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Eco-Friendly Food Packaging for Sushi: The Sustainable Alternatives You Should Be Using
branded-sushi-packaging

Eco-Friendly Food Packaging for Sushi

If you’re selling sushi, you know how much disposable packaging is required for takeaway orders.

From sushi trays to sushi boxes and containers, a lot goes into keeping your dishes fresh and delicious. That’s before you’ve considered the extras, like chopsticks, sauce pots, condiments and what you’ll use for drinks packaging.

That’s why we’re here to help you find the most sustainable sushi packaging for your sushi bar, restaurant, or takeaway service. Let’s get started!

Related: Bubble Tea: Everything You Need to Know

Getting Started with Sushi Packaging

Sushi is one of the healthiest takeaway options, making it incredibly popular with consumers. It comes in many shapes and sizes, combining raw fish, seafood, vegetables and rice. While the art of creating delicious sushi may be intricate, packaging sushi is relatively straightforward. 

This presents your brand with a unique opportunity to go the extra mile and give your customers an unforgettable experience with your sushi packaging. The most cost-effective way to do this is with sustainable packaging alternatives or branded packaging options.

To get you started, here’s a quick rundown of the different kinds of eco-friendly packaging you can use for maki, uramaki, temaki sashimi and nigiri:

Sushi Trays with Lids

Sushi trays are the most common packaging option for takeaways. Serving sushi rolls on these kinds of trays makes artful presentation simple. The transparent lids are recyclable and keep everything fresh until it’s ready to be eaten. Plus, your customers will be able to see their delicious sushi inside its packaging. Made from bagasse, the trays are 100% plastic-free and completely biodegradable.

Sushi Platters with Lids

Trays are great for individual orders, while sushi platters are better for sharing. They’re also available with matching lids to protect your food and make transportation hassle-free. These platters are also made from eco-friendly bagasse and come in small, medium and large sizes.

Compartment Trays with Lids

Serving more than just sushi? Compartmentalised trays help keep sides, sauces and condiments separate. This means your customers can have a restaurant-style experience wherever they take their food. They’re also available with recyclable lids to keep their takeaway food tasting great. Plus, these trays are 100% biodegradable.

Our sushi packaging is versatile and can be used with an array of other food products, minimising the amount of packaging you need to buy separately.

Discover more sustainable cold food packaging.

Eco-Friendly Food Packaging for Sushi 1

Eco-Friendly Materials for Sushi Packaging

Most sushi trays and boxes are made from plastic. While cost-effective, it’s not eco-friendly and contributes to plastic pollution. Most of the time, it’s not recycled — or recyclable. The good news is that there are a few sustainable, food-safe materials for sushi packaging to suit your brand and budget:

Bagasse Sushi Trays

We’ve created sturdy sushi trays with a natural aesthetic, made from bagasse, an organic material made from the byproducts of sugarcane harvesting. Bagasse is popular with brands ready to move away from plastic-based packaging since it’s 100% biodegradable and compostable. Pair these trays with recyclable lids for maximum sustainability.

Kraft Sushi Boxes and Trays

Kraft packaging has a higher resistance to moisture and a rustic finish. Trays are ideal if you don’t need a lid for your packaging, but Kraft food boxes are a great option if your customers are taking away their meals. The Kraft packaging we stock is available in various sizes and is 100% recyclable, biodegradable and compostable.

Fastpac Packaging for Sushi

Fastpac packaging is closest to the classic sushi packaging customers are used to. The range includes Fastpac sushi trays, bowls and compartment trays made from 100% recycled polypropylene (PP). All are available with matching Fastpac lids for completely recyclable packaging that’s easy to dispose of responsibly.

Want to customise your sushi packaging? Get in touch for a free design quote.

Can You Recycle Sushi Containers?

Before you recycle sushi packaging, check what it’s made from. Some plastic sushi containers are recyclable, but some aren’t. Check the resin identification codes (RIC) stamped on the packaging to see whether or not your packaging can be recycled — it should be a small number in a triangle. 

If no number is present, the best thing to do for the environment is to dispose of it in general waste. This seems like bad practice, but if the packaging material can’t be identified, it will be rejected by recycling centres along with food packaging spoiled by oil, grease or moisture. 

To avoid this issue, retailers should err on the side of caution and choose recycled, biodegradable and compostable food packaging. Your sushi will be just as delectable if you use eco-friendly trays, containers and accessories! 

