WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — With the grocery delivery and meal kit industry forecasted to reach over $100 billion by 2025 (Forbes), maintaining freshness and food safety, while still remaining profitable continues to play a major role in this fast-evolving industry.
“Currently, grocery and meal kit delivery companies are racing to capture market share in this explosive sector, but ALL face the same cold chain execution challenges,” said Melissa Kieling, founder of PackIt. “Their inability to keep perishables cold and at a food safe temperature during distribution is resulting in expensive and complex distribution work arounds, product shrinkage, and poor customer experience,” she continued.
Enter PackIt’s new line of three commercial totes – Freezable Ultra Tote, Delivery Tote and Ready Tote (patents are pending). Each tote is commercial grade and designed to offer meal kit and grocery delivery companies a sustainable, reusable solution for its customers. Each tote features PackIt’s patented Ecofreeze™ technology – freezable gel built into the walls of the bag. The totes collapse flat to freeze in commercial freezers overnight – no ice packs needed, ever!
While the environmental/waste concern was the initial spark for this project, Kieling – who started PackIt a decade ago having recognized the challenge of keeping her kids lunches cold and fresh – sees a similar challenge today in the commercial delivery space. She understood that the players in this race, in an effort to meet consumer demand for delivery, have some serious supply chain challenges that are making it next to impossible to turn a profit.
PackIt’s new sturdy Freezable Ultra and Delivery Totes replaces boxed delivery packaging and has a cooling time span of 12 to 24 hours. The Freezable Ready Tote cools between 8 and 12 hours and is designed to replace soft-sided meal delivery totes.
With the extended cooling duration created with PackIt’s Delivery Totes, companies can implement cost saving efficiencies throughout final mile with longer pack-out times, more efficient delivery routes, extended delivery windows and provide the option of unattended deliveries for the ultimate customer convenience.
“This new ability to keep food cold during the final mile becomes the solution to greatly reduce costs. A retailer can finally deliver top quality AND make a profit,” says Kieling. “I’m thrilled that after a decade in the consumer products space, we are bringing our technology to this burgeoning commercial space.”
About PackIt: PackIt freezable products are the smartest and simplest way to keep food and drinks cool anywhere. They are collapsible, freezable bags that works just like a refrigerator on the go, continually chilling items for hours. The secret is a special freezable gel built into the walls of the bag. Simply store the entire bag in the freezer overnight. Once the bag is frozen, its walls generate waves of cold air that chill your food and drinks from all sides. The company’s patented Ecofreeze™ technology keeps items cool all day without ever needing ice packs. It’s so powerful that it can even drop the temperature of liquids 25 degrees within the first hour.
For more information visit www.packit.com.
