: Universal Pack)
The U.S. dietary supplements market is one of the most important in the world. Nutraceutical powders, sports supplements, functional products and everyday wellness formulations are driving the use of single-dose packaging, particularly stick packs.
This format offers convenience, lightness, easy portability and controlled dosing. For machine builders, the challenge is to ensure flexibility, efficiency and rapid format changeovers in a market characterized by different products, variable batch sizes and multiple pack dimensions.
“In recent years, some of the machines sold in the United States have been used for powder packaging,” says Francesco Secchiaroli. “In single-dose packaging, the most common formats are the four-side-seal sachet and the stick pack. The former resembles the classic sugar sachet. The stick pack is a narrow, elongated package, with two horizontal seals and one central seal on the back.
In the nutraceutical sector, the stick pack is the most widely used format. For this particularly popular solution, we have designed interchangeable systems that make format changeovers easier.”
“In fact, format changeover becomes critical when a manufacturer or contract packer needs to move quickly from a narrow stick pack to a wider one, or from one powder to another with different characteristics. Universal Pack addresses this requirement with groups and components designed to be installed and removed quickly, precisely and repeatedly. If a customer produces a 23-millimeter-wide stick pack and needs to switch to a 35-millimeter format, the components for the first format are replaced with those designed for the second. This simple and intelligent approach allows manufacturers to adapt to and manage multiple references, formats and different powders without compromising line efficiency. Customers require flexibility both in terms of product and pack size. This solution enables fast and precise format changeovers and is currently the most widely sold and appreciated solution in this market.”
The material-product-machine system developed in the Universal Pack Laboratory
The customer sends the product to be packaged; the laboratory analyzes it, and the results become the starting point for the machine design. (photo: Universal Pack)
In single-dose packaging, achieving a perfectly packaged product requires the machine and the packaging material to work in harmony. The film affects machinability and production speed, but also the quality of the pack, the integrity of the seals and the protection of the product.
“The material must be selected and tested in relation to the product to be packaged and the operating conditions of the machine. Universal Pack addresses this issue through an in-house laboratory dedicated to the analysis of products and materials, supporting both new machine design and the introduction of new products or new films on machines that are already installed. Our machines can process a wide range of materials,” explains Francesco Secchiaroli. “Compatibility is important, but it is facilitated by the fact that the machines are already designed to handle many of the materials currently used on the market. Each film has a specific behavior that can affect speed, packaging quality and process stability. The Universal Pack laboratory was created to reduce technical uncertainty before a project begins,” says Secchiaroli. “We analyze products, films and packaging materials using high-precision instruments, so that we can correctly design or adapt the machine.”
Universal Pack develops solutions based on the real application. The customer sends the product to be packaged, the laboratory analyzes it, and the machine design starts from those results.
“The configuration changes depending on the application. If a machine always processes the same product, it requires specific settings. These settings change when the customer is a contract manufacturer that needs flexibility to manage different formulations.
Universal Pack’s support continues even after installation. When a new product or material is introduced, it can be analyzed in the Universal Pack laboratory to determine whether the machine is suitable and whether new adjustments or specific components are required.”
Process data and AI for smarter after-sales services
Digitalization and artificial intelligence make it possible to read, interpret and extract value from process data. At Universal Pack, these technologies are supported by a knowledge base built over more than sixty years of experience with materials, technologies and products. This expertise becomes valuable information for designing and optimizing customers’ production processes more effectively.
“The contribution of digitalization is also important in after-sales services. Data analysis makes it possible to monitor installed machines, detect anomalies, understand their causes and intervene quickly and precisely,” explains Francesco Secchiaroli.
“When a problem occurs, it is important to understand what caused it and how to prevent it from happening again. In a market where products and materials change rapidly, artificial intelligence does not replace industrial experience, but provides an additional support based on machine data.”
