Walmart Ifco

IFCO’s Dan Walsh (left) and Walmart’s Dorn Wenninger

US retailer Walmart has revealed plans to phase out its use of IFCO’s black reusable plastic containers (RPCs) over the coming months and switch instead to the pallet group’s new woodgrain-look RPCs for its fresh produce in the US.

“If there was interest from customers in Europe, it could be introduced there as well,” said Dan Walsh, president of IFCO North America. “Walmart led the way during the introduction of our PCs in the US. The new woodgrain-look RPC is an exciting concept, an exciting project.”

Walmart has been trialling the new crate over the past nine months, and now intends to introduce it nationally. “There are some other minor developments compared to the previous black crate, but the difference is mainly in the colour,” said Walsh.

Walmart’s vice-president of fresh produce, Dorn Wenninger, commented: “It’s all about the customer. They love it, it’s on trend. We expect it to help increase our sales, especially sales of organics.”