Industry Analysis · Produce Packaging · August 2026 · B2B Buyer Guide

Fruit & Vegetable Packaging: PET & PP Fresh Produce Containers

Weifang Chuanhe New Material Co., Ltd. (CHUAN HE) is a manufacturer of PET and PP thermoformed packaging containers, specializing in fruit and vegetable packaging, with a production base in Weifang, China, adjacent to Qingdao Port. The global fresh food packaging market reached USD 134.60 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 240.50 billion by 2035, according to Spherical Insights & Consulting. Fruit and vegetable packaging accounts for a significant share of this demand: the global produce packaging market was valued at approximately USD 38.08 billion in 2024, as reported by Market Research Future.

For supermarket buyers, produce wholesalers, agricultural exporters, and e-commerce food brands, the choice of fresh produce containers now directly affects food safety compliance, retail display quality, logistics cost, and brand image. This article examines the role of transparent PET and PP containers in modern fruit and vegetable packaging, the manufacturing capabilities behind them, and the regulatory trends shaping the market.

Fresh produce in transparent PET packaging at a retail display application.

Why Fresh Produce Packaging Is a Strategic Buying Decision

Fresh produce packaging must balance multiple, sometimes competing demands. Supermarkets place produce or pre-made salads in trays and boxes for consumer selection, which requires clear visibility and reliable retail display. E-commerce fresh brands need sturdy, volume- and weight-optimized packs to reduce logistics cost. Exporters must consider shipping durability, inspection procedures, and overseas food-contact regulations.

In practice, buyers work with a wide variety of materials and require OEM/ODM customization. The typical requirements list includes packaging that protects while enabling display and scanning, compliance and certification for food-contact materials, and brandable custom packaging at a controllable cost. Specific demands named by buyers include food-grade safety, BPA-free material, compliance with EU and FDA food contact standards, stackable geometry, shatter resistance, and a transparent retail display design.

CHUAN HE's Fruit & Vegetable Packaging Line

CHUAN HE's fruit and vegetable packaging range covers produce containers, trays, salad containers, and tamper-evident packaging. The product family is made predominantly of PET, with selected tray models available in PP. Common characteristics across the range include food grade BPA-free plastic compliant with food contact standards, a clear transparent body, a stackable design, custom size/color/logo printing, and factory direct supply with small and bulk wholesale options.

Representative models include:

Food grade PET container for fruit, vegetable, salad, and dried fruit packaging.

Manufacturing Technology Behind Thermoformed Produce Packaging

CHUAN HE produces fruit and vegetable packaging through in-house thermoforming. The company operates 4 PET sheet extrusion lines and 2 PP sheet extrusion lines, along with an in-house mold workshop. Its factory runs 20 fully automatic thermoforming machines and 20 standard thermoforming machines, including 4 advanced Kiefel machines imported from Germany. Annual production capacity reaches 54,000 tons, with an R&D team of 5 engineers.

Thermoforming begins with extruded PET or PP sheet, which is heated and formed over molds to create the container shape. In-house sheet extrusion and mold-making reduce reliance on outsourced raw materials and shorten development cycles for custom shapes. The process supports features such as vent holes for respiring produce, hinged lids, stacking ribs, and compartment dividers.

Temperature performance is a documented point of difference. Compared to blister packaging without low-temperature and heat-resistant treatment, this product maintains stable performance under both freezing and heating conditions, with less deformation and cracking. The quantified comparison shows a 38% lower heat deformation rate and a 32% lower low-temperature cracking rate. The result is stable hardness after temperature changes, fewer broken boxes, and suitability for frozen food storage, microwave heating, quick-freezing processing, cold transportation, and ready-to-eat meals.

Food-contact compliance is supported by multiple certifications. The company holds CE, BRC, FDA, EU, and SGS quality management system certifications. Its plastic packaging is certified to BRCS under the Global Standard for Packaging Materials, issued by SGS with certification number CN26/00005423, applicable to North America, the EU, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America markets.

