Profitability, reliability, differentiation and sustainability – through close discussion with our foodservice customer-base, these pillars have emerged as the prominent issues facing the UK’s foodservice industry. As we’ve discovered, an innovative approach is the key to overcoming these distinct challenges.

Profitability, as potentially the biggest challenge the industry faces, is shaped by a multitude of developments. Rising material costs due to global supply issues, squeezed consumer spending and reduced disposable income due to the cost of living crisis, rising energy costs and rapidly increasing inflation have all played their role in crating a highly challenging environment for foodservice suppliers and hospitality businesses to thrive. As one source recently highlighted, “Year-on-year inflation in the foodservice sector hit 13.6% in March 2022, the latest CGA Prestige Foodservice Price Index shows. The figure is the highest in the history of the Index”(1).

Reliability and consistency for consumers has no doubt become a major issue for foodservice providers – largely shaped by global supply issues from the Coronavirus pandemic that very much continue to affect international trade. More recent global events have only exacerbated supply problems, “Supply problems in Ukraine and elsewhere come on top of soaring costs”(2).

Standing out in a hyper-competitive foodservice market requires a greater need than ever for differentiated packaging, “Takeaways, meal kits, and the like, are now an event in the way that going to dinner once was, thus it’s important to create a complete experience”(3). As such, foodservice packaging needs to strike the ideal balance between being reassuringly familiar and practical while being excitingly innovative and distinct.

Despite the other major packaging challenges shaped by recent international events, sustainability continues to be at the forefront of the consumer mindset – solidified further by legislation changes such as the introduction of the Plastics Packaging Tax – a challenge many may have been unprepared for, “the Foodservice Packaging Association has warned that the sector is ‘not ready’ for the Plastics Packaging Tax”(4).

Avert your packaging headaches with our 3-step solution

Investigate
We investigate how these challenges affect your business, uncovering your specific packaging priorities and objectives. We detail all timeframe, budget and stakeholder considerations.

Solve
The array of trusted manufactures we work with and the efficient communication we maintain with them lets us move mountains in minutes! We can bring ideal packaging solutions to life with total efficiency.

Impress
We don’t purely judge our success on our ideas and resourcing, we form it on the tangible, deliverable benefits for your business – the ideal packaging in the right place and the right time – every time.

Bespoke Packaging Development

We’re offering more bespoke solutions than ever before! Our bespoke capabilities now rest seamlessly alongside our more standardised packaging ranges with custom projects ranging from small but crucial bespoke adjustments and enhancements through to entirely bespoke solutions developed from the ground-up. When working on such bespoke foodservice packaging projects, we don’t limit ourselves based on the capabilities of our established network of manufacturing partners. Instead, we’re continuously expanding our reach of suppliers, seeking out the latest breakthroughs in production techniques, and material technologies which, of course, bring exciting new possibilities with them.

Have a bespoke idea?

Have you seen something you like but don’t know where to buy it? Or had an idea but you don’t know what next? Get in touch with our team to share you ideas and we will help make it a reality for you.

(1) https://cgastrategy.com/foodservice-price-index-hits-another-record-high-as-supply-issues-mount/
(2) https://cgastrategy.com/foodservice-price-index-hits-another-record-high-as-supply-issues-mount/
(3) https://inside-packaging.nridigital.com/packaging_may21/takeaway_packaging_throwaway_culture
(4) https://resource.co/article/fpa-foodservice-packaging-sector-not-ready-plastic-tax