{"id":3661,"date":"2026-10-29T12:32:29","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T04:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dragobarzini.com\/blog\/?p=3661"},"modified":"2026-10-29T12:32:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T04:32:29","slug":"how-do-pet-food-tubes-work-4856-da07ed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.dragobarzini.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/29\/how-do-pet-food-tubes-work-4856-da07ed\/","title":{"rendered":"How do pet food tubes work?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the owner of a pet food tubes supply company, I get asked this question all the time\u2014at trade shows, by our clients, even by my neighbor who\u2019s been filling his own homemade cat treats into old toothpaste tubes for years. Most people assume pet food tubes are just \u201csqueezable packaging,\u201d but there\u2019s a lot more going on behind the colorful, paw-print-printed exterior that makes them work for both pets and the people who feed them. Let me break this down like I would for a new client walking through our warehouse for the first time, no stuffy jargon, just real talk about how these tubes do their job. Pet Food Tubes<\/a><\/p>\n

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First, let\u2019s start with why tubes matter for pet food, because that context makes the whole \u201chow\u201d click. Ten years ago, most wet pet food came in cans or rigid pouches. But cans are heavy to ship, sharp on the edges, and a pain for small hands or senior owners to open. Pouches can tear easily, and if you only need to feed your cat a quarter of the 5.5-ounce can, you have to store the rest in the fridge, where it gets soggy and picks up fridge odors. Pet food tubes solve both of these problems: they\u2019re lightweight, resealable (yes, really), and you can squeeze out exactly how much your pet needs right when you need it. But the science of making that happen starts long before the tube ever gets filled with pate, topper, or dental paste.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk about the tube structure first. I remember when we first switched from generic plastic tubes to custom ones specifically formulated for pet food, our first batch had a problem: the pate inside would separate, like oil rising to the top. That\u2019s because standard plastic tubes are made of polyethylene, but for pet food, we use a multi-layered laminate. Wait, let me explain that simply. Think of a tube like a sandwich: the bottom slice is a food-safe layer (low-density polyethylene, or LDPE) that touches the pet food, so it doesn\u2019t leach chemicals. The middle slice is a barrier layer\u2014usually ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) or a metalized film like aluminum foil\u2014that stops oxygen and moisture from getting in, and keeps the pet food\u2019s fats and moisture from leaking out. The top slice is a print layer, the one with your golden retriever puppy and \u201cgrain-free salmon pate\u201d written on it, which is designed to hold ink that doesn\u2019t smudge when the tube gets exposed to a little water in the cupboard. That multi-layer design is non-negotiable for us\u2014skipping it would mean the food spoils in weeks instead of months, and no one wants that.<\/p>\n

Now, the filling process, which is where the \u201cwork\u201d really happens. A lot of people picture a factory with someone squeezing tubes by hand, but for high-volume orders, it\u2019s automated, and there are a few key steps that make sure the tube doesn\u2019t leak or burst. First, the tubes come to the filling line already formed, with a sealed bottom end. The machine first pushes a small amount of nitrogen into the tube\u2014wait, nitrogen? Yep, that\u2019s the same stuff in chip bags, and it\u2019s here to flush out oxygen. Oxygen is the enemy of wet pet food: it makes fats go rancid, and it kills any natural preservatives in the food. By replacing the air inside the tube with nitrogen, we extend the shelf life without adding extra chemicals. That\u2019s a big selling point for our clients, by the way\u2014pet owners love hearing we don\u2019t use unnecessary preservatives.<\/p>\n

Next, the filling step. The pet food is pumped into the tubes at a controlled rate, and here\u2019s a detail most suppliers skip: we don\u2019t fill the tube all the way to the top. We leave a small \u201cheadspace\u201d at the top, about 10 to 15 percent of the tube\u2019s volume. Why? Because when you squeeze the tube, you need that empty space to create pressure to push the food out. If it\u2019s packed tight all the way up, you\u2019d have to squeeze so hard the tube would burst or the cap would pop off. Also, the headspace leaves room for the cap to seal properly\u2014another thing we test every batch for: if the cap is too tight, it\u2019s hard for owners to open; too loose, and air gets in. We use torque testers on every line to make sure each cap is at the exact sweet spot, around 18 to 20 inch-pounds for most pet food tubes, so senior owners can twist it open one-handed, but it stays sealed when dropped on the floor (we test that too, don\u2019t worry\u2014we\u2019ve had too many clients call us after a tube rolls under the fridge and breaks).<\/p>\n

Wait, let\u2019s get into the sealing too, because that\u2019s a common point of failure. The top of the tube is crimped closed after filling, right? A lot of cheaper suppliers just use a simple hot seal, where they melt the top two layers of the plastic tube together. But for pet food, where the food is often soft and oily, we use a double crimp seal. First, a hot seal to bind the layers, then a mechanical crimp that folds the plastic over twice, like a belt around a shirt, to make sure no food can seep out or air can get in. We once had a client switch to a cheaper supplier whose tubes had a single crimp, and within a month, 12 percent of their stock had leaky tubes. That\u2019s why we test every seal with a pressure test: we put the tubes in a chamber that increases air pressure, and if any leak, we pull the whole batch. It\u2019s extra work, but our clients tell us that\u2019s why they come back\u2014no returns for leaky tubes, no unhappy customers.<\/p>\n

