Insulated Ice Cream Shipping for Last Mile Transit

How We Helped Maintain Freezing Temperatures for Ice Cream During Last Mile Transit

Case Study

In today’s world where home delivery is king, large grocery retailers and specialty ice cream makers operate using last mile delivery.

In the case of perishable goods, such as ice cream, this delivery method is crucial to ensuring the goods arrive in acceptable condition.

For ice cream, temperatures above 0⁰C begin to have drastic effects on the consistency and flavor of the ice cream as the milk contained in the product begins to melt.

Proposal

The grocery retailer approached IPC with the desire to procure a small eco-friendly pouch liner solution that could be used to maintain the temperature of their ice cream once it leaves their distribution center for its final destination.

IPC Recommendation: EcoLiner Insulated Pouch

IPC recommended its EcoLiner Insulated Pouch which provides high performance insulation through environmentally friendly materials which can be custom designed to fit all sorts of ice cream containers.

IPC recommended its EcoLiner Insulated Pouch which provides high performance insulation through environmentally friendly materials which can be custom designed to fit all sorts of ice cream containers. But why EcoLiner?

Effective thermal protection for 48 hours+. The pouch provides effective temperature control for refrigerated, frozen, and room temperature products for transit durations of more than 48 hours.
Environmentally friendly materials. Built with the environment in mind, EcoLiner insulated mailers are made using eco-friendly, biodegradable materials; cotton-based panels wrapped in a bio-based film.
Space-saving design. The padded pouches are shipped in a compressed, space-saving form, allowing your business to benefit substantially from reduced shipping and warehousing costs.

Testing

IPC was tasked with developing a test for the worst-case scenario – extreme summer conditions – to assess if the ice cream stays below the 0⁰C threshold for four hours. The study used a constant ambient temperature of 30⁰C with a 1” EcoLiner pouch insulating a pint of ice cream preconditioned at -12⁰C. This packout is optimal for shipping single-piece containers across short transit times.

For optimal temperature logging, a thermocouple probe was inserted 2 inches deep inside the ice cream container through a hole drilled through the container’s lid. One final thermocouple probe was placed on the surface of the EcoLiner pouch to log the ambient temperature conditions of the oven.

Conclusion and Results

The grocery retailer determined that EcoLiner’s insulated pouches provided more than adequate protection of their ice cream products for last mile transports. Because these results were gathered from extreme summer temperatures, these pouches can be used in all other seasonal temperatures with assurance. The company regularly uses EcoLiner pouches to date for their last mile transit solutions.