How To Shop For Food Storage Containers - Things To Keep In Mind

Finding the right takeout container is the most important part when you offer takeout services. If you choose low-quality materials that allow the food to get cold before it can be consumed, you’ll end up losing customers. But that’s not the only factor to consider. Today, people demand sustainability as well.

So, choosing the best reusable food containers is a bit more complex than it appears. If you’re unsure of which material to pick, you’ve come to the right place. Read on to discover how to choose the right takeout containers for your food business.

Common Food Storage Container Materials

The packaging material for your takeout container will vary depending on the type of food you offer. For instance, if you’re selling soup, you must use a material that can keep the food hot. On the other hand, salads can use a different packaging as they don’t need to be served hot.

Using a round paper food container is a good option for Chinese food since it is collapsible, lightweight, and microwave-friendly. However, ensuring the containers have a grease-resistant coating is essential, or it might cause leaks. Plus, paper containers can also be used for colder items, such as yogurt, ice cream, etc.

In contrast, round plastic microwaveable takeout containers are more versatile and robust for food. You can sell all sorts of food items in these.

Don’t Compromise on Appearance

The appearance of your takeout containers is important. While making the food taste good is important, using customized packaging can also enhance the customer experience.

Try going the extra mile to make your packaging look a little fancy. You can get custom cup sleeves or wraps with your brand’s logo on them.

Eco-Friendly and Certified Materials

These days, almost everything is about sustainability. When choosing the takeout container for your food business, be sure to keep this factor in mind.

Instead of using harmful plastics, opt for recyclable materials that don’t release harmful toxins. Try using more eco-friendly options, such as bamboo or paper ice cream cups, soup bowls, etc.

4 Best Disposable Takeout Containers for Your New Business

Entering the food industry is challenging due to several laws and regulations and many determined competitors. While starting a new business, you have to be mindful of various factors that will ensure your success and one such factor is the delivery of your food items.

Off-premises dining is popular nowadays, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown procedures. This created an influx of takeout orders, increasing the demand for disposable food containers. Even now, after the restrictions have been lifted, the demand for go-to food has not changed. People have embraced the trend in full swing as it conveniently fits their busy schedules and hectic routines.

This has prompted business owners to get innovative with their disposable takeout containers, ensuring there is a suitable container for each type of food order.

Eco-Friendly Containers

Eco-friendly food packaging is a raging trend, which is here to stay and for good reason. It is made of compostable and biodegradable materials, which can be easily recycled or reused without harming the environment.

Choosing this alternative will help you create a positive image in the customer’s mind, which is essential for your new business. Plus, you will be known as a business that supports sustainable initiatives. You can deliver food without worrying about your carbon footprint or environmental damage.

Paper Disposable Takeout Containers

This is a great option for your food service store. Paper takeout containers are easy to use and are extremely lightweight, making them easier to carry around. Plus, they are available in various sizes and dimensions, making them suitable for all types of orders. These disposable food containers are a durable and flexible alternative for any new busses. What’s more, it is a cost-effective option.

Retail Disposable Takeout Containers

This type of disposable container covers various food products, from pie and cake to coffee and soup. Depending on your business’s specialty and items, this can be a great option. You can offer food and drinks on the go to a large number of customers.

Tamper Evident Disposable Containers

These types of containers have recently become popular. They come with a seal that you need to break to open the lid and eat the food. It’s perfect for preventing leaks and drops. For example, a tamper-evident container is ideal for packing soups and other liquid food items.

Why You Should Avoid Using Styrofoam Takeout Containers?

For years, humans have eaten and drunk out of Styrofoam utensils, unaware of the danger it posed not only to their health but also to the environment.

Styrofoam- the consumers’ name for polystyrene foam – is made of styrene monomers which is a plastic derived from petroleum. Polystyrene foam is not only hazardous to human health, but it is also hazardous to the environment.

The Dangers of Styrofoam

Missouri Poison Center warns against using Styrofoam due to the gagging and choking hazard if a big piece of Styrofoam is consumed.  There is a potential the fragment will become lodged in the esophagus.

Regarding eco-friendliness, Styrofoam is not biodegradable and can stay in the environment for years.

It does, however, break down into smaller and smaller fragments known as microplastics, but these again cause bigger problems. 

Since the pieces are light, they are readily blown by the wind or washed away by rain into bodies of water. These incredibly fragile pieces break into little pieces that animals will consume.

In many cases, turtles, fish, birds, and other creatures mistake it for food if it ends up in the environment.

Recycling Styrofoam Is Expensive

Microplastics are frequently invisible to the naked eye, making cleanup exceedingly difficult.

To recycle Styrofoam, a company has to invest large amounts of money in some machinery and pricey compacting equipment. Furthermore, it is difficult to gather since the material splits into hundreds of small pieces due to its lightness!

In the end, many companies just give up, and the result is that Styrofoam isn’t recycled but is left to fill additional landfills year after year.

The Eco-Friendly Styrofoam Alternative

The bottom line is that Styrofoam is one of the most significant hazardous waste generators in the United States.

This is why we at Custom Cup Factory LLC (CCF) offer eco-friendly custom-printed disposable cups, disposable cutlery, drink containers, and storage containers that are disposable and 100% biodegradable. We have paper cups, paper ice cream containers, paper straws, and even custom-printed paper shopping bags.

Our Bamboo series includes soup containers and meal boxes that are compostable and biodegradable since they are constructed entirely of bamboo fiber. Similarly, we also have containers and paper plates made from unbleached plant fiber. Contact us for more information.