Chile
Switching from single-use to reusable packaging may seem straightforward. However, sustaining that change season after season and supporting fruit movement from the packing house to retail requires adjustments to inventories, logistics, customer coordination and packaging returns.
At Baika's San Felipe plant, this model has been operating for four years. Between 2022 and 2025, 691,970 reusable IFCO crates were used, avoiding approximately 346 tonnes of single-use cardboard waste. Throughout that period, 100% of fruit destined for the domestic market was sold in this type of packaging.
For Daniel Benavides, Baika's Deputy Manager of HSE and Sustainability, these results translate the company's environmental objectives into quantifiable measures.
“Using 691,970 reusable crates between 2022 and 2025, avoiding approximately 346 tonnes of cardboard waste, clearly demonstrates how these principles can translate into concrete, measurable action.”
Four years of reuse
The cumulative results were built progressively. In 2022, Baika San Felipe used 190,800 IFCO crates and avoided 95.4 tonnes of cardboard. In 2023, the figures were 185,100 crates and approximately 92.6 tonnes; in 2024, 175,670 crates and 87.8 tonnes; and in 2025, 140,400 crates were used, avoiding a further 70.2 tonnes.
Together, the figures total 691,970 crates and 345,985 kilograms of cardboard avoided between 2022 and 2025.
The company highlights the system's continuity. Ahira General, Baika Chile's Domestic Retail Key Account Manager, explains that its introduction initially addressed both the need to protect fruit in transit and the aim of reducing the logistics chain's environmental impact.
According to Ahira General, new customer requirements also played a part.
“The retail chains we work with were beginning to require verifiable sustainability commitments from their suppliers, not just statements. Joining IFCO's reusable packaging system enabled us to meet that standard.”
Over time, the model stopped operating as a standalone initiative and became integrated into packing, logistics and commercial relationships with customers. General notes that all fruit Baika currently ships to the domestic market uses these crates.
From the packing house to the supermarket and back
Maintaining a reusable system also means establishing a loop capable of recovering packaging after every shipment.
Hugo Olivares, Manager of the San Felipe plant, explains that the crates operate under a rental and continuous-supply model. The plant orders them according to shipment schedules confirmed by retailers, maintaining safety stock to meet demand without exceeding available space.
On the packing line, he notes, adaptation was quick and the effect on productivity was neutral, because reusable crates directly replaced cardboard packaging.
Once the products are packed, orders are shipped to retailers. Supermarkets confirm physical receipt of the crates by stamping the delivery notes. Empty crates are then consolidated and returned to IFCO distribution centers, where they are washed and sanitized before starting a new cycle.
The system has also delivered benefits in storage and in how the material performs under operating conditions.
“Because they are collapsible and easy to assemble, the crates dramatically optimize warehouse space before use, allowing a greater volume of packaging to be stored per square meter than cardboard boxes or rigid plastic crates.”
He adds that the material arrives at the plant sanitized and, unlike cardboard, withstands moisture from fruit and cold rooms, avoiding the risks of softened packaging and collapsed pallets that he identifies with cardboard containers.
Circularity also brings operational challenges
Implementation required adjustments. According to Olivares, the main initial challenge was inventory control, because the crates are managed outside the plant's ERP system.
This led to the introduction of a dedicated role to manage inventories manually and monitor balances, losses and requests, a necessary task to maintain supply and avoid discrepancies with the supplier.
After several years of operation, this administrative aspect is also among the main lessons Baika identifies for other plants interested in adopting a similar model.
“Do not underestimate the system's administrative workload. It is essential to assign dedicated staff to IFCO crate control from day one to keep everything organized and reconciled.”
According to the manager, keeping inventories up to date, forecasting demand accurately and maintaining ongoing coordination with the supplier have been essential to prevent stockouts that would force a return to single-use packaging.
Beyond the cardboard avoided
The system's environmental benefits during 2025 were also measured separately. According to consolidated figures from the IFCO 2025 annual report for the legal entity under which Baika Chile operates, the reusable packaging system reported savings of 35,198 kg of CO₂e, 463 m³ of water and 3,594 GJ of energy.
The same report records 20,695 kg of solid waste and 4,212 kg of product damage avoided. These indicators reflect the environmental benefits reported by the IFCO system and are independent of the cumulative calculation of approximately 346 tonnes of cardboard avoided between 2022 and 2025.
From a commercial perspective, Ahira General believes this information is becoming increasingly relevant in relationships with retailers.
“The circular economy is no longer an added value; it is becoming an entry requirement. Retailers no longer ask only about price and availability: they request traceability, evidence of footprint reduction and reusable packaging as part of their own ESG commitments.”
For Benavides, the model's reach also lies in connecting operations with other participants in the chain. He notes that participating in the system enables collaboration with distributors and retailers and creates opportunities to work together on sustainability practices.
The San Felipe plant's experience shows that replacing single-use packaging does not end with introducing a different crate. Sustaining the model requires changing processes, managing packaging throughout its entire loop and coordinating the different participants involved from packing house to retail.
After four years of using reusable crates for 100% of its fruit destined for the domestic market, Baika's experience illustrates the circular economy not as a one-off action, but as a system that must be integrated into operations to endure.