With convenience culture continuing to drive market demand for online or app-based food delivery services, innovators across the globe are looking to revolutionise packaging solutions, particularly as everyday consumers become increasingly attuned to the use and impact of plastics on the environment.
With an estimated 500 million plastic takeaway boxes used in the UK takeaway
Industry each year, London-based food delivery platform, Just Eat, has joined forces with packaging firm Notpla to address this undeniable issue, by aiming to divert about 3,600 plastic boxes from entering the waste stream.
Introducing the world’s first seaweed-lined box for the takeaway sector, the delivery platform is currently trialing the boxes across a number of outlets, with each box completely recyclable and able to decompose in an at-home compost within four weeks.
Further impacted by the pandemic, a recent TripAdvisor survey found that while 42% of consumers plan to resume their usual, pre-Covid-19 dining out habits, 16% say they will avoid eating in restaurants, instead opting for takeaway and delivery services.
Understanding this shift in new dining attitudes, design studio PriestmanGoode is looking to refine takeaway packaging, upcycling food industry waste into Zero – an elegant packaging concept for takeaway meals.
Made from biodegradable or re-usable materials such as Piñatex, which uses cellulose from pineapple leaves, as well as cacao by-products, the result is a range of beautiful, practical and sustainable, bento-style food containers.
Perhaps the most groundbreaking concept recently seen in the field is the edible innovations founded by product designer Holly Grounds.
Shifting towards a future in which plastics and bioplastics are shunned entirely, the UK-based designer has proposed a series of food-based innovations, turning packaging into part of the meal itself – serving a dual purpose in reducing waste and even adding flavour.
The proposition? Dissolvable ramen packaging aims to replace the plastic sachets that usually accompany instant noodles. Her solution is an eco-friendly biofilm made from potato starch, glycerin and water, that – when infused with herbs and flavourings – doubles as a broth base for the noodles once dissolved in water.
A truly transformative initiative, we’re thrilled to see a significant rise in earth-friendly alternatives and game-changing products.
