Custom Coffee Packaging: Pouches, Bags and Films with Degassing Valve

VLM Poliplast manufactures custom coffee packaging at its converting plant in Romania, in the European Union. The portfolio covers coffee pouches and bags in doypack, quad seal and pillow bag formats, plus printed and unprinted films for automatic VFFS and HFFS packaging lines, with widths from 100 to 1300 mm. Films are also supplied for lines producing stick packs and single-serve formats, where the client forms the pack on its own equipment. A one-way CO₂ degassing valve can be applied to any bag format in production, before delivery, and combined with a resealable zipper where the format allows it. Flexographic printing is available in up to 8 colours for custom printed coffee bags; unprinted bags are available for roasters who apply self-adhesive labels.

The sections below address packaging for coffee beans, ground coffee and instant coffee across the formats used on the European market, from artisan roasters ordering small runs of custom coffee bags to industrial producers buying film by the tonne. Structure selection depends on the coffee type, the target shelf life and the distribution channel; the quick selection table below is the starting point, and the sections that follow explain each requirement in detail.

Which packaging fits your coffee?

Quick selection of the structures commonly used per coffee type and packing format. Final confirmation of the structure is done by testing on the packing line.

Who this page is for

This page addresses coffee producers and distributors evaluating flexible packaging structures for retail, HoReCa and export on the European market: artisan and specialty roasters ordering doypack and quad seal valve bags, industrial producers buying PET/ALU/PE film by the tonne for ground coffee, whole bean and instant coffee brands, private label and co-packing operations, and coffee capsule brands needing stand-up pouches for retail (VLM Poliplast manufactures the outer pouch, not the capsules). If your situation combines several of these, the technical team configures the structure per product.

Technical requirements for coffee packaging

The requirements vary with the coffee type, the target shelf life and the distribution channel. Two parameters drive most structure decisions: the oxygen transmission rate (OTR), because oxygen oxidises the natural fats in roasted coffee and flattens the aroma, and the water vapour transmission rate (WVTR), because moisture accelerates staling in ground coffee and soluble powders. Light protection matters for UV-sensitive coffees, which is why most coffee structures are opaque or metallised. The fourth requirement is specific to coffee: freshly roasted beans and grounds release CO₂ for days after roasting, which the packaging has to manage either through a one-way degassing valve or by resting the coffee before vacuum packing.

The profiles below group the usual applications and the corresponding technical answers, as a starting point for the per-product evaluation.

The barrier values used as working references for coffee packaging:

Coffee packaging structures by format

The table below shows the usual combinations of format, application and laminated structure for coffee packaging, with the usual total laminate thickness. For bags, the CO₂ degassing valve is applied in production, before delivery. Laminate mechanics and layer functions are covered on the multilayer laminated structures page, and the PET-based barrier structures used for coffee, such as PET/EVOH/PE, are detailed on the PET/PE laminates page; this section covers how each format is used for coffee.

Doypack coffee bags: the reference format for premium retail, with CO₂ valve and zipper.

Bags and films: when to use each

Bags (doypack, quad seal, pillow bag) suit manual and semi-automatic packing, clients who do not operate VFFS or HFFS lines, and products that need the CO₂ valve applied during bag production. Bags are delivered ready to fill, with or without custom flexo printing.

Films suit automatic packing lines (VFFS for pillow bags, HFFS for flow-pack and stick lines), high production volumes and clients who operate their own packing equipment. Reel widths from 100 to 1300 mm are matched to the client's coffee packaging machine.

Quad seal bags: four printable panels and a stable standing shape for whole bean export and premium retail.

The one-way degassing valve: how it works and when coffee needs it

Freshly roasted coffee releases carbon dioxide for days after roasting, a process called degassing. Packed in a fully sealed bag without a valve, that CO₂ builds internal pressure and can swell or burst the bag; left to degas in open air instead, the coffee loses aroma through oxygen contact. The one-way degassing valve resolves both problems: it lets CO₂ escape from the bag while blocking ambient oxygen from entering. This is why coffee packed within days of roasting uses valve bags as the standard solution.

In VLM Poliplast production, the valve is applied to any bag format before delivery, including pillow bags, where it is applied manually. The standard valve has a diameter of 10 to 11 mm and an opening pressure of 4 to 8 mbar, and is compatible with aluminium laminates, metallised structures and EcoMonoFilm® monomaterial. The valve works independently of the closure system, so it is commonly combined with a resealable zipper: the valve manages CO₂ before the first opening, the zipper manages air exposure after it. For controlled opening without scissors, a tear notch or an extended easy open zone is added at the top of the bag. Coffee bags with valve and zipper are the usual configuration for retail whole bean and ground coffee.

Tear notch on a kraft coffee bag: controlled opening without scissors, independent of the valve and zipper.

The two solutions answer two different production situations rather than competing for the same one. Vacuum packing requires the coffee to finish degassing before it is sealed, otherwise the released CO₂ softens the brick; valve bags remove that waiting time and preserve the aroma compounds that escape during open-air resting. This is why freshly roasted specialty coffee is sold in valve bags while industrially ground coffee, degassed under controlled conditions, keeps the vacuum brick format.

