All you need to know about food Packaging

If you want your restaurant to continue generating revenue, you need to know how to package your food the right way. Here's everything you need to know about food packaging.

 

Importance of food packaging:

1. Food Protection:

Food packaging is important to protect the food during transportation and distribution and to maintain the condition of the food while it is being transported from the restaurant to the customer..

2. Food Safety:

Food packaging protects food from any contamination when delivered to customers and ensures food safety to eliminate or reduce food return complaints and risks, especially at a time when the Corona virus threatens people's lives. Returning a product has been proven to destroy brand credibility, reduce product sales, or even lead to a lawsuit. Food contamination can occur at any time in the supply chain, make sure you always serve healthy and safe meals.

3. Food freshness:

Proper packaging can preserve the freshness, appearance, taste, shelf life and quality of food, and make the meal look fresher and more attractive. This allows customers to keep a meal in the house for a period of time before eating it.

Moreover, it is important to maintain the temperature of the food, so the dishes that must be eaten cold, for example, must reach the customer cold. There is nothing worse than ordering ice cream, milkshakes or iced coffee and receiving it warm.

4. More sales:

Attractive packaging encourages customers to repeat purchase, which increases sales.

5. Promote your brand and raise its value:

Packaging is the point of contact for the brand with the customer and is an essential part of marketing and allows you to communicate food information directly with the customer. It also allows you to communicate with customers through the clever use of colors, design and words.

Plus, the packaging communicates your restaurant's values ​​to your customers. For example, if you value sustainability and the environment, consider using biodegradable packaging.

The main factors for choosing the right packaging in your restaurant:

1. Choosing the right packaging materials at the best prices:

Choosing the right materials is the first step in choosing packaging for your restaurant. You need to choose materials that allow for maximum freshness, keep freshness and protect the product as well as match your brand's aesthetics, environmental commitments and the type of food you serve. Choose the right food packaging material first no matter what design you want.

Furthermore, the choice of packaging materials depends on the food delivery needs of your restaurant such as the distance the food will travel during delivery, how long the food will remain in its package, as well as the temperature requirements.

After deciding what materials to use, you can work with a packaging designer to design packaging to suit your needs.

There are a variety of materials to manufacture food packaging including plastic, cardboard, styrofoam, paperboard, paper bags, biodegradable alternatives and sustainable packaging.

Each type of this material has its pros and cons as follows:

Styrofoam:

Styrofoam is a prominent choice for inspiring hot and store foods to help stable and control temperature..

Plastic:

The plastic is sturdy, leak-proof and protects food. It is probably the most widely used packing material because it is very cheap, durable and easy to transport.

However, plastic is not environmentally friendly because it is not biodegradable, while some plastics can leach toxic substances into your food.

Cardboard:

Cardboard is biodegradable, a sustainable choice, easy to print on, cost effective, and sturdy when folded properly. However, wet foods can melt it and it is not a very good temperature insulator.

However, many restaurants offer pizza delivery or custom cake boxes packaged in corrugated cardboard boxes, which provide thermal insulation and temperature regulation. To reduce the amount of heat released, the boxes can be closed tightly. While to prevent condensation and keep the pizza from sweating, the boxes have small holes on the side, which allow some air to escape.

Sustainable packing:

Sustainable packaging alternatives are much better for the environment, however, they are often more expensive. An example might be compostable containers made of bagasse, a by-product that remains after processing sugarcane. These containers can also be inserted into the oven to heat meals.

 

2. Trends in Packaging:

a. sustainable packaging:

Customers are not only looking for sustainable food options, they also demand sustainable packaging. With the growing awareness of consumers, it is important to look for food packaging materials that are not harmful to the environment.

Plastic and anything that cannot be recycled is no longer an option for people who support the environment. Prioritize recyclable, reusable, biodegradable, eco-friendly, and even edible packaging that will add more value to your brand spirit.

Packaging with the least amount of materials:

Simple packaging is packaging free from any unnecessary materials and the messy designs are simpler and more elegant. Where it refers to reducing the mess of the packaging process. From the design and appearance to the packaging, everything brings a sense of simplicity to the food.

Plain packaging is cost-effective, and often environmentally friendly. It helps you better communicate the core message of your brand and increase awareness with your customers, as there are no additional design elements that create clutter and clutter the message. Consider including relevant information and graphics on the packaging and use only essential materials.

Custom packaging:

Think of custom packaging as what Coca-Cola does with its pre-labeled cans. Just as providing a customized customer experience is important within a restaurant, personalization also offers many benefits when applied in packaging. It helps you build stronger and more emotional connections with your customers and gives you free word-of-mouth marketing where customers feel special when they receive a personalized personalized note every time they order food.

For example, you can leave space on the packaging and then write a small note that reads “Made with love for “customer name”, stay safe.”

Convenient packaging:

Customers are looking to comfortably eat at home without having to cook or prepare dishes. So, consider offering a lightweight, portable and resealable package, where they can simply eat as much as they want or close the package and eat later.

3. Creating Brand Awareness:

The packaging is a key identity tool that tangibly represents your brand's personality. It helps draw customers' attention to your brand, and differentiates you from your competition.

Packaging is an ideal marketing tool as well as an extension of your branding, so consider as example your Custom Donut Boxes brand personality when hiring someone to design your packaging, not to mention that you need to include your company name or logo on the packaging to keep your brand visible to anyone who sees your packaging Encapsulation.

In general, the material should align with your brand, the design elements and information on the packaging should correctly depict your restaurant, and the packaging should communicate with customers and capture their attention.

Choose packaging that ensures that your food is protected and safe through transportation as well as looks and tastes as great as it should. While the design should be able to communicate your brand personality and be visually appealing to your customers. This will help you improve your brand image and increase sales.