More and more decision-makers across many industries are discovering the benefits of using bag on valve technology for their aerosol products. Bag on valve technology makes it possible to deliver lotions, gels, and sprays for an incredible number of products. Manufacturers of cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, spray paint, insecticides, food sprays, flavoring oils, flavored balsamic vinegars, salad dressings and cooking sprays are using BoV.

What Is Bag on Valve Technology?

Bag on valve, BoV, technology is revolutionary for protecting the contents of aerosol cans and getting up to 99 percent of the product out of the can. Like most extraordinary developments, the premise is simple. The product is loaded into germ-proof packaging – usually plastic – that is welded to the nozzle. Propellant is pumped into the can around the bag’s contents. The propellant squeezes the bag to propel its contents into the valve or aerosolizer, which dispenses the product as a gel, liquid or spray.

The Benefits of BoV Technology for Your Product and Customers

Some of the most valuable benefits of bag on valve filling technology include more sustainable packaging and no need for flammable propellants. The cans enable consumers to spray or dispense without ever touching the nozzle, and the product remains sterile until applied. Your product needs fewer preservatives, and you can fill your bottles with neutral and environmentally friendly compressed air or nitrogen. A more complete list of the benefits of the technology includes:

• Noise Reduction: This advanced technology reduces the noise that escaping propellant makes.
• 360-degree Spraying Radius: You can dispense the product from any angle in any direction – even upside down. That’s a tremendous benefit when spraying insecticides, spray paint
• Nonflammable Operation: The propellant doesn’t mix with the product It’s the mixing process that makes the content of many spray cans flammable. Most often this is caused by using petroleum-based propellants.
• Higher Product Yield: Most spray cans run out of propellant before all the product is used. You can feel that the weight of the can means there’s more product, but you have no safe way to get to it. The bag on valve system has enough propellant – which is never lost – to pressurize all of the contents of the laminated bags. Your customers might not get every drop, but they’ll get about 99 percent. The first spray will be as good as the last in terms of product quality.
• Extended Shelf Life: Your customers not only get to use almost all of the product but also enjoy a longer shelf life. Welded bags prevent cross-contamination and oxygenation of the contents, which hastens spoilage.
• Resistance to Contamination: The product remains sterile and free of environmental contamination until it is used. You can package products use fewer or no preservatives so that the content remains free of contamination.
• Fewer Product Limitations: The products in traditional spray cans are limited by their potential reactions with propellants. Some substances don’t mix well, but BoV technology keeps the propellant and product separate. You can use the technology for a wider range of products.
• Ability to Use Inert Propellants: Butane is the most common propellant in traditional spray cans, but you can use simple compressed air or nitrogen in your BoV aerosol cans to propel your products through the valve. 
• Less Chilling: Sprays can be chilling on the skin, but since there’s no propellant mixed with the product, the chilling effect is drastically reduced.
• Works with Standard Actuators: You don’t have to revamp your whole operation to switch to BoV. The technology works flawlessly with standard actuators that you may already have bought in bulk.
• Even Applications: The valves discharge the product in an even, controlled way.
• No Pumping Action Needed: It can be very annoying to pump continuously while operating a spray can or bottle.

What Types of Products Can Be Dispensed by Aerosol?

Technology is finding new ways to create more aerosolized products, and bag on valve technology increases your ability to package products in an environmentally safe and germ-free environment. Some of the latest advances in aerosol dispensing include:

• Personal Care Industry: Small-to-medium sized businesses are driving economic growth. Entrepreneurs who develop special products can package them attractively using BoV technology to introduce more consumer choices such as ethnic cosmetics, special formulations for unusual skin and a greater range of concentrations. The beauty and cosmetic industry generate many billions of dollars in revenue annually, and consumers are less concerned with price than with convenience and environmental sustainability. You can easily market to meet these demands when you choose BoV technology for deodorants, spray tans, skin cleaners, liquid soaps, skin lotions, hair tonics, and other personal care products.
• Pharmaceutical Sprays: More and more pharmaceutical companies are choosing BoV technology because of its safety, sterile environment and separation of product and propellant. Examples of pharmaceutical sprays include aerosolized antibiotics, saline nasal sprays, burn gels, wound sprays and eyewash sprays. Just in the cosmetics industry, the sales of BoV aerosols are expected to surpass $300 million in annual revenue by 2024.  Preservatives are generally not needed, and the cans are easy to hold and use for patients.
• Food and Beverages: More and more foods and beverages are being dispensed by BoV aerosol cans. These include cheese spreads, proprietary flavoring formulations, molecular gastronomy ingredients and kitchen staples that often spoil in traditional packaging because of oxygenation. You can introduce a line of proprietary foods, oils, and spices for specialty preparations that have an incredible shelf life. All kinds of beverages can be dispensed using this technology including coffee, tea, and juices.
• Wine Stays Fresh with BoV Technology: When you open a bottle of wine, the temptation is to finish the bottle because wine doesn’t keep well. Creative winemakers can use BoV technology to bottle wine that stays fresh – at least, in the near future. According to Bagonvalve.com, the technology will soon hit the market, so stay tuned if you market wines and wine-based products. 

