D2C Packing: How Direct-to-Consumer Fulfilment Works from our UK Cold Stores

D2C packing.

Sometimes called direct-to-consumer pick and pack, is the process of picking individual items from bulk pallet stock, packing them into consumer-ready boxes with the appropriate insulated packaging, labelling them for a parcel carrier, and despatching them directly to the end consumer. It sits between traditional contract packing and ecommerce order fulfilment, and for temperature-controlled products it has to happen inside a facility capable of holding ambient, chilled, and frozen stock side by side.

At Magnavale, D2C packing is delivered from dedicated packing areas within temperature-controlled zones, supported by a warehouse management system that tracks product down to box level.

How D2C packing works at Magnavale.

The process runs in eight stages.

1. Bulk intake

Bulk product is sent in by the manufacturer or purchaser and booked into a Magnavale facility, along with any ambient goods, insulated packaging, or packing materials the finished order requires. Managing the consumables alongside the product means everything needed to complete an order sits under one roof.

2. Temperature-controlled storage

Stock is put away and held at the temperature the product needs – ambient, chilled, deep chilled or frozen, until an order calls it forward. Ambient, chilled, and frozen goods are stored in separate areas of the facility, but the warehouse management system keeps them under a single stock view so a mixed-temperature order can be easily assembled.

3. EDI order integration

Orders arrive electronically. EDI order integration allows a brand’s order file to flow straight into the Magnavale warehouse management system, specifying the products and quantities to be picked for each consumer order, without rekeying data between systems, cutting complexity and time overhead. That removes a common source of customer frustrations and allows order volumes to scale without a matching increase in administration.

4. Order picking and up tempering

Order picking is conducted against the electronic order, with the warehouse management system directing the picking team to the exact location of each item. Where a product stored frozen needs to be at chilled temperatures for packing or despatch, it is put through up tempering first. Magnavale’s microwave up-tempering technology raises product temperature quickly consistently, rather than leaving stock to thaw in ambient air.

5. Added-value services

With the order picked, any additional work is completed in the same pass. That includes date coding and batch code printing, c-wrap and d-wrap labelling, sleeving, and repacking or rework where a product needs to be presented differently for a direct-to-consumer channel than it was for retail. Doing this at the point of pick, rather than as a separate operation at another site, avoids a second handling cycle and a break in the cold chain.

6. Carrier shipping labels

Shipping labels are received from the small parcel courier appointed by the brand and matched to each finished order, so every box leaves the facility already carrying the correct tracked label for its destination.

7. Final pick, pack, and palletisation

Orders are packed into thermally insulated packaging as specified by the customer, sealed, labelled, and palletised ready for collection. Because the packing area sits inside a temperature-controlled environment, we are able to keep maintain temperatures, at exactly the point in the process where most cold chains are at their most exposed.

8. Courier collection and delivery

Finished pallets are collected into the parcel carrier network and the individual boxes are delivered direct to consumers, with the insulated packaging holding the product at temperature for the duration of the journey. Next-day despatch is available on orders received before the daily cut-off, feeding into nationwide next-day delivery through the carrier network.

Who D2C packing is for

The service suits any brand shipping products directly to consumers, and in practice Magnavale supports a broad mix of formats:

Meal kit & Recipe box fulfilment – multi-component orders combining ambient dry goods with chilled or frozen proteins and prepared elements. Recurring, subscription-style orders where consistency of pack presentation matters as much as temperature integrity.
Frozen ready meals, desserts, and ice cream – products with the least tolerance for temperature excursion in transit.
Sampling packs – smaller, often short-notice runs for product launches, influencer and press seeding, trade sampling and consumer trials, packed to the same cold chain standards as full retail orders.
Specialty brands scaling an online channel alongside existing retail listing.

Mixed-temperature orders from a single facility

One of the complex difficulties in direct-to-consumer food is the mixed basket. A single consumer order may contain an ambient sauce, a chilled vegetable component and a frozen protein, each of which needs to be stored differently but shipped together. Because Magnavale operates ambient, chilled, and frozen regimes within the same facilities, those items can be picked into one box on one pick path, rather than consolidated across multiple providers with the handling cost and cold chain risk that entails.

A national network

Magnavale operates temperature-controlled facilities at Chesterfield, Easton, Scunthorpe, and Warrington, with over 325,000 pallet spaces across the network. For direct-to-consumer work, geography matters twice over: once for inbound bulk, and again for the parcel carrier collection that determines whether a next-day promise is realistic.

