Online marketplace Deliveroo has developed new packaging which has been made available for sale to restaurants via its webstore.
The company said it is a “more sustainable” takeaway box, designed by students as part of an annual challenge in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University, which aims to replace the conventional plastic-lined containers typically used in deliveries. It is produced by global packaging manufacturer Biopak.
The new packaging is the result of Deliveroo’s first Sustainable Packaging Challenge in 2024, which set apprenticeship students on the professional packaging BSc with the task of creating an “innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective design” to prevent spillages and maintain food at the right temperature.
Apprentices Josephine Cooper and William Shaw created the winning design, which involved inventing a new sealing system that uses additional folds in the cardboard to create a more secure locking mechanism.
Building upon an existing design means it comes without significant extra cost, according to Deliveroo, which said it makes it “a highly competitive option for restaurant partners”.
Jen Bagshaw, head of packaging at Deliveroo, commented: “We are constantly seeking innovative solutions to global challenges.
“Partnering with the talented apprentices at Sheffield Hallam University has been an inspiring journey, allowing us to champion the next generation of sustainable packaging designers. By providing the platform and financial backing to turn the students’ creative vision into a reality, we are thrilled to see this solution officially launch on our webstore for our partners to purchase.”
Shaw and Cooper said in a joint statement: “Seeing our design progress from a university project to a live product on the Deliveroo webstore is an incredible feeling.
“We focused on creating a locking mechanism that performs in the real world, and we’re proud to know our work can now be used by restaurants, reaching customer front doors across the UK. We hope this proves that sustainable packaging can be both highly functional and cost-effective.”
Specifying the environmental credentials of the packaging, Deliveroo said ‘sustainability’ in this context refers to the packaging’s end of life. The packaging is made from PLA-lined paperboard and is designed to be industrially compostable, where facilities exist, meaning it can be disposed of with food waste and turned into compost rather than going to landfill.
Its lining is made from a plant-based material rather than conventional fossil-fuel plastic. Deliveroo noted that food-contaminated packaging is rarely recycled, so compostable packaging offers an alternative end-of-life route when collected and processed through appropriate composting systems.
Last month, London’s Royal of Art announced it as working alongside Holland & Barrett on a packaging project, as part of the institution’s annual Grand Challenge. The aim is to devise more innovative, inclusive, and sustainable packaging solutions.
[image credit: Deliveroo]
