\If there’s one concern that every owner of a food-based business has in common, it’s how to handle the fragile nature of food effectively. You not only want to keep it safe for consumption, but fresh enough that your customers are able to fully experience its wholesomeness and flavor. If you’re doing business on a large scale, then you’re no doubt concerned with finding the best way to get your goods from place to place in one piece as well.
Many businesses still rely solely on disposable, single-use shipping and storage options like corrugated containers. However, while disposable containers may be familiar and convenient, they’re far from the best way to ship and store your edible goods. Reusable totes are quickly replacing them for a number of very good reasons.
- Reusable totes help you save money in the long run.
Naturally, there are certain recurring costs that come along with running a business. The cost of packing materials and shipping containers is only one of these, but it’s a very important one. On the surface, corrugated cardboard boxes and other single-use options absolutely seem like the more economical option.
However, while it’s true that reusable options like totes, crates, and wire baskets do cost more up front, they’re not representative of a recurring cost. You use them again, and again, and again instead. You can save even more money by purchasing perfectly good totes on a secondhand basis from a supplier like Container Exchanger. When and if you ever are finished with the totes, you can simply sell them back for a partial return on your original investment.
- Keep your merchandise fresh, safe, and free of damage in transit.
As touched on above, food is nothing if not fragile, so it’s not hard to see why the safe shipping and storage of edible goods presents such a challenge. For the most part, disposable containers do protect food. However, they’re simply not sturdy enough to really guard against the unexpected.
Shipping containers are frequently dropped, bumped, or jarred before they reach their destination – sometimes severely. If you’re only relying on cardboard to protect your merchandise, then you’re probably very used to customers complaining of bruised produce or baked goods that look like they’re practically pulverized. You probably have even written off the occasional damaged or replacement shipment as part of the cost of doing business.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Reusable food grade totes are built to last, so they’re many times more durable than their cardboard cousins. Making the switch will mean significantly fewer damaged shipments and much happier customers.
- Store your merchandise under ideal conditions.
Just as food can be incredibly difficult to ship, it’s also a real challenge to store properly. Food grade totes will be easier to stack without risk of damaging the delicate contents within, so you can finally make the absolute most of limited pantry or warehouse space. Occasional mishaps like spills won’t damage your containers, either, as they won’t soak up moisture the way cardboard boxes will.
Since food grade totes were made with the storage of food in mind, they’re already designed to help facilitate the right conditions for long-term storage as well. Keep baked goods from going stale so quickly. Protect delicate seasonal produce from getting bruised or becoming moldy. Rest easy knowing that your totes are 100% FDA-compliant and safe for storing food, so you never have to worry about exposure to toxins or chemicals that have no business being anywhere near food.
- Become an environmentally conscious business owner.
Doing business in a way that minimizes the associated impact on the environment to the greatest extent possible isn’t just for huge global corporations anymore. It’s the responsibility of every business owner. That said, making the switch to reusable, sustainable packaging options like food totes is a great way to drastically reduce your business’s carbon footprint.
You’ll significantly reduce packing waste. You can take advantage of the totes’ stackable design to fully maximize available space on shipping vehicles and freezer trucks, allowing you to reduce the amount of fuel your business uses. It hardly hurts that becoming more environmentally conscious also helps save you even more money.
At the end of the day, there are a million reasons to get your business on board with the current shift toward environmentally sustainable packaging. Start experiencing the benefits first hand when you make the switch today!