Can a Carton Cut Carbon? Rethinking the Cold Chain from the Inside Out

6 March 2026

In the export table grape sector, cold-chain breaks, uneven pulp temperatures and fruit rejection have long been treated as unavoidable. Yet, every rejected carton represents wasted water, energy, farming inputs and embedded carbon.

Mpact’s Freshflow was developed to address these exact challenges. By reimagining the cold chain as a connected system, Freshflow is a system-based packaging innovation that actively manages airflow and thermal performance across forced-air cooling, pallet configuration and refrigerated container transport. It does not simply contain fruit, it improves how fruit cools, travels and arrives.

The benefits come from understanding reefer cooling: a process where air can short-circuit, creating persistent hotspots. The Freshflow concept addresses this through a holistic redesign, optimising carton geometry and improving ventilation.

Trials conducted in collaboration with the Exporters Association of South Africa (EXSA), CoreFruit and Growers by Nature demonstrated 30% faster forced-air cooling, improved temperature uniformity within reefer loads and the ability to recover from cold-chain breaks, validated through thermal heat-mapping.

The innovation also delivers structural and logistical efficiencies. The carton is 13.8% lighter while maintaining strength, and the integrated pallet redesign increases refrigerated container payload by up to 14.3%.

A cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment, conducted in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards and independently peer-reviewed by The Green House, confirmed measurable environmental gains. Compared to the standard export system, Freshflow achieved a 7.1% lower total environmental footprint and a 7.2% lower carbon footprint, with reductions recorded across all midpoint impact categories.

The scale of potential impact is substantial. The South African table grape industry exported 27.8 million cartons in the 2024/2025 season. Preventing the loss of just two grapes per punnet (a 3.2% shelf-life improvement), could avoid approximately 9,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) linked to food waste. Across the full life cycle, which includes packaging, cooling energy, transport efficiencies and avoided waste, total savings of approximately 77,000 tonnes of CO₂e become achievable.

Operational efficiencies are equally compelling: an estimated 170,000 fewer cooling hours at packhouse tunnels and 43 fewer reefer trucks per day during peak season,equating to 3,859 fewer containers over ninety days.

The Life Cycle Assessment confirmed a critical principle: protecting the significantly higher embedded carbon of food delivers greater climate benefit than material reduction alone. Freshflow T20 shifts packaging from passive containment to active carbon protection.

Yet scaling this impact requires industry collaboration and bold leadership, as the challenge lies in adapting conventional packaging specifications to the Freshflow specifications.