Related: The Best Packaging Materials for Takeaway Food and Drinks in 2022

Eco-Friendly Food Packaging for Sushi 2

Why Use Eco-Friendly Packaging for Sushi?

In the UK, the market for Japanese and sushi restaurants is valued at £1.3 billion, employing around 32,000 people across nearly 3000 businesses. With further growth in the sector anticipated, retailers will face stiffer competition from new and established brands.

This is where standing out becomes more about your mission and values rather than novelty. So what can retailers do?

Sustainable Packaging Helps You Connect

Eco-friendly packaging won’t just help you protect the planet; you can use it to help your brand connect with eco-conscious customers. People in this demographic are more likely to be wellness-focused and opt for sushi as their takeaway of choice. As a retailer, choose naturally renewable materials like bagasse, Kraft board and recycled plastic for your sushi packaging.

Food-Grade Packaging Keeps Customers Safe

Consumers are increasingly aware of the dangers of plastic in food packaging. Our food-grade packaging is 100% safe for use with food items so your customers can dine with confidence. All our packaging is stored in our BRCGS-certified storage facilities that comply with the highest standards of food packaging storage.

Biodegradable Packaging Is the Future

Give your customers packaging they can easily dispose of responsibly and make their takeaway experience significantly more enjoyable. It’s easy to make your customers feel good about buying from you by serving your sushi in natural packaging. Materials like Kraft board and bagasse can be composted or disposed of in general waste since they’ll degrade naturally in far less time than it would take for plastic packaging to decompose. 

Check out our online shop for more sustainable packaging options.

Eco-Friendly Food Packaging for Sushi 3

Eco-Friendly Accessories for Sushi Restaurants

Pots for Sauces

Our portion pots include Kraft board pots with either a polyethene  (PE) or polylactic acid (PLA) coating on the inside. This creates a barrier between the contents and the exterior packaging, so it isn’t spoiled by moisture or condensation. All of the pots in this collection are ideal for things like soy sauce, wasabi or pickled ginger. Branded containers are also available in any size and are printed with vegetable-based inks.

Bamboo Chopsticks

Disposable chopsticks need to be biodegradable, which is why ours are made from responsibly sourced bamboo. Once your customers finish their meals, these chopsticks will break down naturally into organic compounds. You can even brand your chopsticks or chopstick sleeves!

Biodegradable Napkins

When your customers are finished, help them tidy up with our eco-friendly napkins. They’re available in a wide range of colours to help you keep branding consistent on a budget, but you can customise these napkins with your logo or artwork to reinforce your branding.

Recyclable Paper Bags

No takeaway is complete without a classic paper bag! Hand over your sushi in a flat handle bag or twisted handle bag available in white or Kraft brown. Alternatively, add your branding — get custom printed paper bags and let your customers carry a walking advertisement for your business.

Interested in branded food packaging? Get in touch for a free design quote.

Interested in Branded Packaging for Sushi?

Branded packaging can help you dominate the competition, no matter the size of your sushi restaurant or takeaway business. As the UK’s eco-friendly food packaging experts, we’ve helped countless businesses maximise brand exposure and get custom packaging that protects the planet. 

Discover more sushi packaging and much more in our online shop. Want branded packaging? Get in touch via email or 01753 655344 for a free branded packaging design quote in just 48 hours.

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5 Vegan Takeaways That Will Blow Your Mind
vegan gyros

You can’t fail to notice the huge surge in demand for vegan food over the last 3 years.

Whether it’s popup food markets, big-chain supermarkets or local cafés, vegan food and substitutes can be found everywhere.

This surging market is still extremely buoyant, and, arguably, the demand is still higher than the supply.

This is great news for food retailers as it means they can diversify their offerings if they’re not already catering to vegan customers.

In many cases, the food outlet doesn’t need to be specifically vegan or even vegetarian.

Most vegan dishes can be served up by subbing in tofu and subbing out meat.

The key message of this article is that vegans too can enjoy fast food to go, hangover food, comforting stodge, carb day, cheat day, whatever you want to call it!

If you’re considering of offering some vegan dishes but aren’t quite sure where to start, here’s 5 spots that we think are nailing it.

Check out the following list of scrummy vegan takeaway dishes.

We seriously encourage you to try them and use them to inspire your own dishes!

vegan takeaway

Vegan Seitan Gyros – The Athenian – Bristol, London

If you’re in London or Bristol you must make time to grab yourself a Vegan Gyros from The Athenian.

