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How to start cold shipping food

Cheese, fresh pasta, meat, butter, fresh produce and anything frozen. The goal is simple: the box arrives below 40°F (below 0°F if frozen) and nobody is surprised by the shipping cost.

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The short answer

Ship Monday through Wednesday on 1 or 2 day service, pack an insulated liner with frozen gel packs (dry ice for frozen), test a box on yourself with a thermometer, and charge the real shipping rate.

The steps

  1. Ship early in the week

    Ship Monday through Wednesday only, so a box never sits in a warehouse over the weekend. Many makers ship Monday and Tuesday only.

  2. Use 1 or 2 day service

    Ground is fine for one zone over. Test it before you trust it.

  3. Pack the right coolant

    Refrigerated: an insulated liner plus frozen gel packs, roughly one pound of gel per pound of product as a starting point, more in summer. Frozen: dry ice, usually 5 to 10 pounds per 24 hours of transit for a mid-size box. The gel pack and dry ice calculator works out a starting amount for you.

  4. Follow the dry ice rules

    Dry ice is a hazardous material for carriers. Mark the box with the UN1845 label and the dry ice weight, never seal it airtight, and check the limits: USPS caps it at 5 pounds per package, UPS and FedEx allow more with proper marking. Air shipments have stricter rules.

  5. Pack cold and fill the box

    Pack cold product straight from the walk-in. Fill empty space; air is what warms a box.

  6. Test before you sell

    Ship a box to yourself or a friend with a cheap thermometer or data logger inside. Open it and read the temperature before you sell a single one.

  7. Price it for what it costs

    A one-item cheese shipment usually costs $12 to $25 to send. Charge the real rate, or build it into the product price. The cold shipping cost calculator shows the full cost of a box and the charge that breaks even.

  8. Tell the customer what to expect

    Say it on the product page: perishable, ships early in the week, insulated packaging, refrigerate on arrival. No promised dates.

Where to go next

  • Free tool

    Gel pack and dry ice calculator

    A starting amount of coolant for your first test box.

    Use the calculator

  • Free tool

    Cold shipping cost calculator

    The real cost of one cold box, and what to charge.

    Use the calculator

  • Shipping supplies: what to buy and where

    Liners, gel packs, dry ice, boxes and tape, with suppliers for each.

    Read the guide

  • Have cold shipping set up for you

    Carrier accounts, a tested packaging spec per product and automatic cold pack and ship-day rules.

    See the solution

Want one of these set up for you?

Tell us what you make. We send back a short plan and a price.

Get a plan and a price

How it works

  1. Tell us what you make

    What you make and what you use now. A spreadsheet and a Square account is a fine answer.

  2. Get a short plan

    Keep this, replace that, connect these, and the cost.

  3. We set it up

    Setup and migration done for you. You approve before anything goes live.

  4. Run it or hand it off

    Take it from there yourself or keep us on for the upkeep.

Questions

What days should I ship perishable food?

Monday through Wednesday, so a box never sits in a warehouse over the weekend. Many makers ship Monday and Tuesday only.

How many gel packs do I need?

Start with roughly one pound of frozen gel per pound of product, and use more in summer. Then test a box with a thermometer inside.

How much dry ice do I need to ship frozen food?

Usually 5 to 10 pounds per 24 hours of transit for a mid-size box. Mark the box with the UN1845 label and the dry ice weight, and never seal it airtight.

How much does it cost to ship cheese?

A one-item cheese shipment usually costs $12 to $25 to send. Charge the real rate or build it into the product price.

Get a plan and a price

Tell us what you make and what you use today. A spreadsheet and a Square account is a fine answer. We reply by email with what we would keep, what we would change and what it costs.

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