by Each perfectly cut chicken wing, t-bone steak, and pork chop in your farm’s refrigerators and freezers represents your hard work and attention to detail — and trusting an insulated box liner to keep them frozen in transit can be challenging.
That’s why we’ve done the hard work for you and created this list of the best insulated box liners for shipping meat.
Whether you’re looking for a sustainable option to keep your goods chilled as they travel across town or a cost-effective solution to protect them on their journey across the country, we’ve got you covered.
Why Should You Use Insulated Box Liners?
Before we dive into which insulated box liners you should count on, let’s explore why you should use them.
Moving beyond in-person farm store sales and offering perishable products like meat online can expand your customer base and boost your sales — but it requires an effective packaging and shipping strategy.
Insulated box liners are a critical part of this strategy, protecting your goods from temperature changes and keeping them frozen as they travel from your farm to your customers’ tables.
These liners act in tandem with other packaging items, so make sure you’re also planning to secure suitable outer shipping containers, labeled packaging for each item in the box, and gel packs to stabilize the box’s temperature.
How To Choose the Right Insulated Box Liner
Since the right liner will depend on your farm’s unique needs, let’s take a look at a few questions to answer before you start evaluating your options:
- How far will you ship your products? This is the first and most important question to answer. Nationwide shipping will require heavier-duty insulation to keep goods cold for longer.
- Will you ship your products frozen, or do they need to stay at standard refrigeration temperature? Insulated box liners are rated according to how cold they can keep contents.
- What’s your budget? If you’re just starting your farm e-commerce journey, you might opt for an affordable option like styrofoam, but if you’re in the market for an upgrade, you should check out newly developed insulating technologies like cellulose or cornstarch.
- Is sustainability part of your mission? Some insulated box liners are produced using eco-friendly materials and manufacturing techniques.
Determining which products to sell online, whether to pack them fresh or frozen, and how far you plan to ship them will make finding the perfect insulated box liner easier and set you up for success on your farm e-commerce journey.
1. Metallic Foil Liners: An Affordable Choice
Metallic foil is one of the most budget-friendly options when it comes to insulated box liners. When combined with a gel pack or dry ice, these thin liners can keep products cold for up to 24 hours.
Since metallic foil liners don’t provide long-term insulation, they’re a popular choice among businesses that sell temperature-sensitive medications and meltable products like chocolate. In short, they aren’t suitable for shipping refrigerated or frozen items across the country.
However, they’re an affordable and effective solution if your farm offers local delivery services. If your customers aren’t home to receive their package, they can relax knowing that it will stay cold and fresh on their porch for up to 24 hours.
If metallic foil insulated box liners sound like the right fit, Uline offers cases of 25 liners in a variety of sizes, ranging from six by six inches to 24 by 18 inches.
2. Paper Liners: The Classic Option
Paper is another popular choice of box insulation for businesses that ship and sell perishable foods.
These box liners are insulated with several layers of paper and lined with moisture-resistant, food-safe kraft paper. In addition to keeping contents at the right temperature, the thickness of these paper-insulated box liners protects your products from rough conditions during the shipping process.
Ratings for paper-insulated box liners vary based on the manufacturer, but most promise to keep contents frozen and refrigerated for anywhere between 72 and 96 hours, making them a viable option if your farm offers nationwide shipping.
If you choose to go with paper liners, Prime Packaging offers a wide range of sizes with different thicknesses to fit your meat shipping needs.
3. Recycled Plastic Liners: A Planet-Friendly Pick
If you and your customers are committed to sustainability, then you might want to consider insulated box liners made from recycled plastic.
To create these innovative box liners, manufacturers collect recycled water bottles and turn their plastic into insulation for shipping boxes.
Along with being a sustainable choice, these plastic-insulated box liners are food-safe, damage-resistant, and lightweight to keep shipping costs low.
Thermal Shipping Solutions is the leader in producing these planet-friendly insulated box liners, which they offer in custom sizes and thicknesses.
4. Feather-Based Liners: A New, Sustainable Solution
An exciting new insulation technology on the market uses something you’re probably familiar with: chicken feathers!
Pluumo, a sustainability-minded startup, uses excess feathers from the poultry industry to create insulated box liners. Since chicken feathers are naturally great insulators, these liners can keep products cold for up to 72 hours — even in the summer heat.
If you want to give these feather-powered insulated box liners a try, get in touch with the Pluumo team to chat about your options.
Streamline Your Farm’s Shipping Process With GrazeCart
The right insulated box liners are just one piece of an effective farm e-commerce strategy; you also need a powerful software solution that allows you to sell meat online, track inventory, and manage your orders.
While there are several great insulated box liners to choose from, there’s only one farm e-commerce solution that stands above the competition: GrazeCart.
If you’re ready to see how GrazeCart can streamline your farm’s operations, build your customer base, and boost your profits, start your free trial today.