California giant carton

California Giant Berry Farms has revealed in a press release that the company has been testing new high cube strawberry clamshell and tray configurations with suppliers and selected retail partners this season with positive results.

As the group moves into a new strawberry season, it said it is pleased with the success reported to date as it expands its options in packaging while conserving resources.

“The goal of transitioning into the high cube packaging is two-fold for both the shipper and receiver in that these new configurations reduce the amount of packaging in the marketplace by increasing the number of clamshells per carton,” Cal Giant said in the statement.

“Additionally, the new high cube corrugated trays allow for more product and packages per pallet and per truckload ultimately reducing transportation costs.”

The high cube trays in the marketplace for 2010 include a redesigned two-pound clamshell which fit six per tray in comparison to the old standard of four per tray. This shift in design allows for 32 per cent more clamshells per pallet and per truckload, according to Cal Giant.

The design joins the four-pound tray configuration introduced last season that accommodates three clamshells per tray, versus older containers that carry two four-pound containers per carton.

“By simply shifting the dimension of the four-pound container to accommodate three per box, California Giant Berry Farms has been able to reduce the amount of corrugated produced, shipped and received,” the company said.

Cal Giant said it will continue to work with suppliers identifying ways to increase efficiencies while protecting the integrity of the fruit throughout the distribution system.

“The central focus driving each of these packaging decisions is to ensure that any design introduced maintains the quality of California Giant berries, reduces waste, and allows the receiver and the consumer to recycle all the packaging material.”