Shipping Baked Goods

[alexistristin]

For Christmas I will be sending out home-baked goods and more than likely putting the Priority Mail stamp on them for faster service. I am sure a cryovac machine would be the best option but I do not have that option so basic plastic wrap and Tupperware are my options thus far. I have only shipped cookies and toffee out in the mail so those are a bit different then say a Panettone cake.

Maybe a list of cakes or loafs that keep their moisture for a few days would be helpful as well. I am thinking I will keep my family's tradition alive of sending panettone cakes out but I am open to other suggestions.

[rickster]

I've shipped panettonne, fruitcake, marshmallows and cookies without any quality problems. The cakes go in a twist tie bag and the cookies etc in tins sealed all around with tape. I line the box they go in with bubble wrap and some of those air pillows if needed.

However, I have had a terrible time the past 2 years with the Postal Service getting deliveries from Chicago to NY in time for Christmas - even being shipped priority. I tried to time it so they would arrive 2-3 days before Christmas and both times they arrived late. So give yourself a lot of leeway. My perception is that priority mail costs may have gone up in the past year, as I was surprised to see how expensive it was to ship a relatively light package to Boston via priority about a month ago. So you might want to check the costs in advance.

[zoe b]

priority Mail is 2 days almost everywhre in the US--you can't beat it in terms of cost/time .

tupperware is a good idea--never thought of that--I use tins--recycled ones from thrift shops--but tupperware would be super.

I tend to mail things that will stay fresh longer--biscotti, cookies, candy.

the problem with higher moisture products is that that moisture will produce mold--so they should not be shipped in something air tight.

pound cake is a traditional present that mails well--also fruit cake if you are into it.

Pannetone is ideal--I think it's just as good stale--I love it when it goes on sale after christmas --I eat more of it in January than in december.

when my daughter was in college I started making and sending to her a rice crispy treat b-day cake--I use an angel food cake pan to mold it and decorate, color it in some different crazy way every year--her b-day is in Oct so i do a halloween theme, but you could do fun Holiday decorations, too--if there are kids on your list this will be a hit--and it's incredibly easy to ship--I put it on a cardboard base, wrap in 3 or 4 layers of plastic wrap and box it--padding it with wadded newspaper.

Zoe

[rickster]

priority Mail is 2 days almost everywhre in the US--you can't beat it in terms of cost/time

This is what I used the last 2 Christmases and the time was more like 6 days. I agree it's 2-3 days most of the rest of the time.

Biscotti is also a good idea. I've also done cookies with a fig or jam filling.

[phlawless]

I want to ship some baked goods across country, and have never done it before. who has done this and what can you tell me? obviously I don't expect to send an iced three layer cake...or can I?

any tips/tricks/advice is welcome.

[sugarseattle]

Your biggest enemy is movement and heat so try to build your packaging around those two concerns. Of course to prevent movement, you can insulate with a double box, except the problem is you have to pack the interior box tight, which can be problematic with a squishy frosting. I've found freezing to work pretty well, and have actually successfully shipped a layer cake frozen, in a bucket that fit quite tightly around the cake, and with dry ice between the bucket and the outside box.

The best thing to do is get your proposed packaging together, then turn your stuff upside down, and even drop it a little, rough it up and see what happens.

I'm interested to see what other readers think.

[Lkfarkas]

I shipped a fondant iced cake with no problems, twice. I actually shrink-wrapped the cake to the board, glue-dotted the board to the box, and put some peanuts around the cake. Shipped it via regular post, and it got there with little harm done both times. Not sure if I'd do it for a paying client...but it was fun to see what happened with friends...

[beacheschef]

I've been asked to ship my breast cancer cookies (royal icing decorated sugar cookies) out of state to a customer. I'm thrilled, as this customer has the potential to help me really expand my business.

I'm looking for advice on how to package and ship the cookies with minimal breakage. The last time I shipped we had a number of cookies break.

Each cookie is individually wrapped in a cellophane bag, tied with ribbon. The cookies are packaged on their sides - 2 doz. per 10 inch pastry box. This fills the box completely, so there's no room for sliding around.

The pastry boxes are stacked no more than 3 high and wrapped in bubble wrap.

Each wrapped set of 3 boxes is placed in a larger shipping box with peanuts and other packing materials around it, so nothing slides. The large box is sealed and shipped overnight.

What have other people found to be the best way to commercially ship?

