When it comes to the trend of eco-friendly catering packaging, catering service companies are rapidly shifting to meet consumers' demand for environmentally-friendly packaging. Focused on protecting the earth, catering service and other retailers are responding to consumers' desires not only to appease them, but also to connect with what consumers want most, providing more environmentally responsible solutions for everyday purchases.
Sustainability is of paramount importance, making eco-friendly brands more popular. According to data from the United Nations catering and Agriculture Organization, an estimated 1.3 billion tons of catering are wasted worldwide each year, resulting in a large amount of catering packaging waste, much of which is made from plastics, polystyrene foam, or other non-biodegradable materials. Eco-friendly catering packaging has become part of the secret sauce recipe for catering service providers who want to be known not only for their quality of catering and service, but also for their eco-friendliness.
Nearly three-quarters of consumers say they're willing to pay more for products that use eco-friendly catering packaging. Eco-preferred catering packaging includes packaging made from corn starch, sugarcane pulp, and paper, as well as biodegradable plastics and reusable shopping bags and tote bags. All products are biodegradable or recyclable in addition to being sustainable. Over two-thirds of consumers embrace "eco-friendliness," favoring recyclable packaging because it allows them to contribute to society's growing sustainable development goals.
A Boston Consulting Group survey of over 15,000 US, European, and South American consumers found that nearly half of the consumers are attempting to avoid harmful packaging, such as plastics. Among these consumers, 68% do so because they associate plastics with ocean pollution. Many jurisdictions in the United States have adopted municipal or statewide regulations on disposable plastics and shopping bags, including outright bans and higher recycling goals. To meet the demands of consumers and brands, manufacturers are developing sustainable, eco-friendly, biodegradable, and recyclable alternative packaging options. Sugarcane pulp is used to create a variety of eco-friendly catering packaging, including but not limited to takeaway containers, plates, and bowls. In some countries, sugarcane pulp can also be used to replace wood in the production of pulp, paper, and cardboard.
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