Two eCommerce categories that exploded in popularity in recent years are food and natural health products. These categories can be loosely defined under: 

1. Food eCommerce: the sale and distribution of subscription boxes, meal kits, and groceries through online platforms. 
2. Natural health products (NHP): sometimes referred to as “alternative” or “traditional” medicine and include supplements, vitamins and minerals, homeopathic remedies, probiotics, and herbal medicines. 

The COVID-19 pandemic caused long disruptions to in-store shopping and health to be pushed to top-of-mind for many consumers, so it’s no surprise that many are turning to online shopping to fulfill their grocery and health needs. 

With food eCommerce in such high demand, now is an opportune time to break into the market. However, there are stringent health and safety rules surrounding the distribution of food and NHP products. Keep reading to learn how you can safely fulfill orders and deliver exceptional customer experiences. 

Food Safety: Regulations and Licencing 

The most important consideration for food and NHP business owners is the matter of food safety. 

eCommerce businesses looking to sell food, food-related products, or NHP must follow federal and international food safety regulations and licensing requirements to avoid presenting a health risk to consumers. 

For example, if you’re a Canadian eCommerce business that wants to sell to US customers, you’d need approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). You’d also need to give Customs and your shipping carrier “prior notice” that you’ll be sending food products their way. 

And when it comes to selling NHP and other food-related products (lotions, soaps, ointments, etc), the rules are just as complicated. You must obtain a product licence from Health Canada for ALL your products. The licences prove that Health Canada has approved your products for safe consumption and sale. 

The rules may be complicated, but not adhering comes at a steep cost to your business. It’s best to work with a fulfillment partner that understands and can help you with these regulations and requirements. 

Certifications to Look For 

 eCommerce business in Canada should look for a fulfillment partner that possesses any of the following certifications: 

• Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). A GMP certification is the basic minimum for food safety. It means that the company is dedicated to ensuring safe production and preparation of food through pest control, sanitation, and employee hygiene. 
• Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Certification. A HACCP certification is the next step up from a GMP. It demonstrates the facility is not only dedicated to ensuring that food is prepared, transferred, and stored safely, but also that they will take precautions to mitigate risk around your products and meet traceability requirements. 
• Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR). A SFCR license shows that a business implements preventative food safety measures when importing, exporting, or interprovincially trading food products. 

Packaging and Labelling 

Food products are especially prone to damage: bruising, breaking, spilling, you name it. When preparing them and NHP for shipping, it’s important to: 

• Pack products tightly to avoid unwanted shifting or breaking 
• Use padding materials like packing peanuts and bubble wrap 
• Contain products in airtight seals (to lock out moisture and prevent spillage) 

Plastic wraps and containers are the most affordable and lightweight packaging material. But as more cities are moving to ban plastic bags and other single-use plastics, it’s worth looking into sustainable options such as compostable plastic packaging and biodegradable packing peanuts. If interested in taking this avenue, a fulfillment partner like TransAction Heroes will be able to advise you on maintaining both sustainability and functional packaging options. 

When preparing NHP for shipping, all packages must meet labelling and packaging requirements outlined by Health Canada’s Natural Health Products Regulations. 

Shipping 

When it comes to shipping food and other perishables, the goal is to protect products from spoiling in heat and moisture. 

The best way to ensure freshness is to pack food products in a well-insulated container next to a coolant such as ice packs, cold gel packs, or dry ice. Some shipping carriers offer refrigerated or temperature-controlled services for time-sensitive food shipments, so they are a good option for food eCommerce businesses. 

Shipping timelines for food products are time-sensitive (no one likes stale food!), so express shipping is the best way to go. For businesses looking for affordability, batch shipping (grouping express shipping orders together) is an option that can help you save time and money while ensuring your products arrive fresh to customers. 

Finally, it’s important to work with a fulfillment partner that has experience, systems, and processes to manage “lot controlled” inventory. 

Lot control is an inventory management strategy where a batch of products is given a Lot ID number that identifies the products’ manufacturing, shipping, and expiration dates. Lot control is especially important to managing shipments of perishable products impacted by product recalls, contamination, and expiration dates. 

Work with an experienced and certified fulfillment partner

... Just like TransAction Heroes! 

It’s paramount for food and natural health product businesses to fulfill orders safely, quickly, and efficiently. Improper handling of food products is the quickest way for your business to lose money, products, and customers and can be grounds for expensive fines. 

At TransAction Heroes, we are an order fulfillment company with extensive experience in providing the end-to-end order fulfillment solutions for eCommerce store owners. We are a HACCP Certified and Natural Health Products Certified facility, so you can trust that we can guide you on how to best adhere to food safety regulations and take care of your products during the fulfillment process. We also have strategic relationships with major mail carriers like UPS, Purolator, and Canada Post, so we can advise you on choosing the best shipping method for you. 

Have more questions about food and/or natural health product fulfillment? Contact a TransAction Hero today.