URB-E and PackIt Fresh Totes Form Partnership as World Braces for Higher CO2 Emissions in 2021

LOS ANGELES, June 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- URB-E, the compact container delivery network that's replacing trucks with small electric vehicles, today announced its choice of PackIt Fresh as URB-E's preferred final-mile refrigeration provider. PackIt Fresh's innovative, reusable, freezable totes keep food at safe temperatures for up to 24 hours. With this partnership, URB-E's last mile delivery service provides a zero-emission, low-congestion, low-cost replacement for refrigerated trucks and vans that can save companies hundreds of thousands of dollars per year and up to 11 metric tons of CO2 per vehicle.

"It's especially important for us to consider not just the vehicle that delivers your goods, but also the environmental impact of the packing and temperature control material we use. I'm pleased to announce our environment partnership with PackIt Fresh, and at a time when every business, big and small, should be taking the critical steps to reduce the devastating impact of CO2 emissions on the world, not just on Earth Day but everyday," said Charles Jolley, CEO of URB-E.

This partnership is a win for sustainability. URB-E's zero-emissions electric vehicles are nearly 95% cleaner than conventional refrigerated delivery trucks, when considering annual CO2 emissions. And, PackIt Fresh's reusable, freezable totes replace single-use packaging, a change that consumers will applaud.

URB-E's electric vehicles and efficient, collapsible delivery containers, combined with PackIt Fresh's revolutionary totes, meet American businesses' sustainability demands in a cost-effective way. Now, perishables can be kept at food-safe temperatures for up to 24 hours without the need for added ice packs, dry ice or active cooling. This is a boon for food and grocery delivery providers looking to reduce expenses in an industry with notoriously narrow margins — and it helps save the environment.

"With the increase in online sales resulting from the pandemic, we saw a way to provide an eco-friendly solution to deliver cold goods using a service that is able to move food and other temperature-sensitive products. This made URB-E a natural partner for PackIt Fresh to help safely deliver perishable items and save the environment from emissions and cooling trucks and vans," said Melissa Kieling, PackIt Fresh CEO. "We know the final mile of the supply chain is the most expensive, and because our totes keep groceries cold, URB-E now can use longer routes with more deliveries per route, bringing down the cost per delivery. PackIt Fresh puts profit back into delivery of perishable items."

A 2020 McKinsey & Co. study stated 55% of respondents are extremely or very concerned about the environmental impact of product packaging, preferring sustainable packaging even at a higher cost. However, companies will find their expenses are lowered when delivering via URB-E and PackIt Fresh.

About PackIt Fresh
Inventor of the world's original FREEZABLE lunch bag, PackIt Fresh is now supplying the multi-billion-dollar grocery & meal kit delivery space with a game-changing, reusable solution for fresh food delivery that eliminates single-use packaging. Headquartered in Los Angeles, PackIt Fresh provides a low-cost solution for maintaining cold chain integrity during the critical final mile of delivery. PackIt Fresh's innovative frozen delivery totes keep perishables in a cold, food-safe environment from the cooler to the curb. PackIt Fresh eliminates the need for refrigerated staging areas and expensive, emissions-heavy fleets of refrigerated trucks during fulfillment, micro-fulfillment and final-mile grocery delivery. For more information, please visit www.packitfresh.com.

About URB-E
URB-E is containerizing last-mile delivery to help make our cities run better. The containers save a massive amount of space in crowded urban centers and can be moved by e-bikes through city streets more quickly and economically, and with less environmental impact, than other alternatives.

URB-E has some of the world's largest retailers and ecommerce companies as its clients. The  venture-funded company is backed by UBS Group and headquartered in Los Angeles.

For more information, please visit urb-e.com.

Media contact:
Andrea Heuer
[email protected]

SOURCE URB-E