The Herbal Garden: Need for Reliable Next-Day Delivery for Fresh Produce

Securing space for heavyweight packages on daily flights has been the cornerstone of the successful distribution model applied by DHL.

The Herbal Garden farms over 70 acres in Mexico and the U.S. and is one of the five largest providers of fresh herbs in the U.S. to major retail outlets, warehouses and warehouse distributors, and food service businesses. Vern Meyer, founder and CEO, figured out how to produce large quantities of fresh herbs and needed to transport them inside 18-23kg bags.

The Company had been working with freight forwarders and commercial airlines to transport fresh herbs but, as the business grew, it needed more reliable next-day delivery. The Herbal Garden also needed a provider that could assist more proactively with customs and regulatory issues – vital for meeting customer deadlines.

Reliable, Overnight Delivery

With strong air lift capacity from Mexico, DHL was able to develop a customized US-Mexico trade lane program for Vern and his team. The cornerstone of this distribution process was securing space for heavyweight packages on daily flights from Mexico. This ensures fresh herbs reach the U.S. in time for DHL to distribute them to The Herbal Garden’s packing facilities for next day delivery.

Customized Customs Program

DHL’s close working relationship with US Customs also made it possible to arrange for the USDA inspection to be performed right at DHL’s Chicago terminal. Upon clearance, The Herbal Garden washes, bags, and repacks the produce. Then, DHL ships all of the fresh deliveries overnight for next day and 10:30 a.m. arrival to its grocery and food service customers across the U.S.

Excellent, Seamless Import and Domestic Service

With DHL’s support, The Herbal Garden has been able ship over one million packages of its fresh herbs to U.S. customers – and with much greater ease due to DHL’s regulatory expertise and reliable overnight delivery.
“This trusted and customized program is making it possible for our business to grow as fast as we can grow more herbs,” says Meyer.