Fruit & food guide
Grape packaging guide
Table grapes are sold loose by weight in tall, vented clamshells, heat-seal punnets or flowpack trays. Common sizes are 500 g and 1 kg in Europe and India and 2–3 lb in the US, and the pack must hold the bunch without crushing berries or stems.
- 500 g clamshell190 × 115 × 85 mm
- 1 kg clamshell190 × 115 × 126 mm
- 3 lb clamshell189 × 184 × 126 mm
Choosing the pack
- Clamshells are the default: quick to fill by hand in the field or packhouse, and they re-close.
- Heat-seal punnets with side or bottom vents suit automated lines and export programmes that want a sealed, labelled pack.
- Flowpacks use the least plastic: an open tray wrapped in film on a flow-wrap line.
Height matters
Grape bunches are bulky for their weight, so grape packs are tall: a 500 g grape clamshell is 80–90 mm deep, against 75 mm for a 250 g berry pack. Leave room for the bunch's stems so the lid does not press the top berries.
Export
Grapes travel far in cold chains, often with sulphur-dioxide pads in the outer carton. Vents must line up with the carton's airflow, and the pack must stay stiff at low temperature and high humidity. AVI's catalogue gives carton counts and 40 ft loads for each grape pack.
AVI packs for this
| Pack | Type | Size (L × W × H) | Empty weight | Holds | Per carton | Enquiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PNG 501 / 80 | Hinged lid | 190 × 115 × 80 mm | 16 g | 500 g | 768 / 760 | |
| PNG 501 / 85 | Hinged lid | 190 × 115 × 85 mm | 16 g | 500 g | 760 / 750 | |
| PNG 501 / 90 | Hinged lid | 190 × 115 × 90 mm | 20 g | 500 g | 740 | |
| TBT 180 120 / 85 | Flat lid heat-sealed to base | 184 × 117.5 × 85 mm | 16 g | 500 g | 1,000 | |
| FLW 180 120 / 75 | Flow-wrapped in film | 184 × 117 × 75 mm | 11 g | 500 g | 1,280 | |
| PNG 501 / 126 | Hinged lid | 190 × 115 × 126 mm | 31 g | 1 kg | 550 | |
| PNG 750 / 125 | Hinged lid | 188 × 144 × 125 mm | 29.5 g | 1 kg | 420 | |
| PNG 3000 / 126 | Hinged lid | 189 × 184 × 126 mm | 48 g | 3 lb | 366 |
All packs are rPET. Figures from AVI's catalogue; tolerances and fill depend on the product, so samples are the final check. See the full catalogue.
AVI products
- Clamshell PunnetsOver 80 clamshell designs in PET and rPET: one-piece hinged lids, tamper-evident closures and cavity depths for...
- FlowpacksFlow-wrap-compatible trays from AVI Global Plast for high-speed produce and food packing lines. Request a quote.
- Grape PackagingExport-grade grape packaging from AVI Global Plast — 24 punnet and heat-seal formats, certified rPET, ventilated for...
Terms in this guide
- Carton (export carton)
- The outer box empty packs are shipped in. Each pack has a fixed count per carton in AVI's packing data.
- Clamshell
- A one-piece pack whose lid is joined to the base by a hinge, so it closes on itself and can be reopened.
- FCL (full container load)
- A shipping container booked by one shipper. Pack loads are usually quoted for a 40 ft container, with or without pallets.
- Flowpack
- An open tray wrapped in film on a horizontal flow-wrapping machine, a light alternative to a lidded pack.
- Heat-seal punnet
- An open tray closed by heat-sealing a film lid to its rim. Tamper-evident and light, but it needs a tray sealer.
- Vents
- Holes or slots in a produce pack that let fruit breathe and stop condensation.