Retail produce box and method for selling a variety of produce therein

Abstract

There is provided an improved retail produce box, preferably for fresh potatoes. Each box comprises a bottom wall, four side walls with beveled corners where adjacent side walls meet, said bottom wall and side walls defining a substantially rectangular box interior. That interior is covered by a lid made from folded over extensions of two opposed side walls with one of said lid extensions at least partially overlapping the other lid extension to minimize light penetration into the box interior and allow for some settlement of contents after filling. The bottom wall may have a plurality of apertures for visual inspection of the contents and facilitating air circulation within. Preferably, the overlapping lid extension includes a hinged and tabbed section that can be flipped open for visually inspecting the box contents and lowered back down after. A plurality of such boxes, in various produce quantities, may be boxed together for shipping in a master container. A method for selling varying produce in the same box entails inserting a divider into that box to form chambers into which different varieties of potatoes, or potatoes along with other produce like onions, may be packaged.

1 . A corrugated cardboard box for transporting and displaying fresh produce, said box comprising: (a) a bottom wall; (b) four side walls which define a substantially rectangular box interior, said box interior having a beveled corner where adjacent side walls meet; and (c) a lid made from folded over extensions from two opposed side walls with one of said lid extensions at least partially overlapping the other lid extension when assembled for minimizing light penetration into the box interior, said combination of beveled corners and overlapping lids providing said box with sufficient rigidity for greater transportation loading and display stacking. 
     
     
         2 . The box of  claim 1  which further comprises at least one hand hole that extends at least partially through each of two opposed side walls. 
     
     
         3 . The box of  claim 2 , wherein said hand holes extend completely through said opposed side walls. 
     
     
         4 . The box of  claim 1 , wherein the bottom wall further comprises a plurality of spaced apertures for some produce degassing and content inspection when flipped over. 
     
     
         5 . The box of  claim 1  which further comprises at least one divider insert for separating the box interior into two or more compartments, each compartment adapted for housing a separate type of produce. 
     
     
         6 . The box of  claim 5 , wherein the compartments are substantially equally sized. 
     
     
         7 . The box of  claim 5 , wherein one compartment may hold a first variety of potato and a second compartment a second variety of potato. 
     
     
         8 . The box of  claim 5 , wherein a first compartment may hold one or more varieties of potatoes, and a second compartment a variety of onions. 
     
     
         9 . The box of  claim 8 , wherein a third compartment may hold a variety of other produce selected from the group consisting of carrots, celery and garlic. 
     
     
         10 . The box of  claim 1 , wherein the overlapping lid extension further comprises a hinged and tabbed section which can be manually flipped open for visually inspecting produce in the box interior and lowered back down after inspection. 
     
     
         11 . The box of  claim 11 , wherein the hinged and tabbed section is substantially trapezoidally shaped. 
     
     
         12 . The box of  claim 1  which, after being packed with fresh produce, may be combined with other similar boxes in a master container having two or more tiers of such packed boxes. 
     
     
         13 . A box for transporting and displaying one or more varieties of potatoes, said box being made from a folded blank of corrugated cardboard and comprising: (a) a bottom wall; (b) four side walls which define a substantially rectangular box interior, said box interior having a beveled corner where adjacent side walls meet; and (c) a lid made from folded over extensions from two opposed side walls with one of said lid extensions having a hinged, pre-cut section for manually flipping open to visually inspect the box interior and lowering back down after inspecting, said beveled corners and overlapping lids providing said box with minimized light penetration into the box interior and sufficient rigidity for greater transportation loading and display stacking. 
     
     
         14 . The potato box of  claim 13 , wherein the hinged, pre-cut section is substantially trapezoidal in shape and frictionally engages with at least some areas of the lid adjacent to same. 
     
     
         15 . The potato box of  claim 13 , wherein the hinged, pre-cut section includes at least one tabbed edge. 
     
     
         16 . The potato box of  claim 13  which further comprises at least one divider insert for separating the box interior into two or more compartments, each compartment adapted for holding a separate variety of potato. 
     
     
         17 . The potato box of  claim 13  which further comprises at least one divider for separating the box interior into a plurality of compartments, at least one of said compartments holding a produce other than potatoes, said produce selected from the group consisting of: onions, carrots, celery and garlic. 
     
     
         18 . The potato box of  claim 13 , wherein at some portion of the box interior has been treated with a moisture-resistant material. 
     
     
         19 . The potato box of  claim 13  which further comprises at least one hand hole extending at least partially through each of two opposed side walls. 
     
     
         20 . The potato box of  claim 13 , wherein at least one of the bottom wall and a side wall further comprises a plurality of spaced apertures for additional inspecting and some degassing. 
     
     
         21 . A method for selling a variety of produce in a common retail box comprises:
 (a) providing a box made from a folded blank of corrugated cardboard, said box comprising: (i) a bottom wall; (ii) four side walls which define a substantially rectangular box interior, said box interior having beveled corners where adjacent side walls meet; (iii) a lid made from folded over extensions of two opposed side walls with one of said lid extensions at least partially overlapping the other lid extension and having a tabbed section that can be manually flipped open for visually inspecting the box interior and lowered back down thereafter; and (iv) at least one divider insert for separating the box interior into two or more compartments, each compartment adapted for holding a separate variety of produce, said beveled corners and overlapping lids providing said box with minimized light penetration into the box interior and improved rigidity during transportation loading and display stacking; and   (b) filling a first box interior compartment with a first variety of produce and filling a second compartment with a second variety of produce.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the compartments are substantially equally sized. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the compartments are filled with different varieties of potatoes. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein one of the compartments is filled with a variety of potatoes and the other compartment with produce selected from the group consisting of: onions, carrots, celery and garlic.