Fast casuals ushered in more than a new foodservice style when they began their inroads into the restaurant industry. They've triggered a new approach to the ubiquitous "to go" packaging, as well.
After all, fast casuals are about quality, so chain executives want diners to have the same experience at home as they do in their units.
"Fast casuals tend to be more forward-thinking operations, so they're more open to new packaging, new styles, new innovation," said Joe Pawlak, vice president of Chicago-based restaurant consultant Technomic.
But now that this niche has opened the take-home bag, the boxing issue is about to get more competitive.
"Restaurateurs who are on top of their game will use packaging to add value to their product, distinguish it from the next guy's and create a more profitable market share," said Bruce Harte, Ph.D., a professor at Michigan State University's school of packaging.
Here is a look at the top five trends driving packaging in 2008:
Design
If you want to stand out, people need to see you. That's why entries in the QSR Magazine/Foodservice & Packaging Institute's annual packaging competition over the past few years have stepped up the glitz to emphasize brand and image projection, said president John Burke.
Graphics rule, with copy limited to cute slogans as opposed to more serious instructions or restaurant mission statements. Take, for instance, International House of Pancake's take-home bag. "It has wonderful color photography of stacks of pancakes, and you can see that rascal 100 yards away," he said.
Pawlak even has seen some operators emboss their bags.
Citrine New World Bistro, which won the competition's overall packaging of the year award in 2007, grabbed the spotlight by carrying its vibrant color graphics across the entire shooting match: cups, plates, bowls, bags, wraps, napkins and carry-out containers.
"Our primary packaging objectives were to ensure that we conveyed the warmth, visuals and brand imagery that guests enjoy when dining at the bistro, and to develop some special, convenient touches that would enhance our guests experience even when they don't dine with us," said Jeff Shamburger, Citrine New World Bistro's vice president of marketing.
The Bistro has been open since July 2007, and "dash & dine" sales have increased about 40 percent (as a percent of total sales) since they opened, he said.
"Guest feedback on the packaging makes us believe that it's something that really enhances the takeaway experience," Shamburger said. "When we first began developing our new, fast-casual dining concept, we made the conscious decision to really focus on packaging since it is so crucial to developing repeat guest business — especially in the areas of takeout and catering."
Burke said it's obvious the people who stand out have thought "a lot" about their packaging angle. And as long as marketing remains in the forefront, the packaging is likely to get a thumbs-up from chain executives and consumers alike. That certainly was the case with Sbarro's hinged cup lid that stored a promotional music CD inside.
"Packaging is becoming a walking billboard," Burke said. "When someone sees a Starbucks cup, it drives sales to that outlet because it announces there is one nearby."
Portability
Until recently, great marketing ideas weren't always flawlessly executed — such as giving consumers an attractive cup that didn't fit in the console's cup holder.
"Sometimes marketing gets ahead of the technology a bit," Harte said. "What we are seeing now is technology catching up, so packaging will be a much more integrated approach."
For starters, containers that attach to a console via fabric fasteners or a special adhesive are rapidly approaching. Citrine New World Bistro's competition entry featured an ingenious seat-belt flap to keep food buckled in should the consumer make a sudden stop.
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Look for pressure-sensitive closures to debut in the near future. Cold-fed adhesives can keep liquid in until the consumer applies directional force to break the bond. Harte also expects more fast casuals to take advantage of heat sensors on their packages in 2008, followed shortly by audio microchips that talk the diner through storage and reheating steps.
The green factor
Focus groups consistently reveal the importance of sustainability in restaurant packaging, but we haven't reached the point where it's built in automatically at the manufacturer's level. Restaurateurs need to specify in their orders if they want earth-friendly, or green, materials, Harte said.
And fast-casual executives continue to define "green" in terms of biodegradability as opposed to permanent ware, too, Pawlak said. The rub comes from the fact that many of those materials provide inferior barrier qualities to gases and water vapor — exactly the opposite of what food operators need to offer another important packaging trend: durability.
Durability
Fast-casual menu items make tasty leftovers, so chain executives need to keep reheating issues firmly on the front burner of their packaging strategies. That's why foam polyprophelene is becoming the darling of the industry — the black bottoms and clear lids not only offer a lot of pop, but the material's melt temperature can stand up to the microwave.
New materials such as biopolymers made from either corn sugars or potato starch should add still more variety and possibilities to foodservice packaging this year, said Lynn Dyer, FPI's vice president. Of course, like the current green solutions, it's a pricier choice.
Budget
Cost is one trend that won't surprise fast-casual operators in the least. According to Pawlak, it's not unusual for this niche to spend twice as much on reheatable packaging as their fast-food counterparts, so the tolerance level is higher. And green options can quadruple the price of a polystyrene container.
"When it's all said and done, these guys realize the consumer's overall experience is going to be positive," he said.
Perhaps that's because the fast-casual's audience will tolerate a price point that covers these costs, Burke said. After all, Charlie Trotter's To Go units "charge daggone near what he does for the white linen tablecloth service," he notes. "Whether the packaging costs 30 cents instead of 15 cents doesn't matter. What he cares about is that when you get home, the food presentation, the quality, remains as it would if you were in his restaurant. He wants the package that will deliver that performance."
