Fresh produce is an integral component of online retail stores, and shipping it requires careful consideration and planning. Shippers need to understand how freight moves before finding available trucks with enough capacity. Any time lost due to freight sitting idle can cost thousands in lost sales revenue.
Keep it cool during transit – here are some helpful tips that will do exactly that:
1. Choose the Right Box
Fresh fruits and vegetables are highly perishable, so they must be shipped quickly and properly in order to preserve their quality and ensure customers receive exactly what they ordered. Quick shipment also helps reduce food waste by increasing consumption instead of being wasted away in landfills.
When shipping perishable foods, it is critical that a sturdy box be selected that can prevent punctures or other forms of damage during transit. Cardboard boxes or wooden crates tend to work best; plastic containers with tight seals might work too, provided there is plenty of padding such as air packs, packaging foam or plastic peanuts used within. This will prevent your perishable goods from shifting around during transport and possibly damaging other items in the package.
FarmBox Direct was started by a single mom wanting to provide healthy foods without time for farmer’s markets; today the company sources local farmers and offers options that fit everyone’s tastes, such as veganism, non-GMO organic produce and even juicer-ready options.
Another great way to access fresh produce is with Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). These subscription-based services allow you to take advantage of fresh local produce throughout the year – usually delivered weekly and with plenty of customization options so your order matches both your preferences and current availability of produce.
2. Pack It Tightly
Fresh fruits and vegetables require refrigeration throughout their journey; to do this effectively they must be packed and shipped in an appropriately insulated refrigerated container that protects against temperature changes during transport. LSU’s Agriculture Center has published this handy guide with ideal temperatures ranges for each variety of produce.
Once you’ve selected an ideal temperature range for your product, it’s time to begin packing it. For instance, when shipping citrus fruit it must be cleaned, rinsed, packed into an appropriate size box, and stored cold throughout its journey.
Apples and pears should be packed into their shipping container as tightly as possible so no gaps or holes exist for air to enter, while adding an additional layer of protection with bubble wrap or packaging peanuts for even further defense against any bruises or damages that might occur during transit. Doing this will help minimise bruises or damages during transport.
Non-perishable foods are generally easier to ship than perishable ones as they don’t need refrigeration containers or ice packs; however, they still must be carefully packaged with instructions detailing how they should be handled upon arrival.
When shipping food, it’s essential that a sturdy corrugated box or foam cooler be chosen and ensure that all seams of its top and bottom edges are sealed securely with pressure-sensitive tape. You could also add an InsulTote bubble wrap liner as an insulator and heat deflector. This ensures your products arrive intact at their destination safely.
3. Print the Label
No matter if you are growing flowers for high street supermarkets or shipping herbs and vegetables from your own farm, reliable labels are required for marking and tracking produce. At Bluepoint we combine eco-friendly materials with mass thermal printing technology to deliver robust label solutions that are both long lasting and dependable.
Our CHILL AT cold shipping labels for fruits and vegetables make tracking your cold shipment from its source to consumer simple and readable. Featuring GS1 standard traceability elements to meet established standards for tracking cold food shipments such as barcoding and an easily legible portion for workers handling packages, these labels help ensure all cold foods arrive intact to their respective consumers.
4. Ship on Monday
Shipping fruits and vegetables directly to consumers is one of the primary goals of an expanding food industry. As more people embrace healthier lifestyles, fresh produce often becomes the centerpiece of meals and snacks. To meet demand, growers and shippers work tirelessly to make sure the latest harvest arrives on store shelves as soon as possible.
Maintaining an ideal temperature during shipment can be challenging in hot or humid areas, so shippers take extra measures to limit potential spoilage risks by choosing cooler times of day to send their packages and avoiding certain routes.
Shippers keep an eye on which crops are in season and how much production they can offer, for instance apples are grown year-round in Oregon and Pennsylvania while oranges can be shipped eight months out of the year from Florida and California. Avocados are another popular fruit grown both places.
When shipping fresh fruits and vegetables, selecting the fastest method possible is key to success. Overnight shipping is ideal but two to three day methods may suffice if shipping hard fruits or vegetables that can withstand short journeys. Also consider sending on Monday to avoid weekend stalls!
There are a number of online services that provide fresh fruit and vegetables directly to customers’ homes, including exotic fruits, gourmet specialty items and unique gifts. Some specialize in procuring items that might otherwise go unsold at grocery stores due to minor blemishes; while others provide an extensive selection of traditional favorites. No matter their approach, all allow customers to shop online and place orders either for single deliveries or ongoing subscriptions.
5. Choose the Right Carrier
Fresh foods are temperature sensitive, making their delivery to their final destinations very important for maintaining peak freshness. In order to protect the quality and freshness of your produce, it is necessary to choose a refrigerated shipping service capable of transporting perishable goods without risk of spoilage.
Refrigerated shipping services can be found online; however, not all are created equal. When selecting your refrigerated shipping company of choice online, ensure they have an established track record for providing timely service with competitive rates (you can use the extra saved money from here in online poker games on any of the sites reviewed on https://centiment.io) and get quotes from multiple providers to find out which offers offer the best value for you.
Make sure the shipping carrier offers an array of services. For instance, some may specialize in certain foods while others provide residential, commercial and express shipping options – in this way you can find one that best meets your needs.
As winter ends and temperatures warm up, North American truckload markets prepare to witness one of their major events: produce season. This short-term surge can have an enormous impact on capacity across any kind of freight but particularly food and beverage related freight.
When shipping fresh fruits and vegetables, the best method is using a sturdy box or wooden crate with plenty of padding inside to prevent your produce from becoming bruised during transit and ensure it arrives unharmed at its destination.
If you’re searching for an economical way to ship fresh produce, Easyship may be just what you need. Our user-friendly web-based shipping software makes entering package details and printing labels hassle-free from anywhere around the world; plus our discounts can save up to 91% off USPS rates!