Commentary

What to know if your brand wants to dump styrofoam

Christina Donahue, president of Dining Alliance, offers up tips and advice to fast casuals interested in tossing styrofoam for more eco-friendly containers and utensils.

Photo by iStock.com

October 23, 2018

By Christina Donahue is the President of Dining Alliance

When the San Diego city council voted to ban styrofoam containers in all of its restaurants earlier this month, it became the latest in a string of municipalities putting stricter requirements on packaging and utensils. This summer, Seattle voted to ban plastic straws in all of its restaurants. And following a round of lengthy legal challenges a styrofoam ban in New York City will go into effect January 1, 2019.

The trend toward more eco-friendly containers and utensils is growing nationwide. Dining Alliance is a group purchasing organization that helps 20,000 independent restaurants secure better pricing on everything from tomatoes to to-go boxes. Our data show that orders for paper and plastic to-go containers have soared 130 percent year over year, compared to just a 20 percent increase in styrofoam containers.

That move may be for more than environmental and legislative reasons. As more customers order take out and delivery, restaurants want to make sure the food arrives at home in good shape.

Fast casual restaurants increasingly rely on a hybrid of in-store and at-home dining. Top-performance to-go containers preserve the quality of the food so that the in-home dining experience matches in the in-store experience
Millennials and GenZ customers tend to favor fast casual restaurants like Chipotle, Smashburger, Shake Shack, etc and put an increasing emphasis on eco-friendliness compared to older generations.

Customers have certain perceptions about a fast casual brand's status in terms of sourcing, including: organic, sustainable, humanely raised, antibiotic free, etc. These perceptions can be influenced and are often apparent through their usage of disposables. If a brand with a sustainable/organic food program uses non-organic, non-biodegradable, eco-unfriendly disposable products, the marketing disconnect can damage the reputation of the brand.

The move to higher quality containers will come at a cost, though. Dining Alliance reports that paper and plastic to-go items on average cost more than double foam to-go items ($58 per case vs $25 per case). With that in mind, here are a few things fast casual operators should consider when making the move away from styrofoam.

Don't just think about the increased cost of higher end containers. Also consider the increased opportunity for more profits. Better containers can mean better presentation, which can mean happier, more frequent customers. You may also be able to make more “delicate” food items available for take out or delivery. This can help offset the higher cost of higher end containers. Consider it an investment in the customer experience.
Consider investing in technology to reduce waste of more expensive disposables. Automatic napkin dispensers can keep customers from grabbing handfuls that they aren't going to use. New dispensing technologies, like Georgia Pacific's SmartStock line are designed to reduce waste and over-use by encourage diners to take only the amount of utensils and condiments that they need. These options may appear more expensive on the surface (when compared, for example, with a case of 500 plain white plastic forks), but offer operators savings in shipping costs, storage space, labor costs and waste.
Make use of every resource available to you to get the best pricing possible. If you're planning on sticking with a particular disposable item over the long term, lock in a contract with a manufacturer or distributor that will guarantee consistency in pricing. Better yet, work with a group purchasing organization that can secure the lowest pricing possible, even for independent operators. Dining Alliance has found that the disposable category overall is one of the areas where they are most likely to save money for restaurant operators - typical disposables savings fall in the range of 15-30 percent.

Following these steps and taking a proactive approach can help protect operators and make the move away from styrofoam to disposable product options better for the environment, better for customers, and better for their bottom lines.