shipping bottling/shipping 101

[staffing]

I've had a couple of people express interest in trying my recent sauce. I would like to oblige. Since I am not a manufacturer, and don't have bottling equipment, etc. (and, since I'm not going into the business, I don't want to acquire said equipment) do any of you on the supply side of hot sauce have an idea of what would be the best way to pack/ship a small amount (a couple of oz.s) of this sauce?

I'd hate to ship it, only to have the person on the receiving end open up a mess (not to mention the unsuspecting postal worker, who might get some on his/her hands :shock:

I'd appreciate your advice.

Josh

 

[sweatnspice]

Josh - On the shipping side of things, take care to ensure that each bottle is well wrapped in bubble wrap and the box is filled with packing material (packing peanuts). That's about it, just make sure to throw a few fragile stickers on it.

Tip: If you shake the box and can hear things rattling around, then you need to re-pack with more filler material.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Moved to Bottling forum.

 

[DEFCON Creator]

I'll go along with Sweat on this one, just make sure nothing moves inside the box. When we ship our stuff out, the packaging is nearly radiation-proof. The stuff inside has no chance of movement at all.

As for the "Fragile" stickers, I'd shy away from those. I worked at UPS for 10 years, and saw numerous times where a "Fragile" box would hit the line, and it was given far worse treatment than an unmarked box. Trust me on that one.

 

[staffing]

I'll go along with Sweat on this one, just make sure nothing moves inside the box. When we ship our stuff out, the packaging is nearly radiation-proof. The stuff inside has no chance of movement at all.

As for the "Fragile" stickers, I'd shy away from those. I worked at UPS for 10 years, and saw numerous times where a "Fragile" box would hit the line, and it was given far worse treatment than an unmarked box. Trust me on that one.

Thanks for your input, guys.

Josh

 

[sweatnspice]

Defcon - Agreed about the shipping company treating packages a bit worse if there are fragile labels on, however we still slap them on for the customers peace of mind.

 

[DEFCON Creator]

That's cool, we kinda gave up on it, the things I've seen done with 'fragile' boxes has been scarred into my cranial tissue. :shock:

 

[Tina Brooks]

I'll go along with Sweat on this one, just make sure nothing moves inside the box. When we ship our stuff out, the packaging is nearly radiation-proof. The stuff inside has no chance of movement at all.

As for the "Fragile" stickers, I'd shy away from those. I worked at UPS for 10 years, and saw numerous times where a "Fragile" box would hit the line, and it was given far worse treatment than an unmarked box. Trust me on that one.

Thanks for your input, guys.

Josh

Hi Josh,

As you know, we don't use bubble wrap or packing peanuts unless we're recycling them from a shipment that we received. We simply use tons of shredded paper.

The most important thing is that NOTHING MOVE in shipping.

As for the bottling... From what I know, (there are exceptions -- like Peppermaster) but mostly, the makers simply hot fill their woozey bottles, cap them, shrink wrap the tops and ship. We bain marie (hot bath) ours. But you probably don't need to do that.

Good luck man.

T.

 

[staffing]

I'll go along with Sweat on this one, just make sure nothing moves inside the box. When we ship our stuff out, the packaging is nearly radiation-proof. The stuff inside has no chance of movement at all.

As for the "Fragile" stickers, I'd shy away from those. I worked at UPS for 10 years, and saw numerous times where a "Fragile" box would hit the line, and it was given far worse treatment than an unmarked box. Trust me on that one.

Thanks for your input, guys.

Josh

Hi Josh,

As you know, we don't use bubble wrap or packing peanuts unless we're recycling them from a shipment that we received. We simply use tons of shredded paper.

The most important thing is that NOTHING MOVE in shipping.

As for the bottling... From what I know, (there are exceptions -- like Peppermaster) but mostly, the makers simply hot fill their woozey bottles, cap them, shrink wrap the tops and ship. We bain marie (hot bath) ours. But you probably don't need to do that.

Good luck man.

T.

As always, thanks for your advice, Tina. My problem is in trying to figure out what kind of container to use to ship it. I don't have bottling/canning equipment. I guess I can use a canning jar (mason, etc.). I know I have to seal it while hot. I just wondered if there was an easier way to ship a small amt., like, say, a couple of ounces, since I don't have that much. I guess I can take an empty hot sauce bottle (after thoroughly washing it, of course) and tape it up real tight, but I'm not sure that will work. Any advice would be appreciated.

Josh

 

[DEFCON Creator]

Well, hot bottling (anything over 190 degrees should suffice) works great, just make sure you have a good seal on the inside of the cap, and tighten down very well. That should do very well. You saw our bottles, the wax on top solves any remaining problems with sealage (is that a word?).

 

[Tina Brooks]

I'll go along with Sweat on this one, just make sure nothing moves inside the box. When we ship our stuff out, the packaging is nearly radiation-proof. The stuff inside has no chance of movement at all.

As for the "Fragile" stickers, I'd shy away from those. I worked at UPS for 10 years, and saw numerous times where a "Fragile" box would hit the line, and it was given far worse treatment than an unmarked box. Trust me on that one.

Thanks for your input, guys.

Josh

Hi Josh,

As you know, we don't use bubble wrap or packing peanuts unless we're recycling them from a shipment that we received. We simply use tons of shredded paper.

