Consumers Are Driving Sustainable Food Packaging Trends
When it comes to sustainable food packaging trends, foodservice businesses are rapidly migrating towards meeting consumer demands for eco-friendly, sustainable packaging.
With a focus on defending the planet, foodservice and other retailers are responding to consumer demands, not just to appease, but to associate with what consumers want most – more eco-friendly solutions for everyday purchases. Sustainability is the mantra and eco-friendly brands are in.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, an estimated 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted globally each year. Along with this is a huge amount of food packaging waste – much of it plastic, styrofoam, or other non-biodegradable materials.
For foodservice providers who want to be known for more than just their food quality and service, sustainable packaging becomes a part of the brand’s secret sauce recipe.
Consumers Will Pay More for Sustainable Packaging
Almost three-quarters of consumers say they are willing to pay more for products in sustainable packaging. Sustainable packaging preferences include those manufactured from corn starch, bagasse, and paper, as well as biodegradable plastic and reusable shopping bags and totes.
Besides being sustainable, all are either biodegradable and/or recyclable. With more than two-thirds of consumers identifying as “environmentally friendly,” they appreciate recyclable packaging because it allows them to contribute to society’s increasing sustainability goals.
Sustainable Packaging Trends a Response to Ocean Pollution
A Boston Consulting Group survey conducted with more than 15,000 U.S., European, and South American consumers, found that nearly half attempt to avoid harmful packaging, such as plastics. Of those consumers, 68% do so because they associate plastic with ocean pollution.
Many jurisdictions in the US have responded by enacting municipal or statewide regulations around single-use plastics and shopping bags including outright bans, as well as increasing recycling targets.
Manufacturers Are Responding Through Packaging Innovation
To meet consumer and brand demands, manufacturers are developing alternative packaging options that are sustainable, eco-friendly, biodegradable, and recyclable.
Popular sustainable packaging trends include:
Sustainable paper bags
Paper bags come in many shapes and sizes and can be customized to the brand for retail shopping, bakeries, seafood and produce, and pharmacies.
Reusable bags
Reusable shopping and grocery bags are designed to be stylish as well as eco-friendly. With the ability to customize for your brand, reusable shopping bags are a great way to stay in front of customers even when they are not in your store.
Bagasse bags
Highly sustainable bagasse bags and containers are one of the most functional options for the eco-friendly business and consumers. Also customizable, bagasse is toxin free and 100% biodegradable, compostable, and recyclable.
Bagasse trays
Besides being sustainable, bagasse trays are attractive and much sturdier than other paper-based foodservice trays and containers. Ability to withstand both refrigerated temperatures and oven temperatures up to 200 degrees, bagasse trays, and containers are a reusable option for what is typically a single-use packaging solution.
Sustainable Packaging Trends Respond to Numerous Concerns
Environmental concerns
Both consumers and businesses desire to be good stewards of the environment. Being seen as eco-friendly is desired by both because of the inherent feeling that it is the right thing to do. Sustainable packaging is seen as using the planet’s resources responsibly.
Cut costs
For retailers that are cost-conscious at the checkout counter and are looking for ways to save costs on shopping bags, reusable biodegradable plastic or bagasse totes are desirable. As consumers adopt the concept of reusable shopping totes, retailers can save on the expense of single-use plastic or paper bags.
Meeting consumer expectations
Consumers are as fickle as they are demanding. With consumer trends leaning toward eco-friendly sustainable packaging, meeting those demands makes business sense. Businesses that are seen as eco-friendly are attractive to consumers and garner greater loyalty and a higher customer satisfaction rating.
Use readily available materials
Bagasse bags and containers are a great example of a sustainable packaging trend that makes the most of existing materials that might otherwise be disposed of. Made from the leftovers of sugarcane processing, bagasse is one of the most sustainable packaging products there is.
The refuse from sugarcane processing was most often burned in the fields, contributing to CO2 levels, so using this renewable, sustainable resource for packaging is a credit to the manufacturers that believe in safeguarding our environment.
Offering options that are superior to plastic
Plastic is a very flexible product that has served us well in many instances, but eco-friendly options are superior in more ways than one. Bagasse, for example, can biodegrade in a home compost environment in under 90 days. Cornstarch containers are another sustainable packaging trend that is toxin and chemical-free, carbon neutral, and 100% biodegradable, compostable, and recyclable.
Many single-serving plastic containers are also surpassed by the advantages of bagasse containers which are oven safe for reheating. Typical single-use plastics melt rapidly and don’t have biodegradable attributes.
Paper bags are 100% biodegradable and recyclable and can even be reused.
Home composting
As consumers become more aware of environmental concerns, they are also taking up home composting. At a CAGR of 3.7%, the global compost market was valued at $5.7 Billion in 2021 and is expected to rise to $4.74 Billion by 2028.
The ability to compost sustainable packaging versus recycling makes it easier for consumers to dispose of and “reuse” single-use packaging. As an added bonus, compostable and sustainable packaging contributes to the nutrients of the compost allowing it to be repurposed as gardening fertilizer.
Be stylish
Retailers who embrace sustainable packaging trends can procure shopping bags and foodservice containers that can be customized to the brand. From custom colors to logos and slogans promoting the eco-friendly stance of the brand, they benefit from consumer goodwill – especially when shoppers reuse their totes within their venue and in others.
It also doesn’t hurt that sustainable packing is generally more attractive than non-biodegradable plastics and styrofoam!
Reduce waste
Research by the University of Toronto reveals that, by the year 2030, approximately 53 million tons of plastic will exist in our oceans, rivers, and lakes. So how much of this is recyclable?
In the U.S. in 2018, only 8.7% of all plastic waste was recycled, consisting mostly of plastic bottles (which is the only plastic packaging that is regularly recycled). This means that 91.3% of all plastic waste generated in the US in 2018 was not recycled!
Government regulators are also a driving force behind current sustainable packaging trends with a keen emphasis on reducing the number of plastics used. Packaging recyclability is increasingly important to those with an eye for safeguarding the environment.
Design for recycling
Even packaging that is designed for recycling can end up in a landfill. Sustainable packaging that is not just recyclable, but also biodegradable, allows consumers to have the choice of how to dispose of the product and lessens the burden on recycling facilities. Sustainable packaging products are made from recyclable, biodegradable materials making them the perfect solution for eco-conscious users.
Competitiveness
As more companies move towards sustainable packaging, others will be encouraged, or even forced, to follow suit to maintain competitiveness. Consumers are increasingly aligning themselves with brands that match their own values catalyzing retailers, including in foodservice, to follow suit.
The Future of Sustainable Packaging Trends
As consumers, retailers, and Government regulators focus on doing what it takes to reduce plastics and other single-use non-biodegradable packaging items in our environment, we expect that manufacturers will continue to innovate replacement products that are as equally, and sometimes more, satisfying.
Ask Servous About Sustainable Packaging and Retail Bags for Your Business
Current sustainable packaging trends are as much a response to consumer demand as they are to business focus on being eco-friendly. Responsibility for our environment lies with retailers as well as consumers and retailers now have a wide variety of affordable options to meet that demand.
Let our specialists at Servous walk you through our different offerings as well as tell you about our many customizing options. We can help you find just the right solutions for your store or restaurant to match your budget.
Contact us today to speak with our sustainable packaging experts.