Thanks for the advice!

[etalanian]

When I did mail order I packaged the cookies in high-barrier bags (reduced damage from moisture, etc) and heat-sealed them. Small cookies were stacked within gift bags, sealed and twist-tied; large cookies were individually packaged in flat bags specially made to the size I needed.

Are your cookies sugar cookies? Are they delicate? Are they made with butter, or shortening? The answers to those questions have a lot to do with how your cookies should be packaged.

Eileen

[beacheschef]

Thanks for the quick reply.

The cookies are about 3 1/2 inches long.

The sugar cookie recipe is made with butter, no shortening. I use pastry flour in the cookies, but roll them with bread flour.

They're not particularly delicate and I'm rolling them thicker for shipping. Baked and iced, they're slightly more than 1/4 inch thick.

[Hahabogus]

When I did mail order I packaged the cookies in high-barrier bags (reduced damage from moisture, etc) and heat-sealed them. Small cookies were stacked within gift bags, sealed and twist-tied; large cookies were individually packaged in flat bags specially made to the size I needed.

Are your cookies sugar cookies? Are they delicate? Are they made with butter, or shortening? The answers to those questions have a lot to do with how your cookies should be packaged.

Eileen

←

I suggest wrapping them in a decorated shipping/mailing tubes in sell able quantities say 3, 5 or 10 per tube and placing those tubes in a box and using real pop corn as shock absorbent box filler.

The tubes will give rigidity and the pop corn shock absorption.

Or wrap in cellophane, then tube and pop corn them...it your business not mine. But the tubes would allow for better advertising opportunities in my mine.

[alanamoana]

it sounds like you're doing things pretty well already. what i would add is that maybe stacking the boxes three high is a bit much. the weight of the boxes on each other could be causing some of the breakage. i send similar cookies, wrapped similarly in cello bags with ribbon, but not in boxes. i don't do huge quantities, maybe about 50 at a time and just pack them loose in a cardboard box with lots of padding around them. don't get much breakage and the cookies are not thicker than 1/4".

try individually wrapping the boxes in bubble wrap before stacking.

[baroness]

it sounds like you're doing things pretty well already.  what i would add is that maybe stacking the boxes three high is a bit much.  the weight of the boxes on each other could be causing some of the breakage.  i send similar cookies, wrapped similarly in cello bags with ribbon, but not in boxes.  i don't do huge quantities, maybe about 50 at a time and just pack them loose in a cardboard box with lots of padding around them.  don't get much breakage and the cookies are not thicker than 1/4".

try individually wrapping the boxes in bubble wrap before stacking.

←

I agree that stacking the boxes is a problem. Before you close the shipping carton, be SURE there is no wiggle room *whatsoever*--slightly overstuff the carton with padding materials before you seal it up, as things settle along the way.

[beacheschef]

Thanks for the info - I'll make some changes and let you know the results. Can't ship until Tuesday, due to the holiday weekend.

Mary

[Preserver]

A FRAGILE sticker might work too

Edited September 2, 2007 by Preserver (log)

[SundaySous]

You may want to consider contacting The United States Postal Service, UPS and Fedex for consultation. They actually have an interest in seeing what you ship get there in one piece.

[gfron1]

I just found THIS topic on shipping chocolates that might be helpful.

[JeanneCake]

When I did mail order I packaged the cookies in high-barrier bags (reduced damage from moisture, etc) and heat-sealed them. Small cookies were stacked within gift bags, sealed and twist-tied; large cookies were individually packaged in flat bags specially made to the size I needed.

Eileen

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What kind of heat sealer do/did you use? I'm considering getting one - I've bought from Spectrum Ascona in the past and he had a few in his catalog. Especially witih Christmas coming up, I'd love to be able to heat seal the bags for the different varieties of cookies we do. Thanks!

[etalanian]

I sold my business 6 years ago; I don't remember the brand name, but it was called an impulse sealer. It had a foot pedal so someone could sit while sealing the bags.

If I remember correctly, it came in varying widths, and the sealing area could be thinner or thicker, depending on your needs.

The important thing is to be sure you buy packaging that can be heat sealed.

Hope that helps. Glad to answer more questions - pm me if you need more info.

Eileen

[Fat Guy]

No matter how well you pack your stuff, if the shipping service beats the crap out of it then it's going to get broken. In my experience, as a recipient of many food packages, FedEx gentler than UPS.