Some of the products that are suitable for BoV packaging include personal care products such as tanning gel and oils, cooling lotions, face cleaners, saline solutions, diaper rash sprays, skin care lotions, spray exfoliates, shower soaps and aloe vera healing lotion.

Household products include hand sanitizers, air fresheners, insecticides, insect repellants, fabric protectors, spot removers, waxes, glass cleaners, essential oils, household lubricants, and bleaching agents. Food products include coffee and tea additives, juice concentrates and whipped cream, which is oxygenated as it leaves the valve. Olive oil sprays and cooking sprays reduce calories and prevent foods from sticking.

Industrial products using BoV technology include gum removers, carpet cleaners, degreasers, paint strippers, air fresheners, graffiti removers, industrial lubricants, undercoatings, paint, penetrants, de-icers, brake cleaners, spot removers, chrome cleaners, wheel cleaners and many more. You can visit Signature Filling’s website to learn more about the products and services they offer.

Important Issues to Consider

What Are the Limitations of Bag on Valve Technology?

There are limits to the technology – it doesn’t work for products that need to be shaken before use. The viscosity level also sets practical limits – the thicker the product, the more difficult it will be to propel it through the actuator. Dry powders don’t work unless they can be aerosolized with a liquid that quickly evaporates.

There are also limits that depend on your BoV filling service. Signature Filling Company doesn’t handle some of the more complex or dangerous products, so discuss your needs with them before making detailed plans for your great new idea.

Understanding the Bag on Valve Process

This amazing technology is suitable for cleanroom manufacturing to produce safe and sterile products for patients, people with allergies and those who are injured and subject to a high degree of infection risk.

The process works using a poly-laminated bag produced in great rolls. The bag is heat-welded to the aerosol valve, and the product is injected into the bag. While the valve is being heat-crimped to the container, compressed air or other propellant is inserted into the space between the bag and a can that’s usually made of aluminum so that it’s highly recyclable.

The necessary final pressure is obtained after filling the bag, which compresses the air and provides the motive force for squeezing the bag – usually from 3.2 to 4.2 bars. The product can be any substance that isn’t too thick to pass through the valve – except products that separate like paint, powder products, and substances that have little gas propellants such as shaving cream, mousse and foaming products. The product must be able to pass easily through the valve stem.

The laminated plastic/aluminum metal bag creates a solid, impermeable barrier that the propellant can’t breach. This prevents cross-contamination, unwanted chemical reactions and simple oxygenation, which causes substances to spoil at a faster rate. The product remains free of dust, pathogens, gas, and moisture.

The Key to BoV Success: Laminated Bags

The laminated bags fold up as the product is dispensed because of the pressure. Setting the right pressure ensures that all of the product is dispensed. The strong, multilayered bag – which is FDA approved – resists pressure and mechanical shocks. The propellant remains inside the can and can be disposed of on easily if an inert gas or compressed air is used. The propellants never mix with the bag’s contents.

The laminated bags usually have four layers to make them strong enough to create a barrier but flexible enough to fold. The pouches are cut from huge rolls of material with adhesive between each layer. Each layer has a distinct purpose in protecting the contents of your bag.

The unique design means that the assembly works equally well to dispense in any direction – even upside down. If you’re ready to take your products to the next level, bag on valve aerosol packaging will give you the tools to produce a formidable marketing campaign that soothes all your customers’ pain points.

Packaging Success

The right packaging of your products is critical for establishing your brand and appealing to your designated customer prospects. More people today are concerned about the environment and waste, and everyone is looking for product convenience. Choosing BoV technology establishes your company’s values, social concern, and empathy for your customers.

You can easily differentiate your brand from your competitors’ inferior spray cans by choosing advanced BoV filling technology. One-third of a consumer’s buying decision relates to packaging. When you offer a better spray can, that’s nearly half the battle of converting a customer. You can use your aerosols to market your company and product and create a strong brand identity.

The Results of Adopting BoV Technology for Your Business

When you pack your products using bag on valve technology, your customers will enjoy a higher product yield, the ability to dispense in all directions, quieter operation and product free from germs and cross-contamination. The technology is environmentally safer than traditional spray cans and leaves less waste. Consumers have held their noses while using spray cans despite troubling environmental issues, but your customers can enjoy the convenience of spray cans without compromising their commitment to the environment.

The BoV process – when packaging large orders – is competitively priced with other spray-can packing operations. Considering that your customers get more product for their money, you can reasonably raise prices slightly higher without costing your customers any more than they gain. Offering convenience is one of the key criteria in encouraging your customers to buy your products, and you can give your customers extraordinary convenience in an aerosol spray can.