Direct-to-Consumer logistics is exploding, especially for temperature-controlled-freight.
View the original article in the AJOT’s online magazine here.
Edison, NJ-based ColdTrack was founded as a contract manufacturer but over the past decade the company evolved into a turnkey cold chain logistics platform for Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) brands that delivers everything from fresh-frozen seafood to gourmet pet food. ColdTrack’s fulfillment network is now a coast-to-coast operation with facilities in Stockton and Patterson, CA, Indianapolis, IN and New Jersey. The American Journal of Transportation recently had a chance to chat with Luke Vaccaro, ColdTrack’s COO. Vaccaro will serve as a featured panelist at Manifest Vegas 2026 in early February.
AJOT: Tell us about your role at Manifest Vegas 2026.
Vaccaro: This year, we’re exhibiting in and are proud sponsors of Manifest’s Cold Chain Pavilion — the first time the event has created a dedicated platform for temperature-controlled logistics, reflecting how critical the cold chain has become to modern commerce. Together with Rebecca Linz, VP of Supply Chain at Force of Nature, and Josh Lett, SVP of Customer Experience at Deposco, I’ll be participating in a panel discussion on Tuesday, February 10th at 10:50 am titled Cold Chain Fulfillment Tech: Precision Inventory, Perfect Orders, and DTC Growth.
AJOT: Over the past decade perishable eCommerce DTC has exploded… How big can it get?
Vaccaro: Most estimates place the current U.S. temperature-controlled logistics market at $75–90 billion annually, with significant growth expected over the next decade. Direct-to-consumer represents a meaningful and rapidly expanding portion of that market and is currently estimated at roughly $15 billion. Industry forecasts suggest that figure could double over the next ten years as consumer adoption continues to rise.
AJOT: What other products could fuel the growth of perishable DTC?
Vaccaro: Consumer demand will ultimately drive the industry’s growth. As we place greater value on convenience and time, demand for perishable products delivered directly to the home will continue to rise. That demand attracts more producers, more innovation, and more specialized brands — all of which increase the need for reliable cold chain infrastructure. We’re already seeing pharma-to-door inquiries increasing. There is a massive growing trend of temperature-controlled shipments in the pharmaceutical industry, specifically DTP or “Direct-to-Patient” distribution for chronic therapies like Peptides and GLP-1 monthly injectables, which are displacing traditional pharmacy pickup, largely due to convenience and consumer preference. Analysts value the market at $18.5B in 2025 and forecast growth to $65.6B by 2034 (CAGR 15%). The GLP-1 logistics market alone is forecasted to grow from $7.5B in 2025 to $18.7B by 2030 (CAGR 20%).
But going back to food, if you look at the evolution of grocery retail, fifteen years ago, frozen pizza occupied a few freezer doors. Today it fills entire aisles.
The same expansion is happening across proteins, seafood, prepared meals, desserts, and functional foods. As those manufacturers expand their sales channels into ecommerce, home delivery becomes a strategic necessity — whether they fulfill in-house or through partners like ColdTrack.
Lastly, we are seeing a trend of B2B perishable shipments in the retail and foodservice space, including direct-to-store small-parcel shipments. The US Foodservice industry alone is worth upward of $380B, so we are excited to help shift the decades-old distribution model from pallet-level deliveries to case-level shipments via common carriers.
AJOT: What does perishable DTC look like internationally?
Vaccaro: The U.S. remains the largest perishable DTC market, but most developed economies now have healthy direct-to-consumer volumes. We already support European brands that sell directly into the U.S. without maintaining a domestic operating footprint. As global infrastructure improves and consumer behavior continues to shift toward home delivery, we expect perishable DTC to expand well beyond North America.
AJOT: How has cold chain reliability become a competitive differentiator for brands?
Vaccaro: One of our core responsibilities is protecting the reputations of the brands we serve. We’re one of the final touchpoints between the brand and the consumer. If we were to make a packing or shipping mistake, the consumer doesn’t blame the fulfillment provider — the brand takes the hit, and that may be the last interaction that consumer ever has with that company. We don’t take that responsibility lightly, and thankfully, due to our recent $10M+ investment in industry experts (people), process, and technology, our current error rates are less than 1/10th of a percent. Lastly, food safety and consumer health is critical. We provide our brand partners with precision tracking through our OMS and WMS software systems, enabling Lot traceability so, in the event of a recall, we can identify whether any impacted items have been shipped to consumers, down to the item level in each individual parcel.
AJOT: There’s been some buzz around ColdTrack’s 100% Pick Accuracy Guarantee and I’ve seen interviews where you talk about the company’s goal to “be perfect.” Is perfect even a possibility in the complexities of the global cold chain?
Vaccaro: We chose perfection as our benchmark because that’s the standard consumers expect. If I place an order online, I expect to receive everything I purchased — anything less is a failure of the experience. Our goal is to operate at 100% in terms of pick accuracy, inventory accuracy, and on-time shipping. We’ve built our processes, technology, and controls around achieving that standard every day. Our guarantee reflects that.
AJOT: How is technology driving the future of tracking and traceability?
Vaccaro: Tracking a single box in a single location can be done manually. But when you introduce multiple SKUs, box sizes, facilities, temperature zones, and service levels, the complexity increases exponentially. It all starts with a proper inbound process that digitally logs each pallet and records the Lot Number, Expiration Date, and other unique identifiers to ensure safe and accurate inventory management. We utilize Deposco, a top-tier Warehouse Management System (WMS), which is integrated into our own proprietary perishable Order Management System (OMS) ColdTrack Live, putting the data directly into our platform and machine-readable workflows that allow us to operate with precision and speed. Combined with our standard operating procedures, this gives our clients a level of transparency and control that removes guesswork from inventory planning, procurement, commercial decision-making, and food safety.
AJOT: How does ColdTrack compete with the cold chain giants?
Vaccaro: Many of the largest players in cold chain logistics were built to manage full-pallet, business-to-business distribution. While some are now attempting to adapt those facilities and systems for DTC fulfillment, they were never designed for high-velocity, unit-level fulfillment and the flexibility required to fulfill for hundreds of brands, each with their own unique mix of SKUs, packing process, coolant type (dry ice and/or frozen gel packs), and time-in-transit shipping logic. ColdTrack was built from the ground up for direct-to-consumer fulfillment. Our strategically located facilities in NJ, IN, and CA, plus technology purpose-built for perishable logistics, and our nimble operating model were engineered specifically for that complexity. That’s why our execution speed, order accuracy, and national performance profile are impossible to replicate inside retrofitted networks.
