Butcher
 
LIVERMORE, Calif. — Shipping meat to consumers’ homes using recyclable containers is the basis of the business practices between ButcherBox, a direct-to-consumer, meat-delivery company, and Vericool, a manufacturer of environmentally friendly packaging. ButcherBox recently invested $10 million into a supply partnership with the two companies. 

ButcherBox is now shipping its specialty meat and poultry products, which include grass-fed, free-range, organic and heritage-bred meat and poultry products, using Vericool’s recycleable, compostable thermal packaging, replacing the expanded polystyrene (EPS) used to ship most perishables. 

“We first started shipping with EPS foam packaging, which is bad for the environment because EPS is nearly impossible to recycle,” said Mike Salguero, founder and CEO of ButcherBox. “We then changed to another ‘green’ packaging option, but that product did not perform to our standards. Vericoolers work and they are sustainable, keeping our products cold from packaging to the moment that our customers open up their ButcherBox. Vericoolers go right into curbside recycling – and that is really important to us and to our customers.”

Customers of ButcherBox in the western region of the US began receiving direct-to-door packages of meat in the Vericooler containers in May. The company plans to ship to the eastern part of the US in the near future.

“At ButcherBox, we are dedicated to providing the highest quality product to our customers – that begins with raising animals humanely, and it ends with shipping products out in packaging materials that are all biodegradable or recyclable,” Salguero said.

By switching to Vericoolers, ButcherBox said it avoids sending 20 to 50 truckloads of EPS packaging each month to landfills.

“Our packaging provides ButcherBox with the affordable, first-class, and sustainable packaging they need to safely deliver their product to their conscientious customers,” said Darrell Jobe, CEO of Vericool.