New Pineapple Wax Cuts Inventory and Freight Costs
Fruit packers can now use a higher-concentration liquid wax that integrates with current equipment to streamline transit logistics.
Updated on Oct. 29, 2026 in Consumer Goods
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JBT Marel has released the Sta-Fresh Flowable Wax 4000, a new liquid coating for pineapples that improves concentration to 77 percent. The formulation aims to streamline shipping and inventory for fruit exporters who can utilize their existing packing infrastructure.
Why it matters
By transitioning from a labor-intensive paste to a pumpable liquid, this product allows operators to reduce freight and warehouse requirements while maintaining appearance standards. The shift addresses the logistical inefficiencies of handling the previous, lower-concentration formulation.
The new Sta-Fresh 4000 wax offers a 77 percent solids concentration compared to 70 percent in the previous Sta-Fresh 2952 model. One drum of the new product replaces two drums of competitive wax, reducing logistics burdens for international fruit exporters.
The players
JBT Marel
A provider of technology solutions and equipment for the global food and beverage processing industry.
The details
Workers transition to this system by pumping the liquid wax directly from the drum into a mixing device, eliminating the manual handling and dilution required by the previous paste product. The formulation maintains pineapple quality during transit and integrates with existing packing line equipment. Commercial performance was validated through cold-storage testing in Costa Rica, simulating typical export conditions to global markets.
Timeline
Two years of research and development preceded the October 29, 2026, product release.
Cold-storage testing was conducted over a two-and-a-half-week simulation period.
Market Landscape
This release marks a departure from traditional paste-based fruit coatings that required manual dilution and handling. It follows a broader industry trend toward high-concentration additives that reduce transportation and storage footprint.
Fruit exporters should evaluate whether their current packing lines can accommodate direct-pump liquid integration to realize freight savings. The reduction in inventory storage requirements may allow for more efficient warehouse space utilization in the coming season.
The takeaway
The move from paste to liquid represents an operational shift that trades manual labor for automated pumping. Operators should track the shelf-life and appearance consistency of fruit shipments using this 77 percent concentration wax against existing benchmark data from their transit logs.
Further reading
For more on industry supply chain innovations, visit Consumer Goods.
Source note: This article includes information reported by FreshFruitPortal.
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