How to send vacuum-packed food to your Erasmus child in Europe without it spoiling

Your child set off on their Erasmus with a suitcase full of excitement and, a few weeks later, every video call ends the same way: they miss home cooking. The cured meats, the cheese, grandma's preserves, that sweet treat you can only buy here. You'd love to send vacuum-packed food to Europe to cheer them up, but the moment you think about it the doubts creep in: what if the parcel takes weeks and arrives ruined? What if surprise charges pop up along the way that no one warned you about?

It's a very common fear, and understandably so: sending a parcel abroad blind, without knowing the final price or the real delivery time, is nerve-racking. Many families end up giving up, and their child keeps falling back on ready meals while dreaming of the flavours of home. The good news is that today this kind of shipment is sorted in minutes, with a fixed price, short delivery times and no nasty surprises along the way.

Sending vacuum-packed food to Europe: how it works, step by step

At Logística Mazarrón, the official GLS agency in Puerto de Mazarrón, we've made it as simple as possible:

1. Work out your price online in 30 seconds. Enter the weight, dimensions and origin-destination in the calculator and get a fixed price with VAT included, from 9 €. You also get a 48-hour price guarantee.
2. Book and pay online, no registration needed. You don't need to create an account: you pay, receive the label by email and stick it on the box.
3. Door-to-door collection. The GLS courier collects the parcel from your doorstep, anywhere in Spain, so you don't have to lug the box anywhere. And if it suits you better, you can also drop it off yourself at a GLS parcel point or at our Puerto de Mazarrón agency.
4. Real-time tracking. You'll know where your shipment is at every moment, until your child has it in their hands.

Thanks to the GLS Europe network, the parcel travels fast: delivery in 24-72 hours depending on the destination. And here's an important relief: within the European Union there are no customs, because it's a single market. If you send to Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands or any other EU country, there'll be no surprise charges or holds at the border.

How to pack the box so the food arrives in perfect condition

Vacuum packing is your best ally: with no oxygen, food keeps for much longer and travels perfectly well at room temperature. To top it off:

• Choose products that keep well without refrigeration: cured meats and cheeses, tinned goods, packaged cooked pulses, nuts and traditional sweets.
• Vacuum-seal each item and add a second, airtight resealable bag. If one bag gives way, the other contains any leak.
• Use a sturdy cardboard box, ideally double-walled, and fill the gaps with paper or bubble wrap so nothing rattles around inside.
• Protect anything made of glass: wrap the jars one by one and place them in the centre of the box, away from the sides.
• Keep an eye on the weight: the maximum is 30 kg per parcel. If you go over, split the order into two boxes; that's better than cramming everything into one.
• Seal it with an H-shaped taping pattern, reinforcing the base and all the seams.

Common mistakes worth avoiding

• Sending fresh items that need refrigeration (fresh meat, uncured dairy, cooked dishes that aren't sealed): transport is at room temperature, so they wouldn't arrive in good condition.
• Reusing a weakened box from a previous shipment. Soft cardboard warps and leaves the contents exposed.
• Putting down an incomplete address. Ask your child for the exact address, including floor, flat number and a local phone number: it makes delivery far easier.
• Guessing the weight and dimensions. The price depends on those figures: weigh and measure the box once it's sealed before you calculate, and the amount you see will be the final one.

How much it costs to send a food box to your child

Our parcel delivery service starts from 9 € with VAT included, and the exact price depends on the weight, the dimensions and the destination. You see it instantly in the calculator, with no registration and the price guaranteed for 48 hours. We ship to Spain and across the whole EU: Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Ireland and the rest of the Union's countries.

And if you'd rather have a person talk you through it, we're happy to help in Spanish and English on +34 910 80 62 29 or at Av. Dr. Meca 107, local 2, Puerto de Mazarrón (Mon-Fri from 9:30 to 13:30 and 16:30 to 19:00).

That box isn't just food: it's a hug from home a thousand kilometres away. Vacuum-pack the products, weigh and measure the box, and in 30 seconds you'll know exactly how much it costs to get it to them.