Magnavale Easton sits directly on the A1 near Grantham. Magnavale Chesterfield is positioned on the M1 corridor and operates as a nationally centralised packing facility. Magnavale Warrington covers the Northwest from the M6 and M62 junction, and Magnavale Scunthorpe sits close to the Humber ports for brands with an import or export leg. Together, the four facilities give a direct-to-consumer operation both the storage capacity to absorb peaks and the road position to hit carrier collection windows consistently.

Why running bulk and D2C from one partner reduces cost.

The conventional model splits the two: bulk stock sits with a cold storage provider, and a separate fulfilment house handles consumer orders. Every transfer between them adds a vehicle movement, a handling cycle, a stock reconciliation, and a point at which temperature can be lost or error made.

Consolidating both with Magnavale shortens that chain. Bulk stock and consumer orders draw on the same inventory, added-value services are applied in the same pass as picking, and buying power on insulated packaging, dry ice and ice packs is pooled across customers. The practical results are fewer vehicle movements, less handling damage and waste, tighter stock control, and faster despatch – alongside the headroom to scale into a peak without renegotiating capacity.

Accreditation and food safety

Magnavale operates BRCGS accredited facilities and is a member of the BCMPA, the association for contract manufacturing, packing, fulfilment, and logistics. For a direct-to-consumer brand, that accreditation matters commercially as well as operationally: retail listings, insurers and marketplace partners increasingly ask who is managing the product at the point of pack, not just where it was made.

Talk to Magnavale about D2C packing!

If you are launching or scaling a direct-to-consumer food channel and want bulk storage, packing and fulfilment under one roof, contact the Magnavale team to discuss your requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is D2C packing?

D2C packing, or direct-to-consumer pick and pack, is the process of picking individual items from bulk pallet stock, packing them into consumer-ready boxes with insulation and coolant, labelling them for a parcel carrier and despatching them to the end consumer. Magnavale provides D2C packing for ambient, chilled, and frozen food from temperature-controlled facilities in the UK.

What is the difference between D2C packing and B2B pick and pack?

B2B pick and pack assembles cases or pallets for delivery to a retailer or distributor, typically in larger, scheduled consignments. D2C packing assembles single consumer orders for delivery to a home address through a parcel carrier network, which means smaller pack sizes, individual carrier labels, insulated packaging with dry ice or ice packs, and much higher order volumes. Magnavale manages both from the same facilities and the same bulk stock.

Can a single D2C order contain ambient, chilled, and frozen products?

Yes. Magnavale operates ambient, chilled, deep chilled and frozen temperature regimes within the same facilities, so items stored at different temperatures can be picked into one consumer order on a single pick path. This is particularly relevant to meal kit fulfilment and recipe box fulfilment, where a single box often combines dry goods with chilled and frozen components.

What is up tempering, and why is it used before despatch?

Up tempering raises the temperature of a frozen or deep chilled product in a controlled way so it can be packed, processed, or despatched at the correct temperature. Magnavale uses microwave up-tempering technology, which brings product up evenly rather than relying on ambient thawing, protecting product quality and shortening the time the stock spends outside its required temperature range.

How does EDI order integration work with a cold storage provider?

EDI order integration allows a brand’s order data to pass electronically into Magnavale’s warehouse management system, so consumer orders are received, allocated and released for order picking without manual data entry. This reduces picking errors, gives visibility of stock and order status, and allows order volumes to scale during promotional or seasonal peaks.

What added-value services can be applied during D2C packing?

Magnavale can apply date coding and batch code printing, c-wrap and d-wrap labelling, sleeving, repacking, and rework as part of the same operation as order picking and packing. Completing these services in one pass, inside the temperature-controlled facility, avoids a second handling cycle at a separate site.

Can Magnavale manage sampling packs and short-run promotional orders?

Yes. Alongside ongoing meal kit fulfilment and recipe box fulfilment, Magnavale packs sampling packs for product launches, press and influencer seeding, trade shows and consumer trials. These are packed to the same cold chain and labelling standards as full retail or consumer orders.

How quickly can D2C orders be despatched?

Magnavale offers same-day despatch on orders received before the daily cut-off, feeding into nationwide next-day delivery through the appointed parcel carrier network. Exact cut-off times depend on the site, the carrier service, and the packing requirements of the product.