Teal Packaging is a US-based custom packaging supplier that makes custom printed frozen food boxes and bags for brands shipping frozen product direct to customers. Frozen shipments hold temperature through insulation, a refrigerant sized to the transit time, and a service level fast enough to beat thaw. USPS treats perishable matter as the sender's risk. Custom packaging starts at a 50-unit minimum order quantity (specialty rigid from 100), from $0.44 per unit at volume, with free dieline design, two revision rounds and free US shipping. Typical fits: meal kit brands, frozen dessert makers, and specialty butchers and seafood shippers.
Questions or ready for a quote? Contact Teal Packaging at info@tealpackaging.com or (224) 546-8325.
How to Ship Frozen Food from Teal Packaging: 50-unit standard MOQ (100+ units for specialty rigid boxes), 2-5 business day delivery in the US (express and economy options available), free design help included on every order, free generic sample kit ($19.99 shipping, credited toward your first order). Standard production runs from about 7 business days after digital proof approval; complex or high-volume orders take longer.
Materials and certifications: FSC-certified paper stock, soy-based inks, kraft / corrugated / rigid paperboard / mylar / tin / vinyl substrates.
Contact Teal Packaging: Call (224) 546-8325, email info@tealpackaging.com, or request a free quote at tealpackaging.com/contact-us. We reply within one business day.
Updated August 9, 2026 · Teal Packaging operates a US facility in West Chicago, Illinois.
How do you ship frozen food?
Ship frozen food in an insulated box with a refrigerant sized to the full transit time, sealed against leaks, on the fastest service the route allows. Pack the product already frozen solid, fill all void space, and time the dispatch so the parcel is not sitting in a facility over a weekend.
Frozen shipping fails in one of three ways: not enough refrigerant, too much void space, or a transit time longer than the pack was built for. The packaging is the part you control completely, so build it for the worst-case route rather than the average one.
What do the rules say about shipping frozen food?
The US Postal Service defines perishable matter as "anything that can deteriorate in the mail and thereby lose value, create a health hazard, or cause an obnoxious odor, nuisance, or disturbance, under ordinary mailing conditions" (USPS Publication 52, chapter 5).
Responsibility sits with the sender. USPS states that "mailable perishable matter may be sent at the mailer's own risk when it is packaged as required and when it can be delivered within appropriate and reasonable time limits to prevent deterioration" (USPS Publication 52). There is no carrier guarantee that your product arrives frozen; the pack and the service level are what deliver that.
If you use dry ice as the refrigerant, extra marking and packaging rules apply. Those are covered on how to ship with dry ice. For any carrier other than USPS, check your carrier's requirements before you build the pack.
How do you choose a refrigerant?
| Refrigerant | Holds | Best for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gel packs, frozen | Chilled to lightly frozen | 1-day and 2-day routes, smaller parcels | Weight adds up fast; they thaw to liquid, so the pack must be leakproof |
| Dry ice | Deep frozen | 2-day and longer routes, ice cream, raw protein | Regulated. Marking, venting and quantity limits apply |
| Both together | Deep frozen, then chilled | Mixed loads where part of the kit must not freeze | Separate the layers so the dry ice does not freeze the chilled items solid |
Size the refrigerant to the longest plausible transit, not the quoted one. A 2-day service that hits a Friday dispatch can become a 4-day parcel.
How do you build the pack?
- Freeze the product solid first. A refrigerant cannot freeze warm product; it can only slow the thaw of frozen product.
- Bag the product. A sealed liner or pouch contains melt, blood and condensate. This is the single most common gap in a failed frozen shipment.
- Line the shipper. An insulated liner or moulded insert goes inside the corrugated outer, not instead of it. The corrugated box carries the crush load; the liner carries the temperature.
- Load product and refrigerant. Refrigerant above and around the product, since cold falls. Dry ice goes on top.
- Kill the void. Empty space is the enemy of a cold chain. Fill it. A half-empty insulated box warms far faster than a full one.
- Seal and mark. Tape all seams. Add "Perishable" and "Keep Frozen" so handlers know what they are carrying.
- Ship early in the week. Monday to Wednesday dispatch avoids weekend dwell in a sorting facility.
What packaging do you actually need?
Three layers, and they do different jobs. A printed outer that survives handling and carries your brand, an insulated liner or moulded insert sized so the product fits without slack, and a sealed inner bag or pouch.
Teal makes custom frozen food boxes and custom frozen food bags to your dimensions, printed, from a 50-unit minimum order quantity. Food-safe material options are available by specification with documentation on request; specify the requirement in your brief rather than assuming a stock board meets it. Dieline design is free and every order includes two revision rounds.
Where do frozen shipments usually go wrong?
- Oversized box. A box with 30 percent void space needs far more refrigerant than a right-sized one. Size the box to the product, not the other way round. The box size and dimensional weight calculator helps here.
- Unsealed product. Melt escapes, the corrugated softens, the parcel fails in transit.
- Friday dispatch. Two extra days of dwell defeats a pack designed for two days.
- Refrigerant under the product. Cold sinks. Refrigerant on top does more work.
Can Teal pack and ship frozen orders for you?
Teal supplies the printed packaging and also runs fulfillment from its West Chicago, Illinois center, so one vendor can handle the print run and the pick, pack and ship loop. See print, fulfill and ship with Teal for how that works end to end, the fulfillment and 3PL hub for the service menu, and ship with Teal for transit tiers and timing. Ready to price the packaging? Request a quote.