[onetoughcookie]

I ship cookies all the time and was always proud of an almost perfect shipping record (maybe

less than 1% breakage). That is, until this past week.

I shipped "champagne flute" cookies to a client in Florida (I'm in NY). 1/4 inch thick

cookies, bagged and bowed, plenty of bubble wrap around the cookies and between the layers,

Fragile stickers al over the Fedex box.

The cookies arrived with every stem broken. Every one. So, I'll be very careful about

the shape of the cookie I ship, and I'm now looking into corrogated shipping inserts for my

boxes.

Needless to say, I ate the cost of shipping along with the cookies, while the client ate the

pieces!

[sugarseattle]

There are two basic factors to prevent breakage in shipping...allowing proper cushioning to absorb the shock of dropping, banging, etc., and preventing movement which would increase the impact of whatever shock the box gets.

You're right to put the cookies in smaller boxes. Perhaps bubble wrap between the cookie layers would add extra security. Having 3 inner boxes shouldn't be a problem, provided you have adequate cushioning BETWEEN the boxes. I think some moisture protection would be helpful, and that sealer would be a good investment, especially since some of your clients will need their products to be sealed to prevent tampering if they put them on their shelves. The foot pedal ones are nice and save time, so consider that when you make that investment. Time=$

Since you're considering this on a larger scale, I would definitely consider doing a few test packages... pack a box of your "uglies" how you want to. Then just take your box and treat it the way you think your shipping company would...hold it waist high and drop it, etc. Then open it and see the results.

Don't forget to factor in the cost of shipping materials in your price...those boxes can be spendy!

[SundaySous]

I ship cookies all the time and was always proud of an almost perfect shipping record (maybe

less than 1% breakage).  That is, until this past week.

I shipped "champagne flute" cookies to a client in Florida (I'm in NY).  1/4 inch thick

cookies, bagged and bowed, plenty of bubble wrap around the cookies and between the layers,

Fragile stickers al over the Fedex box.

The cookies arrived with every stem broken.  Every one.  So, I'll be very careful about

the shape of the cookie I ship, and I'm now looking into corrogated shipping inserts for my

boxes.

Needless to say, I ate the cost of shipping along with the cookies, while the client ate the

pieces!

←

Curious how well do you know the client? I only ask because while working in shipping and receiving bogus claims were part of the business.

[beacheschef]

Great feedback from everyone!

I modified my packing so that there was bubble wrap inside each box of cookies, between boxes, and no more than 3 boxes of cookies per outer box. Switched to sturdier boxes and made sure there was absolutely NO wiggle room between inner and outer boxes. I'm using smaller outer boxes as well...so no more than 3 10x2 inch pastry boxes can fit inside (each containing 2 doz wrapped cookies). I'm shipping multiple boxes to the customer rather than larger boxes with more cookies inside. Lighter boxes - hopefully less chance of "droppage".

Latest shipments have been far more successful - little to no broken cookies.

I laughed at the idea of the "FRAGILE" sticker on the boxes...The shipment with the greatest breakage had "FRAGILE" in large letters on every side of the box! It's as if the sign read "DROP ME" instead!

I do agree about passing the total cost of shipping along to the customer...I've added the cost of boxes and packing materials to the "shipping" cost.

Keep the thoughts coming...sounds like many of us deal with this issue!

Mary

[beacheschef]

For all of you that ship products, please advise me!

A couple of times a year I ship hundreds of cookies to customers. I'm approaching June, which was a busy month for cookies last year.

Traditionally I have shipped the cookies 2-day priority through USPS (Post Office) and they have arrived the next day. (I'm only shipping 2 states away) The cost was about $12 per box.

For orders that have to arrive by the next morning, I've used FedEx, for about $35 per box. I prefer FedEx in the summer, when the heat in FL. is unbearable.

Last week FedEx wanted to bill me $65 per box. The Post Office has now is delivering priority in 2-3 days (not 2). What I'm noticing is that it is getting more expensive to ship and/or the delivery time is extended.

I pass the shipping cost on to my customers, but I have a hard time shipping 4 doz. cookies (in one box) and charging $65 in shipping fees. (plus the cost of the packaging, box, bubble wrap, etc)

What are you doing to keep the cost of shipping your product in line with the cost of the product that you're shipping?

Any creative ideas?

Thanks - Mary