Considerations For Shipping Perishable Foods | R&S Logistics

One of the best things about running an e-commerce business is the ability to put your product into the hands of customers near and far. If you happen to sell perishable goods, however, shipping can become a rather sticky issue. R&S Logistics always wants to help make the complicated simple, so we’ve compiled some tips for e-commerce businesses wishing to ship out perishable foods.

At the end of the day, you want to be able to provide your customers with a satisfying experience whether they purchase your product in-store or order it online to have it shipped to their home. Nothing sours the reputation of a good business as fast as dissatisfied customers who’ve received poor quality goods. Without the right shipping solutions in place, your customers could be in danger of getting stale goods, leaky foods, smooshed treats and plenty of disappointment.

Start small and scale as you grow.
Let’s say you’re a bakery that’s made a name for itself and you’d like and you’d like to start offering shipping of your products. One way to start is to only ship out one particular item. Are you known for amazing bread pudding? Do you have a signature dessert? Start there, and perfect the process before even thinking about expanding your options.

Try a test run before shipping to any customers.
Box up your perishable good and leave it in the trunk of your car for a few days to give yourself an idea of how well the product can withstand travel on hot trucks during the summer months. You might use a branded cooler bag with polystyrene packaging for further insulation.

Keep it cool and fresh.
Some perishable items hold up very well to freezing, and in that case a business will often ship the product in its frozen state so it can better survive a few days of travel. Can’t freeze the product? You’ll still need to keep it cool with gel packs or dry ice.

Keep an eye on sustainability.
Customers today are ordering more perishable goods online than ever before, and with it, they’re receiving an incredible amount of waste from packaging. Anything you can do to lighten the load is going to be a win-win for you and your customer. That means you might want to opt for dry ice over gel packs since the latter become something the customer has to find a home for.

To be fair, this is a topic that we could discuss for hours, but for now, we invite you to call on R&S Logistics for your 3PL needs. R&S proudly offers solutions rather than services, and everything we do is custom designed just for you and your business’s needs. Visit our website today to learn more about our company, and request your free quote!