ButcherBox, a delivery service for sustainably-raised meat products, will begin delivering packages in new environmentally friendly thermal packaging that is recyclable, compostable, and keeps products frozen appropriately, the company announced. The company signed a $10 million packaging deal with Vericooler and plans to use the thermal cooler in deliveries to customers in its Western region immediately; the company plans to ship out of the eastern region operations in the near future.
ButcherBox’s founder and CEO, Mike Salguero, says the company originally started shipping with EPS (styrofoam) packaging. But that, he says, is “bad for the environment because EPS is nearly impossible to recycle.” The company then switched to another “green” packaging option, but it did not perform as well. Vericoolers have high performance and go right into curbside recycling, “and that is really important to us and to our customers,” Salguero says.
With the new coolers, ButcherBox will avoid sending 20 to 50 truckloads of EPS packaging each month to the landfill. The company attributes is growing segment of the niche meat delivery market to sourcing meats raised without antibiotics or hormones and by supporting family farms across the country.
Vericoolers consist of cardboard/corrugated, compostable film, starch based insulation and a proprietary manufacturing process; they are compostable as well as recyclable and according to the company are as cost-efficient as styrofoam.
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