Alfa Flexi at Pack Expo: flexible stick pack solutions for nutraceuticals, food and pharmaceuticals
Alfa Flexi is a multi-lane stick pack platform developed for an increasingly dynamic market, where production efficiency, application flexibility and rapid format changeovers must work together. (photo: Universal Pack)
At PACK EXPO, the international trade show in Chicago dedicated to packaging technologies, Universal Pack will present a solution designed for one of the most dynamic segments of the North American market: single-dose packaging for nutraceuticals, dietary supplements and stick pack applications.
This choice responds to a clear demand from brand owners and contract manufacturers: machines capable of processing different products, handling multiple formats, reducing downtime and ensuring production continuity, even in environments characterized by variable batch sizes and frequent production changeovers.
“We will bring a multi-lane machine for powder packaging in stick packs, dedicated to the North American nutraceutical market,” explains Francesco Secchiaroli. “It is one of the most attractive solutions for the market because it offers great flexibility and enables simple, fast format changeovers.”
Alfa Flexi: flexible stick pack solutions for powders, liquids and gels
Designed for multi-product and multi-formulation environments, Alfa Flexi is a multi-lane platform for stick packs developed to meet the needs of an increasingly dynamic market. It combines production efficiency, application flexibility and rapid format changeovers.
It can package nutraceutical and food powders and, with dedicated dosing units, also liquids, semi-liquids, gels and viscous products. The same machine allows manufacturers to move from one product family to another without having to rethink the entire configuration.
“Flexibility also applies to the pack format, making it possible to produce stick packs in different sizes by varying both the length and the width of the package. Fast format changeovers, quick disassembly, high accessibility and easy cleaning help reduce downtime and make the machine suitable for production environments with many references and frequent changeovers. From a materials perspective, the platform also offers a high level of versatility. It is compatible with the main heat-sealable films and can also process sustainability-oriented laminates, responding to the new demands of the market. We are talking about an extremely flexible machine,” adds Francesco Secchiaroli. “The machine we will bring to PACK EXPO was designed and sold to an important customer in the nutraceutical sector. It is a sister solution to the one presented at the recent interpack trade show.”
From standalone machine to complete production line
In the North American market, flexibility is increasingly required not only from the individual machine, but from the entire packaging line.
Universal Pack’s Flexi solutions for stick packs and sachets extend this adaptability to complete lines, enabling them to handle different products, formats and configurations. For manufacturers, this means combining high performance, process continuity and operational versatility.
It is an approach that protects the investment over time, as it makes the line ready to follow market evolution, the introduction of new references and the needs of increasingly dynamic production environments.
The Future of Single-Dose packaging in North America: efficiency and ROI
The nutraceutical sector is one of the key drivers of demand for single-dose packaging, alongside pharmaceuticals and other high-value-added applications. (photo: Universal Pack)
Single-dose packaging will continue to grow in North America, but it will not necessarily follow the same path as Europe. According to Francesco Secchiaroli, “the United States closely observes what happens in other markets, but tends to build its own trajectory, without automatically adopting the choices made by the European Union.
The most evident difference concerns regulation. In Europe, sustainability, materials and single-use packaging are increasingly linked to regulatory obligations. In the United States and Canada, by contrast, change often progresses through the initiative of large companies, especially when brands require recyclable or compostable materials to meet their own sustainability goals. For Universal Pack, North America remains a market of strong interest. U.S. customers evaluate technologies with a very practical approach: a machine must generate efficiency, productivity and operational continuity. From this perspective, return on investment becomes one of the decisive criteria when selecting a solution.”
Machines for single-dose packaging must be flexible, reliable and easy to use. Ergonomics, accessibility, ease of maintenance and fast cleaning are not secondary details: they affect line efficiency, production continuity and operators’ daily work.
“In the coming years, competitiveness will increasingly depend on the ability to reduce downtime, accelerate format changeovers and process different products and materials without compromising performance. Technologies such as ultrasonic sealing may also find their place, but only when the cost is offset by a truly measurable technical and economic advantage,” concludes Secchiaroli. “The future of single-dose packaging in North America will be driven by concrete innovations. Solutions capable of improving performance, flexibility, ease of operation and return on investment will play a decisive role in the market.”
