Helping Naturagro bring the flavors of Peru to Europe

Smurfit Westrock enables Naturagro’s successful entry into the European fresh produce market

Naturagro SA, a Peruvian agricultural products company, partnered with Smurfit Westrock to enter the European fresh produce market. Together they addressed the logistical challenges of exporting sensitive, irregularly shaped sweet potatoes by creating a custom packaging and logistics solution that protected quality and streamline packing operations. This collaboration enabled Naturagro to complete its first exports to Spain and Portugal and establish a scalable model for a high potential new business line.

The Challenge

Naturagro SA decided to take a strategic step forward by expanding beyond local markets and entering the European fresh produce export segment. After attending international trade fairs in Madrid, the company secured its first client in Barcelona, opening doors to markets such as Spain and Portugal. This move introduced new challenges: there were no established guidelines for packaging, transport, or container efficiency. Sweet potatoes also present logistical difficulties due to their irregular shapes and sensitivity to cold, requiring careful control of temperature, humidity, and ventilation during long-distance shipping.

The Approach

Our packaging experts collaborated closely with Naturagro to develop a packaging and logistics solution tailored to the unique requirements of fresh sweet potatoes. Drawing on our agricultural expertise, we developed a bespoke packaging solution weighing 780 grams, designed to hold 6 kg of product and support stacking of up to 16 levels, while fully complying with international standards Using our PackExpert tool, we calculated the required packaging strength to withstand the defined transportation conditions—15 °C temperature and 80–85% humidity over a 20–23 day transit—to preserve product quality.

The Result

The final solution was delivered as pre-assembled boxes ready for immediate use, streamlining operations and reducing both assembly time and labor costs for the client. Leveraging this optimized packaging, Naturagro successfully completed its first exports of fresh sweet potatoes to Europe, establishing a new business line with strong growth potential. In the initial months, three containers were shipped, validating the efficiency and reliability of the solution. The success of these early exports resulted in high customer satisfaction, with the Barcelona client already confirming orders for 15 additional containers and the prospect of continued expansion in the future.

Products used by this client

Produce Packaging

Our high-performance produce boxes and produce trays are specifically designed to optimize product protection while enhancing merchandising and logistical efficiency

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Corrugated Trays

Our portfolio of standard and differentiated corrugated trays are engineered to match your product specifications, supply chain demands, and diverse channel requirements.

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