<img alt="" src="https://secure.leadforensics.com/103034.png" style="display:none;">

Everything You Need to Know About Eco-Friendly Insulated Packaging from Ashtonne

Everything You Need to Know About Eco-Friendly Insulated Packaging from Ashtonne
Bill Madl Posted on January 15, 2023 | Updated on August 1, 2023

Insulated Mailers and Shipping Packs for eco-friendly insulated packaging         Insulated Cold Chain Packaging and green shipping coolers     Eco-friendly Insulated Packaging and environmentally friendly cold chain packaging     Insulated Shippers

The E-commerce business is growing at a phenomenal pace and all indications are that there is no slowing this "direct to consumer" growth market down, especially with all that is going on today and the growth opportunities for eco-friendly insulated packaged products! It is becoming increasingly clear that to be successful in selling your products, you need to be resourceful and provide your customers with a timely, unique, and memorable unboxing experience and allow them a dazzling and dramatic moment of reveal, and all this with on-time deliveries and a minimal amount of waste to the supply chain!


You may want your products to be unique and not be offered among various other similar product alternatives, such as looking through the Amazon site, would offer. To do so will require attention to detail with innovative and custom-designed retail packaging, and e-commerce custom-designed packaging for frozen and refrigerated food, as you may only get one chance here. Use our checklist as a guide to ensure you are on track!

Custom eco-friendly insulated Packaging

With Amazon sales growing at a $250 billion + annual rate, and also setting the trend for sustainable and eco-friendly cold chain packaging, you will want your products to stand out and reflect your specific custom branding. With grocery ecommerce growing at an 18% rate and ranking as the fastest-growing product online, there is a huge opportunity for cold chain packaging solutions for frozen and refrigerated food products, especially those that are packaged with insulated, eco-friendly, and sustainable packaging.

Understand that direct-to-consumer, in the frozen and refrigerated food category, is less than 2% of all online shipments, but growing at a 10% annual rate to over a $10 billion industry. Some key questions will need to be answered for this market to succeed, including how long the products need to last in the entire supply chain, what waste factor they use when comparing to store-bought products, and what portion sizes make sense for ecommerce sales. In addition to these questions, and according to Aldo Galbusera, Marketing Manager for Sealed Air, there are four key challenges food processors must respond to in delivering a food ecommerce offer:

  •  Consumer experience
  •  Commercial sustainability
  •  Product protection and
  •  Logistics and transport

By tackling each of these challenges, Aldo feels that processors can meet retailers' demands and retailers can meet consumer expectations, allowing each party to benefit.

Consumers will expect their frozen and refrigerated food products to be available when they want them and in the portion sizes they demand. They will either have them delivered to their homes or arrange to have them available at a local store, the latter being part of a "click and collect" delivery service that is gaining momentum, especially with the millennials. Still, a recent Nielsen survey indicated 69% of online shoppers prefer groceries delivered to their homes.

With FedEx, UPS, and USPS currently not capable in the cold chain to deliver frozen and refrigerated food products this way, the door is wide open to companies specializing in handling and distributing the cold chain of frozen and refrigerated food.  

Partnering with a turnkey order fulfillment company, or a 3PL (3rd party logistics) is the key to this success, and choosing the right partner that meets the expectations of your customers could make the difference in the survival of your business!

Key Things to ask when evaluating an insulated packaging partner

Quick shipping, so that the products arrive to the customers as they left the warehouse, is not only important from a customer perspective but necessary to meet this online service. Items packaged with dry ice and eco-friendly insulated packing materials must be considered as part of this equation. The right 3PL company for your frozen and perishable food fulfillment business should be vetted by asking questions such as:

1) How long has this company been providing third-party logistics service in the frozen and refrigerated cold chain food industry?

2) Do they currently work with any other brands vertical to yours?

3) Have they obtained an SQF (safe quality food) certification at all their facilities?

4) What processes do they have in place for food safety management and ways to recall and check?

At the end of the day, eco-friendly and sustainability, with minimal waste, are still key, along with brand recognition. The key to your success, as a provider of frozen and refrigerated foods, is being able to deliver timely and at a reasonable cost that consumers will expect. Your reputation is on the line too as your customer's friends, family, and possible referrals can be impacted by poor quality and disappointed recipients of your products. Statistics indicate over 50% of buyers online repeat the sale if they have a good experience.

Ecommerce packaging, utilizing innovative eco-friendly insulated packaging design, including all inner-packaging and anything that is opened, is critical to your success, especially today with over 86% of consumers saying they prefer their product to arrive in packaging made from recycled content (Flexible Packaging Association Survey by the Harris Poll 2018).

Eco-friendly and insulated packaging can be applied to multiple industries including meat, poultry, dairy, pastry items, frozen prepared foods, candies, produce, and many more that are temperature sensitive! This packaging must also ensure product integrity, safety, quality, freshness, and appearance so, getting it right the first time is critical as it may be your only time, and keep in mind you are competing against more companies than ever before.

Contact us for Custom eco-friendly insulated Packaging

Get with a reputable packaging partner that has a history of developing unique custom-designed insulated and eco-friendly packaging ideas and solutions and has a solid history of helping their customers, especially in the ecommerce markets - visit Ashtonne Packaging or call them at 877-522-6937!

Not ready to make a decision, sign up for our newsletter and follow us for cost-saving ideas and industry information.

     Get our eNewsletter

Better yet, if you are ready to change your course of action and ensure your eCommerce product launch with frozen and refrigerated cold chain food is the best, schedule a brief meeting to speak with one of our owners and learn more about our custom insulated packaging!

    Contact Us

    Contact Us

« Back to Blog
Ashtonne Author Bio Box-01

Contact us using the form below or call us at 877-522-6937.

"Ashtonne Packaging has been our primary supplier of custom display products for several years. Their creative designers go above and beyond to quickly turn our ideas into physical samples, which helps Bendon secure a great deal of promotional sales. Once we go to production, Ashtonne always delivers high-quality and eye-catching display solutions which allow our products to stand out from the competition at retail. I can sincerely say that Ashtonne’s overall service is the best I have experienced in the 8 years I have been a buyer of corrugated products!"
Rachel Rabalais
Bendon
Ashland, Ohio
"We talked to plenty of packaging people, and we tried to do that early on...I think we could go to a number of different companies that could deliver on budget and on time...But it was the level of detail and the craftmanship that you get at Ashtonne Packaging that I haven’t seen before.”