IQF Fruit Packaging, Private Label and LCL vs FCL Shipping

Which pack formats are used for IQF fruit?

IQF fruit is packed in small cartons for foodservice, larger cartons and bulk units for manufacturers, and printed retail bags for private label.

Whatever the format, the inner bag has to stay flexible and sealed at freezer temperatures, and the carton has to survive weeks of stacking in a cold store and a reefer. Carton strength is a specification item: a collapsed bottom tier crushes fruit and causes clumping.

Can IQF fruit be packed under private label?

Private label IQF packs can be quoted where the producing facility’s packing line, the film and the label content line up. Points to settle before artwork:

• Pack size and fill: the bag dimensions against the fill volume, which depends on cut size and piece shape.
• Film: freezer-grade film that stays flexible and keeps seals intact at low temperature; printed film minimums are quoted per project.
• Label content: frozen food needs storage instructions and, in the EU, a batch mark and a clear statement such as “do not refreeze after thawing” (Directive 89/108/EEC), in addition to the usual ingredient, allergen, net quantity and importer details.
• Shipping cartons: how many retail bags per carton, carton marking, and pallet pattern.

Retail packing takes more line time and material than bulk, so it changes both price and lead time. Our OEM and private label page describes the artwork and retail setup workflow.

Full container or LCL for frozen fruit?

A full reefer container is the safer route and usually the cheaper one per kilogram; reefer LCL exists only on some routes and adds handling and temperature risk.

For a first order below a container load, a mixed full container is often the better answer: several IQF fruits that share the same storage temperature, loaded together in one reefer. It keeps a single set point and a single temperature record, and it lets you trial several products in one shipment. Tell us the products and quantities per line, and we plan the container before quoting.

We arrange 20-foot and 40-foot reefer containers with the agreed set point and temperature logging, as described on our export logistics page.

How should frozen cargo be loaded?

Reefer containers deliver cold air beneath the cargo through the T-shaped floor, circulate it around the frozen load and return it over the top. Loading decisions affect that airflow:

• Load line. Cargo must stay below the maximum load line so air can return over the top.
• Floor coverage. Load within the length of the T-floor and cover any open floor area, so the air follows the intended circulation path instead of short-circuiting it.
• Palletised or floor-loaded. Floor loading carries more cartons per container; palletised loading unloads faster and with less handling damage. Choose per destination warehouse.
• Pre-cooled cargo. The product must already be at its target temperature. A reefer holds temperature; it is not designed to freeze warm cargo.

What should be printed on the cartons?

Agree the carton marking with the specification, so that your warehouse can trace every carton to its lot:

• product name, cut and variety where specified;
• net weight;
• lot or batch code and production date;
• storage instruction (“keep frozen at -18 °C or below”);
• best-before or shelf-life date if your system requires it;
• your own item code or the importer’s details where needed.

What to put in the RFQ

An IQF shipping RFQ fixes the pack, the loading method, the quantity per product, the temperature regime and the destination:

• product, cut and format (1 kg, 10 kg, bulk or retail bag);
• carton specification and pallet pattern, or floor loading;
• quantity per product line, and whether a mixed container is acceptable;
• storage and transport temperature, set point and logging;
• destination port or warehouse and the Incoterm — see our Incoterms guide;
• label and carton marking requirements, and the documents needed — see export documents by product type.