Now, what about different types of pet food, and how the tube adapts? We don\u2019t make one-size-f-all tubes, and that\u2019s a big mistake some suppliers make. For pate-style wet dog or cat food, which is thick and dense, we use a slightly softer plastic in the layers\u2014more LDPE, less EVOH\u2014so it squeezes easily, even for small hands. If you have a tube of frozen pet food topper, which is thinner and more liquid, we use a sturdier barrier layer to prevent leakage in the freezer, and the cap has a small nozzle instead of a regular screw top, so you can drizzle it over kibble without making a mess. For dental care pet tubes, which are paste-like and need to stay firm, we use a thicker plastic that doesn\u2019t squish too easily, so the paste stays in place until the dog chews it. Even dental tubes for cats are different\u2014they\u2019re smaller, with a narrower nozzle, so you can apply the paste to their teeth without getting it all over their paws.<\/p>\n

I should also mention the resealable design, which is a game-changer. Early pet food tubes had a simple screw cap, which was fine, but people would lose them or they\u2019d get dirty. Now, most tubes have a flip-top cap, but not all flip-tops are equal. We use caps made with a rubber gasket inside, so when you flip it closed, it creates an airtight seal. That means you can open a tube of food on Monday, squeeze out half, flip the cap shut, and it stays fresh in the fridge for up to a week\u2014way longer than a canned food that\u2019s been opened. We did a test last year: we put two identical bowls of salmon pate, one from a tube, one from a can, in the fridge for 7 days. The canned pate had a thin layer of mold on top, the tube pate was still fresh. That\u2019s the kind of difference that matters to both pet owners and our clients who are selling these tubes.<\/p>\n

A lot of people ask me if pet food tubes are recyclable, too, and that\u2019s a topic I get asked about constantly, especially since more clients are asking for sustainable packaging. The short answer is: it depends on the multi-layer design. We\u2019ve worked with recycling companies to develop tubes that are curbside recyclable, by using a mono-layer material instead of a multi-layer. Wait, mono-layer is just one type of plastic, right? So if it\u2019s all LDPE, it can be recycled with other plastic bags or film, at least in areas that accept that. We also offer tubes with 100% post-consumer recycled plastic, for clients who want to market their products as eco-friendly. But I\u2019m honest with clients: not all recycling centers accept multi-layer tubes, so we always tell them to check their local facility. That transparency is important\u2014we don\u2019t want to overpromise and then have our clients get complaints from customers who thought the tube was recyclable and it wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Let me share a small story that sums up why all this matters. A couple years ago, we had a new client who was launching a line of senior cat food. Their old packaging was small cans, and their sales were flat because senior owners often had arthritis and couldn\u2019t pull the can opener, or couldn\u2019t lift the heavy cans. They switched to our pet food tubes, specifically sized for 3 ounces (just enough for one meal for a 10-pound cat), and designed with a wide, easy-to-grip body and a soft flip cap. Within six months, their sales doubled. One customer sent them a photo of her 78-year-old mom, who has bad arthritis, squeezing the tube to feed her cat, saying it was the first time she didn\u2019t struggle with pet food packaging. That\u2019s why we do what we do\u2014this isn\u2019t just about selling tubes; it\u2019s about making pet feeding easier for both pets and their humans.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I know there\u2019s a lot more to it, but at the end of the day, pet food tubes work because they\u2019re designed for both the food inside and the people using them. The multi-layer layers preserve freshness, the right headspace and pressure make squeezing easy, the tight seals prevent leaks, and the customizable designs work for every type of pet food. If you\u2019re a pet food brand looking to switch to better packaging, or you just have more questions about how we make our tubes, I\u2019d be happy to chat\u2014we can walk through your needs, test samples, and figure out the right solution for your product. Don\u2019t hesitate to reach out to our team to discuss your pet food tube requirements.<\/p>\n

Eye Cream Tube<\/a> References<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Soroka, W. (2017). Fundamentals of Packaging Technology. Institute of Packaging Professionals.<\/li>\n
  2. Labuza, T. P. (2010). Food Storage Stability and Shelf Life Extension. CRC Press.<\/li>\n
  3. Pet Food Manufacturers Association. (2022). Packaging Guidelines for Wet Pet Food.<\/li>\n
  4. Recycling Today. (2021). Multi-Layer Plastic Packaging: Challenges and Solutions.<\/li>\n
  5. American Packaging Association. (2020). Resealable Closure Design for Food Packaging.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n

    Yangzhou NewGreatWall Plastic Co., Ltd.<\/a>
    Yangzhou NewGreatWall Plastic Co., Ltd. is one of the most professional pet food tubes manufacturers and suppliers in China, specialized in providing high quality custom service. We warmly welcome you to wholesale pet food tubes for sale here from our factory. Contact us for quotation.
    Address: No.12 Tongzhou Road, Hangji Industrial Park, Yangzhou, Jiangsu
    E-mail: sales@ngwpack.com
    WebSite:     https:\/\/www.cosmeticplastictube.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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