“Retailers tend to be independent, at least in my experience,” commented Mathews. “They determine what they want and then drive that initiative.”
Sometimes the results—in packaging design or development—may not be in the best interests of shippers when it comes to freight costs. “In a few cases, retailers have driven packaging that prevents ‘cubing’ out a trailer,” says Mathews, which hampers efforts to maximize loads.
An example was a retailer requiring a particular package, Mathews explains, “that filled a semi-truck by space, but only shipped about two-thirds of what the truck could hold on weight.” Such shipments, he says, “are not cost-effective nor environmentally conscious.”
McCartney sees the independence of retailers coming more into balance as suppliers develop and create innovative packaging to not only reduce transportation costs but increase sales. “Two years ago in the grape industry, there weren’t many pouch bags used for table grapes. Because of this innovation, table grapes are increasing in sales, and not only do the pouches reduce cost because of the weight, they increase sales because of the grab-and-go convenience of having a handle on the top of the pack.”
Although advantageous at the retail level, continued growth in the prepackaged fresh produce category can pose more challenges for grower-shippers and suppliers than shipping bulk, especially since consumers can be a rather fickle bunch. Shoppers do not want labels to obscure their views of products, but they do like to see coupons, recipes, and other information—all in addition to freshness dating, nutritional facts, barcodes, and brand names.
The same is true for bulk vs. value-added produce—shoppers like to choose individual pieces of fruit or vegetables, but also love the convenience of these prepackaged or value-added items.
So will consumers continue to demand more creative and convenient packaging, even at higher cost? Will shippers be able to design sophisticated packaging to please both retailers and shoppers while still filling trucks to capacity? Can new packaging continue to meet expectations for freshness and shelf-life functionality while still being environmentally friendly?
“I think it’s going to be very interesting to see what people do in the near future,” says Inestroza. “It’s going to be a balancing act.”
Sometimes reinventing the wheel is a good thing, especially when it comes to fresh produce packaging. Imagine this packaging problem faced by a major retailer: box-shipped asparagus did not allow the product to be displayed vertically on the shelf. This meant asparagus bunches had to be placed horizontally, presenting customers with the less-than-glamorous bottom ends of the spears.
Efforts to correct the dilemma led to a new yet simple box design. Although package performance at the retail level was the catalyst behind this particular redesign, the packaging team at California Polytechnic State University had to be cognizant of the impact on shipping costs as well.
Jay Singh, professor and packaging program director in the Orfalea College of Business at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, led the research team that helped Gourmet Trading Company of Los Angeles, CA develop an innovative two-piece box. The new box allowed product to be displayed upright, maintaining contact with the moisture pad, and required minimal handling by retailers during stocking. In-lab simulations also showed the design would maintain product integrity during long-distance transport from South America.
“The goal was to reinvent their current package from a design and distribution perspective,” Singh explains. Although the new design was two-pieced, it used the same amount of material as its predecessor—avoiding any increases in shipping weight—and was still able to prevent any product damage during transport.
Although the evolution of fresh fruit and vegetable packaging has often been driven by retailers, the outcome can be mutually beneficial to shippers, transporters, retailers, and even consumers as well.
Weighty Issues
Package weight, as shippers know, can play a major role in transportation costs—from filling trailers to capacity and maintaining legal cargo limits to the number of trips and fuel consumption. Finding ways to reduce package weight is never simple, but even modest changes make a big difference.
Michael McCartney, founder and principal of QLM Consulting, Inc., based in Sausalito, CA says, “Packaging is a game of very small numbers” with many parameters, but when done right, he says, it can add up to big savings.
Reducing the weight of a carton (or clamshell), even minimally, allows more packages on a truck, which can translate into better efficiency and even less trucks on the road or fewer trips to destination. Altering how a product is packaged, for more accurate weight, can also influence overall shipping cost.
“For example, a very large grape producer packs a 3-pound clamshell for a major retailer,” McCartney explains. “The weight, including [allowances for] shrink, would be 3.26 pounds. On average, the weight of each clamshell is 3.72 pounds, so with 6 clamshells to a box, this company is giving away almost 1.5 pounds of product to the retailer.”
