Feasibility of Shipping California Table Grapes in Fiberboard and Polystyrene Foam Boxes and in Polyethylene Mesh Bags

Excerpts from the report: Practically all the table grapes sold in the United States are produced in California. The crown-packed wood box, usually packed with 26 pounds of table grapes, has been the most commonly used container for shipping grapes to market. Over the years, shippers made many individual changes in grape shipping containers, with the result that 18 sizes of containers with many variations in container construction and accessory packing materials are now in use for loose-packing grapes. Moreover, the trend toward offering more prepackaged produce for sale in retail stores has led to increased demand from retailers for grapes packaged in consumer-size units. The purpose of this study was to find out (1) how much the cost of marketing table grapes could be reduced if they were packed and shipped in fiberboard or polystyrene foam boxes instead of in wood boxes, (2) how much more it would cost to prepackage grapes in polyethylene mesh bags than to pack them loose in wood boxes, and (3) how consumers would react to buying grapes prepackaged in mesh bags