MUNICH, GERMANY - Sometimes, to see the bigger picture of sustainability, you have to think in a smaller context. For IFCO Systems, this smaller context took the shape of its new RPC Mini Series, one of the smallest reusable containers on the market specifically designed for the transportation of fresh food.
"With our RPC Mini Series, we offer our customers future-oriented reusable packaging. The consumption of convenience food and healthy snacks prepared for immediate consumption will continue to increase in the coming years,” said Wolfgang Orgeldinger, CEO at IFCO Systems. “With our Mini Series RPC, which has been specially developed for the transport of these products, we enable our customers to make optimum use of the limited space available and deliver the goods fresh and cost-efficiently to their destination.”
The Mini Series RPCs, which are compatible with IFCO Green Plus RPCs, are a quarter of the size of conventional RPCs. This smaller size accounts for changing consumer needs, with the smaller RPC size making way for retailers, growers, and suppliers to efficiently take advantage of the available space when transporting increasingly popular items like convenient and fresh, pre-packed foods, including ready-to-eat salads, carrot sticks, and apple slices, for immediate consumption.
In fact, according to a press release, the space saved by the Mini Series RPCs increases the transportation volume by one third per pallet compared to the use of conventional reusable containers. In addition, the new RPC format can help operators build compelling presentations of fresh food and snacks in retail outlets all while keeping sustainability top of mind. Specifically, the use of IFCO RPCs protects natural resources and leads to significant increases in CO2 emissions and solid waste, helping retailers, growers, and suppliers dramatically reduce their ecological footprint.
The RPC Mini Series also touts the same quality as the rest of IFCO’s product portfolio: The stable and well-ventilated reusable containers cool the transported food optimally, increasing the shelf life of the goods throughout the entire supply chain and reducing product damage by up to 96 percent compared to disposable packaging.
Originally launched in the United Kingdom back in February, the new Mini Series RPCs have already grown to 250,000 units in the few months since first hitting the market.
How will IFCO’s latest innovation alter the supply chain? AndNowUKnow will stay on the task of reporting on the latest fresh produce news.