Consumers are choosing to be eco-friendly with their wallets. One study from 2023 found that green products account for 9.2% of new products, up from just 0.5% five years prior. Eco friendly takeout containers help restaurants:
- Go green
- Cater to customer expectations
- Take a stance to be sustainable
If you're a restaurant owner who is debating whether to invest in eco takeout containers or not, we'll cover a handful of reasons that it makes sense to go green.
1. Eco Friendly Take Out Containers Boost Brand Image
Customers are informed and concerned about the environment. Aligning your brand with these same values demonstrates your commitment to sustainability. For your brand, this means creating a powerful message that will resonate with consumers.
Your eatery's guests are:
- Choosing to spend their money with companies that are trying to take steps to improve their environmental impact.
- Searching for responsible brands, which you're showing by taking a proactive approach to going green.
Brands should leverage the steps that they take to go green by aligning their messaging with the eco friendliness you're trying to create. For example, if your containers are compostable, you can add clear messaging that the container is 100% compostable.
Subtle messaging goes a long way in increasing your brand's image and can turn into a major driver of sales among eco friendly consumers.
2. Businesses Proactively Prepare for Sustainability Regulations
Single-use plastic and packaging regulations should have been a green light for all restaurant owners to make a change. Cities, counties and states are enacting changes that put immediate pressure on eateries.
You can wait for these changes to reach you, or you can take steps today to:
- Change your position on how you impact the environment.
- Take a proactive approach to being sustainable.
Regulations may or may not become law in your location. Legislation changes are bound to happen, and if you take an eco friendly approach, you'll stay ahead of them when they do.
Work with your suppliers to help you select alternative materials and containers for your eatery.
Procurement, when legislative changes happen rapidly, can be a challenge for restaurant owners. Supplier shortages will slow your business down, but since you're choosing to adapt these practices ahead of the curve, you'll overcome them with greater ease.
3. Customer Experience and Loyalty Increases
Loyal customers are profitable ones. You want your regulars to become a part of your marketing team, referring their friends and family to your business. Often, they'll bring people in with them because the experience you create is worth the money.
Eco-friendly packaging and containers add to this experience and foster a positive perception of your brand.
But you need to expand beyond your containers and consider your overall packaging. Your packaging should make people feel good about buying your food. Verbiage must include eco-friendliness and your commitment to doing what's right for the environment.
Turn your simple eco take out food containers into a billboard mentioning:
- Your brand
- Eco-friendly commitment
- Logo and brand message
Leverage your packaging to enhance your customer experience while increasing loyalty.
4. Eco Take Out Containers Reduce Waste
Waste is a major problem across industries. Did you know that the average person contributes 4.9 pounds of waste to landfills annually? Landfill waste is a concern for all consumers, and something as simple as changing up your packaging will make all the difference.
Consider:
- Biodegradable packaging which is made from materials that break down over time with the help of microorganisms.
- Compostable packaging that turns from packaging material to nutrient-rich compost that you can use to feed plants.
- Recyclable materials that require processing to turn the material back into acceptable products.
If you opt for biodegradable or compostable packaging, you're greatly reducing the waste in landfills and helping your customers make a smarter decision by shopping at your establishment.
Plastic fills landfills with 380 million tons of waste annually. Replacing plastic with compostable materials makes a dramatic change in the environment.
And you can start your customers on the right path with the packaging you supply.
5. Adds to Your Marketing and PR Potential
Biodegradable takeout containers unlock your marketing and PR potential. Your commitment to sustainability tells a story that becomes a part of your brand. You can show off your new packaging and materials on:
- Social media by telling a story of why you're making the change and highlighting how regular packaging fills landfills.
- Create and share blog posts with customers who join your newsletter or land on your blog from Google, social media and other avenues.
- Partnership collaborations with companies that pair with eco-conscious companies, like yours.
When you attend events or sponsor local sports teams, you can add copy that highlights that you're opting to be eco-friendly.
Want to take it a step further?
Join in on cleaning up your community. Ask others to share the experience on social media and choose a winner who receives a $100 gift card. By making cleanup into a competition, you'll get the most out of participants and also drum up exposure at the same time.
6. Eco Takeout Containers Provide Long-term ROI
It's true. Biodegradable and compostable containers may cost more money than their plastic counterparts. You'll spend more on your initial investment in supplies, but earn a higher ROI when you consider the branding, image and marketing potential it offers.
And your eco-friendly restaurant will be modern, hip and show that it's ready for long-term success.
Restaurants are in charge of how they impact the environment with the materials that they choose. You can opt for plastic materials that harm the environment, or you can spend a little more on sustainable materials.
Over time, eco-friendly choices will help you build a strong brand and reputation that allows you to position your restaurant in a positive light.
When legislative changes are put in place that require new eco friendly supplies, you'll be ahead of the game and will not suffer from operational challenges due to the changes that are made.