Shipping meal boxes chilled: what do you need?
Short answer: for a meal box you need: an EPS or honeycomb cooler box of 30 to 45 litres, gel packs on top of meat and fish (cold sinks), an absorbent pad on the bottom and dividers so that vegetables and herbs do not lie against the cold packs (frost damage). This keeps a mixed box at temperature during 24 to 48 hours of transport, depending on outside temperature, filling and number of cooling elements.
Meal kit companies and meal box providers are a fast-growing sector. Fresh ingredients, meat, fish, dairy: everything has to arrive crisp and fresh at the customer, often after 24 to 48 hours of transport.
The challenge
You ship a complete meal box with various temperature-sensitive components:
- Fresh meat or fish (0 to 4 °C)
- Dairy products (4 to 7 °C)
- Fresh herbs and vegetables
- Sometimes also dry ingredients at room temperature
Everything in one package, for at least 24 hours of transport, often in summer conditions. This calls for a well-considered approach.
The suitable combination
1. Outer packaging: EPS box or honeycomb cooler box
For an average meal kit we recommend an EPS or honeycomb box of 30 to 45 litres. Honeycomb has an attractive environmentally friendly look that suits many meal kit brands. View our range of EPS boxes and read in EPS boxes vs honeycomb cooler boxes what the differences are.
2. Coolants: gel packs in the right place
- Fresh fish/meat: gel packs directly on top (cold sinks)
- Dairy: gel pack alongside
- Vegetables/herbs: not directly against cold packs (frost damage)
3. Absorbent pad on the bottom
Any meltwater or liquid is caught. That prevents wet products and leaking boxes.
4. Separating materials
Use cardboard or plastic dividers to separate sensitive products from the cooling.
5. Optional: cardboard outer box
Many meal kit providers ship the cooler box in a cardboard outer box for branding and extra protection during transport. Standard cardboard boxes and custom-made boxes that fit your cooler box exactly are supplied by our sister webshop Packaging Discounter.
Layout of the box
The order in which you pack determines a lot. A workable build-up is:
- At the bottom: the absorbent pad, on top of it the heaviest products with the greatest cooling need, such as meat or fish in closed packaging.
- On top of that: a gel pack, then a divider.
- In the middle: dairy and other products that must stay cool, but not freeze.
- At the top: vegetables, herbs and dry ingredients, separate from the cold packs.
- Filling: fill empty space, so that nothing shifts and there is little air in the box.
If you have many different recipes, the layout changes per box. Therefore record per recipe type how the box is packed, so that your packing team does the same thing every day.
Common mistakes with meal boxes
- Vegetables against a cold pack. That causes frost spots and limp, brown leaves.
- Packing warm products. Cool all components before you pack. A gel pack keeps things cold, it does not cool them back down.
- Too few gel packs for summer. Adjust the basic formula from how many gel packs do you need to the situation in July, not the one in March.
- Wrong box size. A box that is too large is heavier and warms up faster.
- Shipments on Friday. A box that stands in a depot at the weekend has to endure much longer than you plan.
Cost optimisation
Meal kit margins are often tight. Tips for saving costs:
- Order packaging by the pallet for economies of scale
- Standardise on 1 to 2 box sizes instead of 5
- Reuse gel packs (some providers do this with a return system)
- Request a quotation for an annual contract
Checklist per box
Put these points on the work instruction for your packing team.
- Have all components been pre-cooled?
- Is there an absorbent pad at the bottom?
- Does no vegetable or herb touch a cold pack?
- Has empty space been filled?
- Is the box properly closed and labelled?
- Does the amount of cooling match the season and the journey time?
- Does the customer know that the box must go into the cold straight after delivery?
Test your box before you scale up
Send the first trial boxes with a data logger and read out the temperature curve after arrival. Test in the warmest and the coldest period that is realistic for your route. That way you see where you can save on coolant and where you need extra margin.
Frequently asked questions
Can I also ship the box in an insulated bag?
For short routes that is possible. For 24 to 48 hours with mixed contents, an EPS or honeycomb box is generally the sturdier choice. Read insulated bag or EPS box to make the trade-off.
How many gel packs go in a box?
That depends on box size, duration and outside temperature. Use the calculation method in our gel pack articles as a starting point and confirm with a measurement.
Can the box be printed?
Custom printing of cooler boxes is possible. Contact our sales support team for the options.
For meal kit companies, Cooled Solutions offers:
- Fixed price agreements for volume
- Combination pallets with various products
- Ordering on account (Net 30)
- Custom printing of cooler boxes possible
- Fast delivery from stock
Request a quote for your situation for your meal kit business.
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Need the right packaging straight away? View our EPS boxes, cooling elements, thermal envelopes and cold chain packaging for e-commerce.