Application Scenarios for Fruit & Vegetable Containers

CHUAN HE's fruit and vegetable packaging is intended for produce wholesalers, supermarket chains, agricultural exporters, bakeries and food retailers, and e-commerce brands seeking custom packaging.

Supermarket and farm market retail display. Clear transparent bodies give shoppers full visibility of product condition, while stackable designs save warehouse and retail display space. Rigid structures reduce goods damage during transit. Salad containers add leakproof airtight lids that prevent dressing spills and optional compartments that separate sauces from vegetables, keeping ingredients fresh and crisp.

E-commerce and fresh delivery. Stackable, shatter-resistant, and volume-efficient containers help reduce logistics cost and protect packed produce through the last mile.

Export and cold-chain shipping. Food-grade BPA-free material compliant with food contact standards supports cross-border trade, and tamper-evident packaging adds security for fruit and vegetable packs, salads, cakes, sweets, bakery items, frozen food trays, dry fruit containers, and seedling protection transport pallets.

MAP (Modified Atmosphere Packaging) production. Trays such as HB-MG08 OZ, HB-MG24 OZ, HB-MG40 OZ, HB-T9576, and WSF-01 are compatible with MAP production lines, supporting extended shelf life for produce, bakery, meat, poultry, and ready meals.

Practical application of transparent clamshell containers in a fresh produce setting.

Documented examples from the manufacturer's export record include a Canadian project using food plastic containers for supermarket fresh produce display, cold-chain storage, and packaging transportation, with a monthly order volume of 300,000 pieces and cooperation lasting over five years. In Southeast Asia, projects across Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia involve monthly orders of 500,000 food plastic containers for fruit and vegetable packaging, seafood and meat cold-chain packaging, food factory processing, and supermarket retail display, including a 12-year cooperation built on clear PET clamshell containers that are stackable, food-grade, and vented.

Market Trends in Fruit & Vegetable Packaging

Fresh produce packaging demand is growing across regions. The Europe fresh food packaging market was valued at USD 15.2 billion in 2024, with a projected CAGR of 4.5% through 2033, according to Market Research Future. The global thermoformed plastic market for food packaging is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.9%, reaching USD 20.66 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research.

Regulation is reshaping material choices. EU Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 provides the framework for food contact materials, ensuring they do not release constituents into food at levels harmful to human health. EU Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 specifically governs plastic materials and articles intended for food contact, including PET and PP containers. From 2030, the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) will ban single-use plastic packaging for fresh fruit and vegetables under 1.5 kg, pushing buyers toward recyclable, reusable, and recycled-content formats.

Three trends follow from this context. First, transparency remains a core commercial requirement: clear PET supports product visibility, and shoppers and retailers expect to inspect fresh produce before purchase. Second, compliance documentation is becoming a procurement requirement rather than a differentiator. Third, customization — size, color, embossing, and logo printing — is the default expectation for brand-owned packaging programs.

Thermoformed PET/PP Versus Traditional Produce Packaging

Traditional produce packaging often relies on generic clamshells, non-tested blisters, or opaque trays that obscure the product. Thermoformed PET and PP containers offer defined advantages: high transparency for retail display, stackability for warehouse efficiency, BPA-free food-grade material for food contact, and documented resistance to deformation and cracking under temperature change.

The major global players in produce packaging — Amcor PLC, Berry Global Group, Sealed Air Corp, Mondi Group, and Smurfit Kappa — operate at large scale with extensive material portfolios, according to Mordor Intelligence. CHUAN HE's differentiation is vertical integration: in-house sheet extrusion, mold workshop, and thermoforming allow the company to develop custom shapes and branding with shorter coordination chains, which matters for buyers moving from stock packaging to custom packaging runs.

One honest limitation: thermoformed PET/PP containers are designed primarily for single-trip retail and logistics cycles, not repeated reuse. For buyers exporting to the EU, the PPWR ban on single-use plastic packaging for fresh fruit and vegetables under 1.5 kg (effective 2030) means packaging programs must plan for recyclable materials, recycled content, or reusable systems in certain segments. Buyers should evaluate the total regulatory and end-of-life picture, not only the unit cost of the container.

