Meal kit delivery is one of the most challenging applications for ecommerce packaging. The contents are perishable, often delicate, and diverse in size and weight. The shipment needs temperature control, a way of partitioning items, and cushioning. But don’t use too much packaging, or that will be seen as bad for the environment.
As direct-to-consumer deliveries continue to enjoy explosive growth, other product manufacturers can learn ecommerce packaging best practices from what Blue Apron has done over the years.
For the last six-plus of these years, Gaurav Kale has worked in packaging management at Blue Apron, first as Senior Manager of Packaging, and now as Director of Packaging & Operational Excellence. As Director, he leads the design, development, strategy, testing, and deployment of all packaging. Prior to Blue Apron, Kale gained brand experience with Chiquita Brands, Genentech, and Johnson & Johnson in various Engineering and Operations Management roles. He has authored several books and peer-reviewed articles on compostable packaging.
In this slideshow, Kale shows Packaging Digest how Blue Apron’s packaging has changed and improved during its first decade in servicing meal-kit customers. In a recent study by US Packaging and Wrapping to identify The Most (and Least) Wasteful Meal Kit Companies, Blue Apron was deemed the least wasteful, with 50% of its packaging recyclable.