Kraft coffee bags: the kraft look with a functional barrier

Kraft coffee bags answer a retail positioning need: the natural paper look associated with craft roasting and specialty coffee. Functionally, a kraft coffee bag is not a paper bag. The kraft layer provides the appearance and the print surface, while the barrier comes from the laminate behind it: the Kraft/PET/PE structure, with a PE sealant layer, manages oxygen and moisture, since paper alone protects coffee from neither. The kraft structure provides a medium oxygen barrier suited to rotations within 12 months; for longer shelf lives, aluminium laminates remain the fit.

Kraft coffee bags: the natural paper look with a functional Kraft/PET/PE barrier behind it.

VLM Poliplast manufactures kraft coffee bags with or without the CO₂ degassing valve, in doypack format. Flexo printing applies directly on the kraft surface, where matte inks hold the natural appearance of the material. For buyers comparing kraft laminates with fully paper-based packaging under PPWR design for recycling criteria, the evaluation runs per structure, because the recyclability of a kraft laminate depends on the composition of the barrier layers behind the paper, not on the kraft surface itself.

EcoMonoFilm®: monomaterial coffee packaging for PPWR 2030

EcoMonoFilm® is the VLM Poliplast technical brand for monomaterial films designed according to the RecyClass Design for Recycling Guidelines v3.1. For coffee, the reference structure is PP/EVOH/PP: a polypropylene laminate where the oxygen barrier comes from a thin internal EVOH layer, keeping the structure compatible with the PP sorting and recycling stream. The same monomaterial approach is available in a PE variant for film applications on automatic lines; details on the monomaterial PP page.

The regulatory context is Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR), whose design for recycling criteria apply to packaging placed on the market from 1 January 2030. Brands preparing that transition on coffee do not need to change their formats or their packing process: EcoMonoFilm® structures are converted into the same doypack and quad seal formats, take the CO₂ degassing valve applied in production, accept the same flexographic printing in up to 8 colours, and are supplied as reels for VFFS lines.

Each evaluation is done per product: the technical team confirms the barrier parameters on the final laminate and the behaviour on the client's packing line before series production, so the recyclability gain never comes at the cost of the coffee itself.

Coffee packing lines and matching packaging formats

Compatibility between the packaging and the packing line determines correct behaviour in production. The table below shows the usual line types for coffee and the corresponding packaging formats. Validation on the client's line is done with samples from current production before the series order.

Compliance and certifications for coffee packaging

Flexible coffee packaging intended for direct contact with the product complies with Regulation (EC) 1935/2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food, and with Regulation (EU) 10/2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/351, which entered into force on 16 March 2025; plastic materials compliant with the previous version of Regulation (EU) 10/2011 and first placed on the market before 16 September 2026 may remain on the market until stocks are exhausted.

Certified management systems

VLM Poliplast operates under the following certified management systems, applicable to the production of food contact packaging:

• ISO 9001: quality management system
• ISO 14001: environmental management system
• ISO 22000: food safety management system
• ISO 45001: occupational health and safety management system

Migration testing and documentation

Overall and specific migration testing for plastic materials intended for contact with coffee, a food with variable fat content and acidity, is performed at independent laboratories accredited to ISO/IEC 17025, using food simulants according to Regulation (EU) 10/2011. For every laminated structure, the declaration of conformity is available at delivery together with the technical data sheet of the product. The structure and content of the declaration are covered on the PPWR declaration of conformity page.

PFAS and PPWR alignment

Food contact structures are produced without intentionally added PFAS, according to Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR), applicable from 12 August 2026; the substance restrictions and their thresholds are covered on the PFAS in food packaging page. For clients preparing the PPWR recyclability requirements applicable from 1 January 2030, monomaterial PP/EVOH/PP EcoMonoFilm® structures designed according to the RecyClass v3.1 criteria are available, with individual evaluation per product; the regulatory framework is covered on the EU packaging regulation PPWR page.

Printing, sizes and production

Printing options for coffee bags

Custom printed coffee bags are produced with flexographic printing in up to 8 colours, applied on the laminate before converting, so the print holds its quality across repeat orders; for large runs, rotogravure printing is available. Surface finishes cover standard gloss, matte and soft-touch, with Pantone colours available on request. Printing on coffee bags covers all manufactured formats, including direct printing on the kraft surface, where the material keeps its natural matte appearance. For roasters who prefer labelling in-house, unprinted stock bags in the same structures are available; minimum order quantities depend on the packaging type and format, and are confirmed with the structure proposal. For custom artwork, the technical team provides vector dielines per format and assistance in adapting the design to the requirements of flexographic printing.

Coffee bag sizes by fill weight

The usual retail fill weights and the corresponding doypack dimensions (width x height + bottom gusset) are shown below as configuration starting points. Dimensions are adjusted per product, since bean density, grind and the presence of the valve and zipper change the required volume: whole beans occupy more volume than ground coffee at the same weight.

Manufactured in the EU, supplied across Europe

Coffee packaging is manufactured at the VLM Poliplast converting plant in Romania and supplied throughout the European Union, with documentation per batch and the declaration of conformity delivered with each laminated structure.

Frequently asked questions

Related resources

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