Ollie swaps corrugated for Tosca’s reusable crates in new innovative pet food packaging

GLOBAL – Ollie has partnered with Tosca to replace conventional corrugated packaging with reusable plastic containers for its fresh, human-grade dog food distribution, resulting in better load stability, improved freezing results, and the equivalent of 9,210 trees saved since 2022 based on current volumes.

The frozen, human-grade products require packaging that maintains integrity during transport and supports airflow during freezing.

Ed Brockhoff, Ollie’s supply chain and manufacturing director, explained that stacks of corrugated packaging would break down and disintegrate in transit, affecting both efficiency and product integrity.

He noted that the ventilation provided by reusable plastic containers means the product gets frozen as quickly as possible.

Why Corrugated Failed

Conventional corrugated packaging was not suited to the demands of frozen food logistics. Repeated freeze-thaw cycles weaken paper fibres, causing boxes to lose structural integrity.

When stacked in pallet loads, weakened boxes can collapse, damaging products and slowing warehouse operations.

For Ollie, which ships fresh dog food directly to consumers, any failure in packaging integrity creates spoilage risk and customer dissatisfaction.

How the Reusable System Works

Tosca’s reusable plastic containers are collected, cleaned, checked, and then put back into use, creating a closed-loop system that reduces reliance on single-use corrugated packaging.

The containers are designed with ventilation features that promote airflow during freezing, ensuring products reach safe temperatures faster and maintain quality throughout the supply chain.

Unlike corrugated, which is typically recycled after one use (if at all), plastic crates can withstand hundreds of trips before reaching end-of-life.

A Partnership Built for Scale

Michael Davis, customer success manager at Tosca, explained that high-growth food brands do not just need packaging; they need infrastructure that performs consistently at scale.

He noted that Tosca’s role is to partner closely with operations teams, understand their environment, and implement reusable systems that reduce waste, improve protection, and support long-term resilience.

The collaboration follows a similar partnership between Tosca and Il Visone, a major supplier of fresh grapes within the Italian Agricooper group, which used reusable plastic crates designed with pierced holes to promote airflow, ensuring grapes remained fresh from August to November.

When Reusables Outperform Disposables

9,210 trees saved is a striking environmental metric. But for Ollie, the business case for switching to reusable crates was not built on sustainability alone. It was built on frozen dog food arriving intact.

The corrugated boxes collapsed; the plastic crates did not. Sometimes the best sustainability solution is simply the one that works better.

Subscribe to our email newsletters that provide busy executives like you with the latest news insights and trends from Africa and the World. SUBSCRIBE HERE