Thawed, spoiled meat.

A customer eagerly waits for their locally sourced, quality grass-fed beef from your farm store, but instead, they get thawed, spoiled meat. Not only will you lose a customer, but your reputation as a supplier of quality meat is at risk, too.

Imagine, instead, your customer biting into a juicy, perfectly cooked steak and remarking how easy it was to get premium meat delivered to their door. With careful planning and execution, it's possible.

This guide will take you through the exact steps to shipping frozen meat the right way. From understanding regulations to selecting the right packaging materials to leveraging technology, you’ll learn how to confidently deliver your farm-fresh meat to customers' doors.

How To Ship Frozen Meat: The Current Climate

The frozen meat industry continues to grow for a few reasons:

• Frozen beef, poultry, and pork offer benefits over fresh products, including longer shelf-life, year-round availability, and better preservation.
• There’s a growing demand (particularly among working parents with young children) for convenient yet healthy, ready-to-cook meat.
• Cold chain logistics facilities are improving, with technology at the forefront. This allows farms to deliver high-quality meat products directly to consumers.

In other words, more customers want farm-fresh, high-quality meat delivered to their doorsteps. Who wouldn’t love locally sourced meat arriving at their home, ready to be cooked and enjoyed?

However, shipping frozen meat is challenging. As a farm owner, you have to maintain its quality and safety, and that means understanding proper shipping methods. Let’s get into the best practices for shipping frozen meat.

Step #1: Understand Regulations and Requirements

Don’t plan or do anything until you know the regulations and requirements surrounding the shipping of perishable items. Failure to adhere to local or national laws can result in fines and penalties your business might not recover from.

You can’t just package meat in a box, slap on a label, and send it to your customers. There are specific guidelines in place to ensure food safety and prevent any potential health hazards.

Don’t be overwhelmed! And don’t let rules and regulations stop you from starting your business. As a general rule, if your product is processed and labeled by a USDA-inspected meat processing facility, your farm will be compliant to ship your products within the US.

Start by checking with your local health department and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the most up-to-date information on shipping regulations for perishable items like frozen meat. You’ll find everything you need to know, including temperatures, packaging materials, and labeling requirements.

Pro tip: The Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund is another valuable resource to help farms navigate education on compliance.

Next, research the regulations at the state level. They might not be any different, but it’s worth finding out. 

By understanding and complying with regulations and requirements, you’ll protect your business from legal issues and show customers that their safety and satisfaction are paramount.

Step #2: Choose the Right Packaging Materials

Choosing the right packaging materials is essential to ensure your meat products reach customers in top condition.

First, you’ll need to invest in insulated packaging. This is non-negotiable when shipping frozen meat. Various options — each with a different price point — are available, from styrofoam boxes to cardboard lined with insulation. Any option you choose should act as a barrier against heat, preventing your products from thawing.

Next, consider cooling elements. There are two main options: dry ice or gel packs. Gel packs are popular because they’re reusable and easy to work with. Gel packs work well for one-day ground transit zones. However, dry ice is the better option for two-day ground zones. However, GrazeCart CEO recommends gel packs as the better option:

Last, ensure your packaging is airtight to prevent any leaks or contamination during transit.

Pro tip: Take the stress out of finding packaging and go with one of our recommended packaging suppliers. You'll find them, and everything else you need in our Perishable Shipping Toolkit. 

If you decide to outsource processing and packaging, choose a processor that uses roll-stock vacuum-sealed solutions. This maintains presentation and minimizes leaks.

Proper Labeling 

Once you’ve chosen your packaging and your meat is securely packed, you need to label your boxes. Everyone involved in the shipping process needs to know exactly what they’re dealing with. Your label should have:

• The recipient’s address
• A return address in case there are any issues. Note: Make sure your customers are aware of your policies for damaged or spoiled goods.
• The words "Perishable" and "Keep Frozen" prominently displayed on the package. This alerts everyone handling the package that it contains time-sensitive items.

We recommend finding a quality shipping service like ShipStation. They have a good reputation for generating compliant labels and integrating with most carriers. Ensure each label reflects the proper parcel weight and dimensions and that dry ice is declared a hazardous material if the carrier requires it.

