A packet or sachet is a small bag or pouch, made from

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ma ...

plastic film Plastic film is a thin continuous polymeric material. Thicker plastic material is often called a "sheet". These thin plastic membranes are used to separate areas or volumes, to hold items, to act as barriers, or as printable surfaces. Plast ...

or another type of packing material, often used to contain single-use quantities of foods or consumer goods such as

ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and sour flavor. "Ketchup" now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes for different varieties contained mushrooms, oysters, mussels, egg whites, grapes, or walnuts, amon ...

or shampoo. Packets are commonly opened by making a small rip or tear in part of the package, and then squeezing out the contents.

Uses

Condiments distributed in packets include

, mustard,

mayonnaise Mayonnaise (), colloquially referred to as "mayo" (), is a thick, creamy sauce with a rich and tangy taste that is commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, Salad#Bound salads, bound salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various o ...

, salad cream, HP sauce,

relish A relish (a pickle-based condiment) is a cooking, cooked and pickling, pickled culinary dish made of chopped vegetables, fruits or herbs, typically used as a condiment to enhance a staple. Examples are chutneys and the North American relish, a p ...

tartar sauce Tartar sauce (; often spelled tartare sauce in the UK, Ireland, and Commonwealth countries) is a condiment made of mayonnaise, chopped gherkins or relish, capers, and herbs such as tarragon and dill. Tartar sauce can also be enhanced with ot ...

vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

and

soy sauce Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...

. They provide a simple and low-cost way of distributing small amounts of condiment with ready-to-eat packaged food such as

hot dog A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter ( Frankfurter Würs ...

French fries French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and f ...

, or

hamburger A hamburger (or simply a burger) consists of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis ...

s, and are common in

fast food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...

s. The packets produce less contamination and mess than freely available condiments dispensed into small disposable cups or other containers, especially if the food will be in transit before dining. Potpourri fragrances are also sold in sachets. Potpourri sachet envelopes are filled with scented herbs and flowers or use vermiculite containing aromatic fragrance oil. These are known as potpourri wardrobe sachets. In

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, milk and yogurts are also sold in packets. In 1983, the Indian company Cavin Kare began selling shampoo in small plastic packets instead of large bottles in order to make it more affordable to the poor. Sale of small amounts of shampoo and detergents in plastic packets is very popular throughout the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and other Eastern countries. In 2011, 87% of shampoo sold in India was in sachets. File:Ketchuppacket.jpg, A packet of ketchup, opened with the contents squeezed out File:Butter single portion in container.JPG, A packet of butter File:Shampoo packet, single-serving.jpg, Shampoo packet File:GD Guangdong Pearl Hotel Starlake Duanzhou Zhaoqing paper pack toothpicks July-2012.JPG, Toothpick's paper packet File:HK CWB 香港怡東酒店 Excelsior Hotel Brown Sugar bags Dec-2011.jpg,

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

's paper packet File:Embalaje monodosis de medicamentos.jpg, Pharmaceutical packets with text and bar code identification File:Maaloxx Old Package.JPG, Tear open pouch

Porous pouch

Some packets are made of materials with known porosity to allow vapors from the pouch to escape. These pouches, also called sachets, can be placed in other packages to help control the atmosphere. Uses include: volatile corrosion inhibitors,

desiccant A desiccant is a hygroscopic substance that is used to induce or sustain a state of dryness (desiccation) in its vicinity; it is the opposite of a humectant. Commonly encountered pre-packaged desiccants are solids that absorb water. Desiccant ...

s, oxygen scavengers, etc.

History

Benjamin Eisenstadt invented a machine that produced the modern sugar packet after a failed endeavor to package and sell tea bags, later packaging other items, including

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi- solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavour, texture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...

Variants

The Sanford Redmond designed the no mess dispenSRpak for one handed operation. Introduced into Australia in 1990, it is used in other countries, but the design has not been widely licensed in the USA. In 2010, the H. J. Heinz Company designed a new ketchup packet. The new design was made with a cup and easy tear, thus making it easier to dip food without a plate along with holding three times as much ketchup. It has not been widely adopted.

Water sachets

Records

Collinsville, Illinois Collinsville is a city located mainly in Madison County and partially in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 24,366. Collinsville is approximately east of St. Louis, Missouri, and is ...

, the largest ketchup packet was created by H. J. Heinz Company for a fundraiser for the Collinsville Christian Academy. People could buy a bottle of ketchup for $1 to add to the ketchup packet. After it was filled, it weighed 1,500 lbs. and it was across and thick. Annual production of ketchup packets by Heinz alone is 11 billion.

Pollution

Plastic sachets are a major contributor to litter and pollution, especially in low-income countries where many more household goods are sold in sachets in small quantities. In June 2022, a

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

report revealed that

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

had lobbied the governments of

and the

to stop legislation which would ban the sale of cosmetics in single-use plastic sachets, despite vowing in 2020 to stop using them. The design of these sachets had been called 'evil' by Hanneke Faber, Unilever's President for Global Food and Refreshments, 'because you cannot recycle it'. The bans were then dropped by lawmakers. In

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, the company pressed the government to reconsider a proposed ban on sachets, and then tried to manoeuvre around the ban after regulations were implemented. Unilever sells 40 billion plastic sachets each year.