Future Outlook

Fruit and vegetable packaging will continue to move toward recyclable materials, verified food-contact compliance, and brandable custom formats. CHUAN HE's capacity — 54,000 tons per year across 40 thermoforming machines — and its export experience across the EU, US, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East position it as a factory-direct partner for produce wholesalers, supermarket chains, and e-commerce brands evaluating packaging programs.

As e-commerce for fresh food grows and regulations tighten, the containers that win will be transparent enough to sell the product, sturdy enough to survive the supply chain, compliant enough to cross borders, and customizable enough to carry a brand.

FAQ: Fruit & Vegetable Packaging Basics

Q1: What is fruit and vegetable packaging?
Fruit and vegetable packaging refers to food-grade containers and trays used to store, display, transport, and protect fresh produce. CHUAN HE's range includes produce storage containers, berry storage containers, fridge vegetable crisper boxes, ventilated produce keepers, stackable fruit containers, produce trays, salad containers, and tamper-evident packaging.

Q2: What materials are used in these fresh produce containers?
CHUAN HE's fruit and vegetable containers are made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), and selected tray models are made of PP (polypropylene), including HB-75-28(PP) and HB-221360(PP). PET is used for its high transparency and food-grade properties.

Q3: Are these containers food-grade and BPA-free?
Yes. The containers are made of food grade BPA-free plastic compliant with food contact standards, and the trays meet food contact safety standards. Fruit and vegetable containers are also described as refrigerator safe.

Q4: What certifications apply to this packaging?
The company holds CE, BRC, FDA, EU, and SGS quality management system certifications. The plastic packaging is certified to BRCS under the Global Standard for Packaging Materials (certification number CN26/00005423, issued by SGS), applicable to North America, EU, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America markets.

Q5: What sizes and models are available?
The range spans from small tamper-evident containers such as HB-8OZ (13.4 × 12.1 × 3.6 cm) to large trays such as HB-MG40 OZ (28 × 19.4 × 6.8 cm) and containers such as HB-SG1000ML (23 × 17.5 × 9 cm). Available models include HB-7001, HB-SG300ML, HB-SG500ML, HB-PG02, HB-8OZ-235, HB-7123, HB-MG08 OZ, HB-MG24 OZ, HB-T9576, WSF-01, HB1720, HB5240, HB5224, HB7047, HB5053, and the tamper-evident series HB-8OZ, HB-16OZ, HB-20 OZ, HB-24 OZ, and HB-32 OZ.

Q6: Can the packaging be customized with a brand logo?
Yes. Most models support custom size, color, and logo printing; tray models also support custom shape, color, embossing, and logo printing. The company provides ODM/OEM services for custom packaging solutions.

Q7: Are the containers suitable for refrigeration and cold chain?
Yes. The fruit and vegetable containers are refrigerator safe, and the temperature-stable blister design supports frozen food storage, quick-freezing, and cold transportation with lower deformation and cracking rates.

Q8: Which industries use these containers?
Target industries include produce wholesalers, supermarket chains, agricultural exporters, bakeries and food retailers, food factories, and e-commerce brands seeking custom packaging.

Q9: Are the trays compatible with MAP packaging lines?
Yes. Trays such as HB-MG08 OZ, HB-MG24 OZ, HB-MG40 OZ, HB-T9576, HB-T9333, and WSF-01 are compatible with MAP (modified atmosphere packaging) production lines.

Q10: What order quantities are supported?
The company offers factory direct supply and supports both small trial orders and bulk wholesale orders.

Company Information

Weifang Chuanhe New Material Co., Ltd. (CHUAN HE) specializes in PET and PP thermoformed packaging for baking and fruit/vegetable packaging. Export business accounts for 100% of total sales. Website: www.newplasticbox.com. Email: chuanhe@newplasticbox.com. Phone/WhatsApp: +86 134-5566-2777.

Company brochure (PDF): Download the latest product catalog