TAMPA, FL - IFCO has once again used its packaging prowess to elevate a fresh produce supplier’s operations. The company recently teamed up with Agros Produce, a supplier of tomatoes grown in high-tech greenhouses in Mexico, to bring new packaging to market. The strategic partnership will leverage the use of IFCO RPCs to pack and transport Agros’ tomatoes to retail grocery customers in the United States and Canada.

“We are proud to partner with Agros Produce to ensure its nutritious, fresh, and delicious tomatoes successfully reach its retail grocery customers and ultimately the kitchens and tables of consumers across North America in the most safe and sustainable way,” said Dan Martin, President of IFCO North America. “Our companies share the goal of a sustainable fresh food supply chain that nourishes and sustains millions of consumers around the globe.”

A press release noted that Agros Produce uses more than 400,000 IFCO RPCs annually to pack and ship a variety of its greenhouse tomatoes to grocery retailers throughout the U.S. and Canada, including beefstake tomatoes, tomatoes on the vine, roma tomatoes, and grape tomatoes. Agros Produce ships conventional and USDA-certified organic tomato products to its North American customers directly and through distribution warehouses in Arizona and Texas.

IFCO RPCs use less energy and water and produce less CO₂ and solid waste than single use packaging. They also keep produce fresh longer, are easier to handle, and protect produce better than other offerings. Each RPC is cleaned, washed, sanitized, and wrapped after each use, and is used up to 100 times before being recycled.

“IFCO RPCs are OMRI Listed® and an ideal packaging solution for our tomatoes,” said Montserrat Duarte, CEO of Agros Produce. “They provide a sustainable solution along with a food safety guarantee through their cleaning and sanitization process. It is an efficient way to reduce labor costs. With IFCO, we have reduced product damage and increased the freshness of our tomatoes. On the sustainability front, we have been able to reduce our environmental footprint as well as those of our customers. This partnership is a win-win for all of us.”

Duarte continued, “IFCO RPCs have helped us in different ways—reducing labor costs, increasing efficiency, providing better protection for the fruit, and reducing claims from shifted and/or collapsed cases when compared to the use of cardboard boxes. Logistically, RPCs have helped us optimize the capacity of our shipments, reducing freight costs. In addition, the diversity of IFCO RPC sizes provides us with the versatility we need for packing our wide variety of tomato products, as well as develop new products for our customers. And when we use RPCs, we are able to meet and contribute to our sustainability goals.”

Will this unique packaging solution be expanded across the entire category? Keep an eye out as ANUK reports.

IFCO Agros Produce