The most important thing is that NOTHING MOVE in shipping.

As for the bottling... From what I know, (there are exceptions -- like Peppermaster) but mostly, the makers simply hot fill their woozey bottles, cap them, shrink wrap the tops and ship. We bain marie (hot bath) ours. But you probably don't need to do that.

Good luck man.

T.

As always, thanks for your advice, Tina. My problem is in trying to figure out what kind of container to use to ship it. I don't have bottling/canning equipment. I guess I can use a canning jar (mason, etc.). I know I have to seal it while hot. I just wondered if there was an easier way to ship a small amt., like, say, a couple of ounces, since I don't have that much. I guess I can take an empty hot sauce bottle (after thoroughly washing it, of course) and tape it up real tight, but I'm not sure that will work. Any advice would be appreciated.

Josh

Hey Josh,

Not to worry about it so much. After all, so long as nobody that you send it to is under the mistaken idea that your sauce is for commercial sale, pretend you're sending a jar to your cousin Fred. (Ok, so you don't have a cousin friend... pretend you do).

PROFESSIONAL DISCLAIMER... THE FOLLOWING APPLIES ONLY TO JOSH'S QUESTION AND IS NOT TO BE MISTAKEN FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE.

That said, if it were me, I'd sterilize the hot sauce bottle, you can do that the way they used to do baby bottles in the 50s and 60s... submerge them in boiling water for 5 minutes.

Then hot fill them and cap them. If you feel safer wrap the lid in plastic wrap, maybe some duct tape. But I'll be surprised if the cap would leak. You can pre-test it by filling the bottle with water. Then put a sticker on the bottle that says something along the lines of "private stock, not for sale or resale" and then drop the bottle into a tight pack of shredded paper or bubble wrap and peanuts, etc. ship away.

You're not crossing international boundaries (unless you decide to send me a bottle) so, it's not a big deal.

T.

 

[DEFCON Creator]

Josh[/quote]
Then hot fill them and cap them. If you feel safer wrap the lid in plastic wrap, maybe some duct tape.
T.[/quote]

Packaging with duct tape? Is that some sort of "North of the border thing" I should know of?

 

[Tina Brooks]

Josh

Then hot fill them and cap them. If you feel safer wrap the lid in plastic wrap, maybe some duct tape.
T.[/quote]

Packaging with duct tape? Is that some sort of "North of the border thing" I should know of? [/quote]

Duct tape? You don't know about Duct Tape??

It's most definitely a North of the Border thing, lol

Duct Tape: ala The Red Green Show.

 

[staffing]

Josh

Then hot fill them and cap them. If you feel safer wrap the lid in plastic wrap, maybe some duct tape.
T.[/quote]

Packaging with duct tape? Is that some sort of "North of the border thing" I should know of? [/quote]

Actually, here in Southern Appalachia, we do all kinds of things with duct tape. It's a way of life around here. As long as you have duct tape, baling wire, and a staple gun....look out!



Josh

 

[Tina Brooks]

Josh

Then hot fill them and cap them. If you feel safer wrap the lid in plastic wrap, maybe some duct tape.
T.[/quote]

Packaging with duct tape? Is that some sort of "North of the border thing" I should know of? [/quote]

Actually, here in Southern Appalachia, we do all kinds of things with duct tape. It's a way of life around here. As long as you have duct tape, baling wire, and a staple gun....look out!



Josh[/quote]

You use baling wire, we use paper clips.

T

 

[DEFCON Creator]

Interesting,
Here in Jersey, we dredge mercury out of a local pharmaceutical catch basin and mix it with PCB's from the the tailings pond of a plastics conglomerate. It produces a nice little wax-like substance that not only glows in the dark, it'll microwave your food from 3 feet away.

Pretty cool, huh?

 

[Tina Brooks]

Interesting,
Here in Jersey, we dredge mercury out of a local pharmaceutical catch basin and mix it with PCB's from the the tailings pond of a plastics conglomerate. It produces a nice little wax-like substance that not only glows in the dark, it'll microwave your food from 3 feet away.

Pretty cool, huh?

Now you know, I know you're joking!

I hope!

 

[staffing]

Josh

Then hot fill them and cap them. If you feel safer wrap the lid in plastic wrap, maybe some duct tape.
T.[/quote]

Packaging with duct tape? Is that some sort of "North of the border thing" I should know of? [/quote]

Actually, here in Southern Appalachia, we do all kinds of things with duct tape. It's a way of life around here. As long as you have duct tape, baling wire, and a staple gun....look out!







Josh[/quote]

You use baling wire, we use paper clips.

T[/quote]

Paper clips? Either we have bigger problems down here, or bigger solutions!!

 

[staffing]

Interesting,
Here in Jersey, we dredge mercury out of a local pharmaceutical catch basin and mix it with PCB's from the the tailings pond of a plastics conglomerate. It produces a nice little wax-like substance that not only glows in the dark, it'll microwave your food from 3 feet away.

Pretty cool, huh?

Josh

LOL!!!!

 

[DEFCON Creator]

I'd be a little more worried about what's inside the little blue bottle, than the sealant. I made sure we got a good mix of oil and crystal in that little critter. Give it a good shake to get the crystals moving around, and once again, just make sure you don't get it on your hands.