Less packaging is meant to appeal to consumer interest for more eco-friendly materials, but also to reduce carbon footprints. The latter has ramifications for transporters, as packaging weight and size
can affect fuel consumption at a time when diesel rates have topped more than $4 per gallon in most markets.
Yet something as basic as reducing the size of corrugated box flaps—even by half an inch on each flap—may not seem like much, but this minor adjust-ment can save a chunk of money in the long run. For a large grape grower shipping 10 million boxes, a half-inch flap reduction translates into 3¢ per box or $300,000 savings, McCartney says. “Produce moves in very large scale, so even a very small difference has a significant impact.”
There is also the question of switching from one-time or limited-use to reusable types of packaging. Though the change-over requires what might be a significant upfront investment, shippers can realize savings over time from repeat supply spending and reduced waste (in both hauling and disposal costs as well as greenhouse gas emissions).
Design Factors
Gourmet Trading Company of Los Angeles, CA ships asparagus and blueberries year round and takes packaging very seriously. This is especially true for asparagus, due to both its short shelf life, and because much of the product is imported from South America.
Julia Inestroza, Gourmet Trading’s marketing and merchandising manager says improvements to both the inner and the outer packaging design can influence how efficiently product moves through the supply chain. One example involves the dimensions of a case, such as fitting more cases on a pallet, thereby maximizing space and product capacity on the truck.
Conversely, changes to the inner package such as improvements to extend shelf life not only lead to less shrink on the retail side, but can increase the window of opportunity for transporting product.
“There’s more room for a shipper to manage inventories better,” states Inestroza. “Instead of having to hire a team to try and get product across country as fast as possible, you can sometimes send it on a cheaper truck that takes an extra two to three days because you know you have longer shelf life.”
This extra time can benefit carriers as well, who will worry a little less about getting loads from point A to point B in the shortest amount of time. Given recent changes in hours of service requirements, brokers and carriers are pressured on both sides of the fresh produce transport coin: getting perishables where they need to be (in the best shape possible) while battling federal mandates on behind-the-wheel driving limits.
Better Collaboration
Keith Mathews, chief executive officer of FirstFruits Marketing, LLC in Yakima, WA believes retailers can sometimes be difficult to deal with when it comes to packaging to fit their needs. FirstFruits distributes to domestic and international buyers, including both organic and conventional apples, cherries, peaches, pears, and nectarines.
“Retailers tend to be independent, at least in my experience,” commented Mathews. “They determine what they want and then drive that initiative.”
Sometimes the results—in packaging design or development—may not be in the best interests of shippers when it comes to freight costs. “In a few cases, retailers have driven packaging that prevents ‘cubing’ out a trailer,” says Mathews, which hampers efforts to maximize loads.
An example was a retailer requiring a particular package, Mathews explains, “that filled a semi-truck by space, but only shipped about two-thirds of what the truck could hold on weight.” Such shipments, he says, “are not cost-effective nor environmentally conscious.”
McCartney sees the independence of retailers coming more into balance as suppliers develop and create innovative packaging to not only reduce transportation costs but increase sales. “Two years ago in the grape industry, there weren’t many pouch bags used for table grapes. Because of this innovation, table grapes are increasing in sales, and not only do the pouches reduce cost because of the weight, they increase sales because of the grab-and-go convenience of having a handle on the top of the pack.”
Although advantageous at the retail level, continued growth in the prepackaged fresh produce category can pose more challenges for grower-shippers and suppliers than shipping bulk, especially since consumers can be a rather fickle bunch. Shoppers do not want labels to obscure their views of products, but they do like to see coupons, recipes, and other information—all in addition to freshness dating, nutritional facts, barcodes, and brand names.
The same is true for bulk vs. value-added produce—shoppers like to choose individual pieces of fruit or vegetables, but also love the convenience of these prepackaged or value-added items.
So will consumers continue to demand more creative and convenient packaging, even at higher cost? Will shippers be able to design sophisticated packaging to please both retailers and shoppers while still filling trucks to capacity? Can new packaging continue to meet expectations for freshness and shelf-life functionality while still being environmentally friendly?
“I think it’s going to be very interesting to see what people do in the near future,” says Inestroza. “It’s going to be a balancing act.”
Kim Schoonmaker is a freelance agricultural journalist based in West Lafayette, IN. She contributes to print and electronic publications serving various sectors of production agriculture.
