FreshRealm: What to do with packaging from all those meal boxes

FreshRealm got its start as a meal kit business, sending customers all the fixings to make, say, chicken quinoa salad with arugula and pistachios, or lemon-Dijon salmon with potatoes and green beans. Pressured by customers to reduce such packaging waste, some companies have tried to cut down on the garbage they create, including turning to a competitor, FreshRealm, for its shipping crates. "When we were creating it, I think people weren't necessarily thinking about packaging waste or preparation time or the cold chain needed to preserve fresh foods," said Michael Lippold, CEO of FreshRealm, a subsidiary of Calavo Growers, which markets fresh produce and a variety of fresh prepared foods. Packaging is perhaps the most critical element of the meal kit business, which must ensure that raw meats and vegetables get to costumers without being contaminated or looking as if someone played soccer with them. [...] it has also started providing its box system to competitors as part of a bundle of services that includes prepped ingredients supplied by a sister company, the Renaissance Food Group. [...] when he tried one of the major meal delivery services, he said, "Every Tuesday, as I was going out to the recycling bin, I had at least 12 to 15 little plastic bags, ice packs and another cardboard box, and that just felt like it wasn't sustainable," he said. Other companies say their meal kits produce less waste than a trip to the grocery store to buy the ingredients and that shipping precisely measured ingredients cuts down on food waste, and that grocery stores also produce a lot of packaging waste. Freshly, a prepared meals company, heard complaints from customers about the Styrofoam it was using to insulate its boxes.