Kigali Farms cuts product loss to nearly 0% and saves approximately $100,000 in operating costs with Supra 750 truck refrigeration unit
A Carrier Transicold transport refrigeration solution has helped a well-known farm in Rwanda improve its cold chain and deliver fresh, nutritious produce to local and regional markets while significantly reducing food loss and operating costs. Carrier Transicold is part of Carrier Global Corporation (NYSE: CARR), global leader in intelligent climate and energy solutions.
Kigali Farms started growing oyster mushrooms in 2010 to provide sustainable income opportunities for small-scale farmers in Rwanda, help fight malnutrition and create local jobs. The business later expanded to produce button mushrooms that are packaged and shipped to Kenya.
Mushrooms are highly perishable and require constant temperature control during transport. Kigali Farms initially faced challenges with inconsistent results from various third-party transporters.
“When we began shipping our button mushrooms to Nairobi using third-party transporters, we observed irregular temperature logs in the refrigerated compartment and unreliable product quality, resulting in significant losses upon arrival,” said Laurent Demuynck, the founder and CEO of Kigali Farms. “The lack of control over the cold chain resulted in 20% product loss and ultimately put the business at risk.”
To overcome this, Kigali Farms invested in its own refrigerated truck equipped with Carrier Transicold’s Supra® 750 unit, which offers constant evaporation airflow for controlled humidity, a robust design, high reliability and high-cooling performance. Developed for distribution environments with multiple door openings, the Supra 750 offers cold chain continuity – a necessity during mushroom loading and unloading operations, and during custom controls at border crossings. The unit also achieves superior pull-down and accurate temperature control at all set points.
Proper refrigeration, when combined with loading best practices and quality packaging materials, provides optimal performance and freshness. The changes Kigali Farms made helped immediately – the temperature of the mushrooms stayed stable throughout the first journey to Nairobi.
“With Carrier Transicold’s solution, we went from 20% waste to nearly 0% waste within no time. It was a miracle,” said Demuynck. “The temperature was absolutely constant throughout the journey and our mushrooms arrived in perfect condition, eliminating our waste.”
“It was satisfying for our team to work closely with Kigali Farms and see the immediate impact on its business,” said Vincent Blaising, Managing Director, External Distribution, EMEA and Southeast Asia, Carrier Transicold. “As a cold chain specialist, Carrier Transicold understands that fresh isn’t simply a question of how long cargo is transported, but the conditions in which it is transported. Using loading best practices and ensuring a proper temperature throughout the journey are essential.”
Rather than being lost in transit, fresh, nutritious mushrooms could now be delivered to East African supermarkets and outlets, reducing food waste, supporting sustainability and encouraging increased agricultural diversity. Today, the truck continues to operate in Nairobi delivering various types of perishables before returning to Kigali with fruit or third-party goods.
“The profits we are able to make from the return trip with other goods pays for the costs of operating our own truck, so our transportation costs went from $100,000 a year to zero dollars a year,” said Demuynck.
Carrier Transicold cold chain solutions and best practices tailored to the needs of Kigali Farms support Carrier’s 2030 goal of helping customers avoid more than 1 gigaton of greenhouse gas emissions.
For more information about Carrier Transicold products and services, please go to www.carrier.com/truck-trailer/en/eu/. Follow Carrier Transicold on LinkedIn at Carrier Transicold Truck Trailer Refrigeration.
Learn more about Carrier Transicold’s work with Kigali Farms.
About Carrier Transicold
Carrier Transicold helps improve transport and shipping of temperature-controlled cargoes with a complete line of equipment and services for refrigerated transport and cold chain visibility. For more than 50 years, Carrier Transicold has been an industry leader, providing customers around the world with advanced, energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable container refrigeration systems and generator sets, direct-drive and diesel truck units and trailer refrigeration systems. Carrier Transicold is a part of Carrier Global Corporation, global leader in intelligent climate and energy solutions that matter for people and our planet for generations to come. For more information, visit www.carriertransicold.eu. Follow Carrier Transicold on LinkedIn at Carrier Transicold Truck Trailer Refrigeration.