Packing tray having cell pockets with expandable sidewalls and floating base, and method of manufacture

A packing tray for packaging pears and other pear shaped fruit, the packing tray comprising:

• a plastic foam sheet comprising a top wall and an array of recessed cell pockets extending from the top wall;
• the top wall having a peripheral surface surrounding the array of cell pockets and defining a top reference plane TRP;
• each cell pocket comprising a pear shaped recess having an elongated longitudinal axis LA parallel to the TRP and configured to be substantially aligned with a longitudinal axis of a pear or pear shaped fruit lying on its side in the recess, and a transverse axis A;
• the pear shaped recess including an upper tapered cell portion configured to receive an upper tapered portion of a pear and a lower rounded cell portion configured to receive a larger diameter base of a pear lying on its side in the recess;
• the tapered cell portion having a pair of opposing sidewalls that flare outwardly to join a rounded sidewall of the rounded cell portion, and the tapered cell portion having a bottom surface inclined with respect to the TRP and joining the flaring sidewall portions;
• the rounded cell portion further including a bottom portion including a plurality of circumferential flutes surrounding a central depression, the sidewall of the rounded cell portion including a plurality of linear flutes disposed substantially transverse to the TRP;
• wherein the sidewall flutes and circumferential flutes flex in response to the weight and dimensions of the fruit enabling the depression to move both parallel to and laterally with respect to the transverse axis A to accommodate different dimensions and weights of fruit disposed in each cell pocket.