You’ve got your packaging, your meat is packed appropriately, and your boxes are labeled. Now, which shipping partner do you choose?

Step #3: Choose a Reliable Shipping Partner

Key word — reliable. When it comes to selecting a courier for shipping frozen meat, you want a reliable partner that, ideally, has a proven track record of delivering perishable items on time and in excellent condition. Here are some questions to ask before choosing a shipping partner:

• What is the carrier's shipping area?
• What is the time in transit for that service area?
• Do they have experience handling temperature-sensitive shipments and shipping frozen meat specifically?
• Do they provide real-time tracking? You want to be able to monitor the delivery from the moment it leaves your farm to the moment it arrives at your customers’ door.
• Can they provide overnight or two-day delivery? Expedited delivery is a must for shipping frozen goods.

When choosing a shipping partner, arm yourself with these questions. A reputable courier service will be happy to provide detailed information and reassure you that your frozen meat packages will be in good hands.

Pro tip: GrazeCart customers can use their own delivery fleet or choose nationwide carriers like UPS. With our platform, you can customize products, prices, and fees for different areas. You can also set thresholds for free delivery. Last, GrazeCart customers enjoy savings of over 80 percent on overnight rates.

Step #4: Navigate Seasonal Shipping Challenges

Naturally, shipping frozen perishables can be trickier in the sweltering summer months. You’ll need to make adjustments to your shipping practices and have contingency plans in place.

One tip is to double down on insulation. Use thicker styrofoam boxes or add an extra layer of insulation. You could also add more cooling elements, like gel packs or dry ice, to counteract the hot weather.

Another option is to plan your shipping times. For example, you don’t want meat shipments sitting in a warehouse over the weekend. Try planning your meat shipments for the beginning of the week. Also, look into overnight and expedited shipping.

Most importantly, keep your customers in mind and in the loop. If their shipment might be delayed due to weather conditions, update the delivery estimates, or ask if they would like to rearrange the delivery. Transparency goes a long way.

Step #5: Communicate With Your Customers

As mentioned above, keeping your customers in the loop is essential to a successful farm to fork business. Here’s how.

• Make shipping policies crystal clear and easily accessible. Include information about your packaging methods, shipping timeframes, and potential delays or challenges. Set expectations early to build trust.
  
  
• Communicate delivery times. Provide estimated delivery dates and times and notify customers actively of any updates or changes to the schedule. Frozen meat is often an expensive outlay for customers, so it’s important to value their time and investment.

• Provide tracking information. Whichever shipping partner you choose should have tracking capabilities. Your customer can then track the journey of their frozen meat. Many shipping companies provide app-based tracking or send updates on orders via email and SMS.

• Ask for feedback. Customers are the lifeblood of your business, and their satisfaction is paramount. Encourage them to share their feedback through surveys, and be open to receiving negative feedback that will help improve your service.

The best businesses take on criticism and use it to improve. When customers have concerns, do your best to find solutions.

Related Video: Mastering Video To Build Customer Relationships

How To Ship Frozen Meat: Leverage Technology for Best Results

Shipping frozen meat can be daunting. From navigating regulations to maintaining temperatures and ensuring timely delivery, you have a lot to think about. Follow the steps in this guide to get started!

Here’s a quick recap of the steps:

1. Understand regulations and requirements.
2. Choose the right packaging materials.
3. Prepare the meat for shipping.
4. Choose a reliable shipping partner.
5. Navigate seasonal shipping challenges.
6. Communicate with your customers.

Finally, leverage technology for the best results. There’s no getting around it: Technology is changing logistics — for the better. With the right software solutions, you can streamline your frozen meat shipping process, from preparing orders to tracking shipments to managing returns.

Built by farmers, for farmers, with GrazeCart, you can:

• Accept orders for nationwide shipping, local delivery, or curbside pickup — all from one online store.
• Sell products by weight — with the software automatically calculating the correct shipping costs based on the package's dimensions and weight.
• Customize products, prices, and fees, and set free delivery thresholds.
• Offer custom curbside pickup dates and times, from unlimited locations.
• Provide delivery estimates.

…and more.

This article covers the basics, but if you want to dig deeper and learn the complete process for shipping perishables, sign up for the Perishable Shipping Course today.