A gyros (pronounced ‘yeer-ross’) is a traditional Greek street food item.

Carefully wrapped inside a soft Greek pita, seitan, a chewy protein-rich meat substitute is marinated with herbs, lemon juice and olive oil and served with vegan mayo, paprika-dusted fries.

It will change your life and leave you wondering how it’s not meat – try it with a bottle of stout!

vegan gyros

Mexican “Fish” Tacos – Club Mexicana at Pamela – London

As claimed on their website, Club Mexicana “make 100% vegan and totally banging Mexican-inspired street food”.

Club Mexicana are no strangers to the vegan street food scene.

Check out their tofu “fish” tacos and also expect heavily ‘guaced’ nachos, sweet bbq sauces, “cheesey” fries, crispy chipotle potatoes and so much more!

Banging!

vegan fish tacos

Vegan Pizza – Picky Wops – London

So you follow a plant-based diet and you’re craving that stringy mozzarella cheese pizza scenario that you just know nothing else can satisfy…

A real dilemma? No! Why?

Because Picky Wops!

Picky Wops, your new best friend, is a vegan pizza joint based out of Fulham.

What makes them special is that they have a whopping menu featuring no less than 8 different kinds of vegan cheese!

Whether it’s coconut mozzarella or cashew nut camembert you can expect a pizza with plenty of meat substitute, like seitan, and all the veg!

Two words: go there!

vegan pizza

Fresh Falafels – GoFalafel – Manchester

For the freshest tasting lunch ever, be sure to check out GoFalafel when you’re next in Manchester.

Serving super-fresh and seasonal salads with their falafel using generations-old Middle Eastern recipes, GoFalafel have been dubbed as Manchester’s best for falafel.

Everything on the premises is entirely vegan, couple your order with one of their freshly juiced fruit and veg smoothies and you will be smiling and glowing the whole day!

vegan falafel

Vegan Sushi Burritos – Happy Maki – Brighton

Heading to the coast for the weekend? Fancy a trip to a pier?

Well, make sure it’s Brighton that you go to and while you’re there, head to Happy Maki for what is probably one of the most original takeaway ideas we’ve come across: vegan sushi burritos!

Freshly prepared, these beauties are extremely popular.

Open Tuesday to Sunday, Happy Maki combine avocado with raw and cooked vegetables to create a multitude of different textures along with herbs, spicy coconut and teriyaki sauces.

You simply have to check this place out and devour something totally different that’s totally 100% vegan.

Happy Maki make being vegan an absolute breeze!

vegan sushi burrito
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Weird and Wonderful Packaging Designs
Corporate identity template set with pattern of baked goods. Business stationery mock-up with logo sample. Set of paper bag, cup, cards etc. Vector illustration.

Along with a lot of things in life, like people and potatoes, takeaway packaging comes in many different shapes and sizes.

Sometimes weirdness and oddities are fun and exciting.

Other times, unusual designs can turn out to be ground-breaking and super practical.

Sadly, it is also true that some takeaway packaging is just bonkers and simply ugly.

If you haven’t already guessed, we’ve gathered some examples of the above, so what follows is a candid analysis of takeaway packaging: the good, the bad and the ugly!

 

McDonalds Stack Box 4/10

Not everything that’s inspired is a good idea and nor is it guaranteed to take off.

This new Mcdonald’s concept meal packaging is one of those…

mcdonalds packaging

We can see where the designer is going with this one, but, really, it seems to be trying too hard.

The sachets balancing on top are stressful and precarious at best and, essentially, we feel that there is too much that can go wrong with the stacked up top-heavy design.

A commendable design, but we think: just stick to a recyclable paper bag!

 

Scottish Munchies Box 5/10

Let’s be honest, there’s a whole host of things to do in the world that are no good for us, but by Jove we’ll do ‘em!

This wonderfully artisanal creation from our Northern neighbours is no exception to the host of guilty pleasures and ill-advised pastimes that we all secretly love, and what’s more, the innovative use of takeaway packaging to accommodate such a dark masterpiece is, well, inspired…

May we present to you, The Munchies Box!

Munchies packaging

What’s in it? Everything.

One pizza box, filled with everything (including cheesy chips and kebab meat).

We were a little divided on scoring this one but concluded that Scotland’s Munchies Box gets 5/10; 10 points for being so brazen and unabashed but -5 points for the terribly ugly packaging.

 

Hand-held Pie Packaging 8/10

You can’t go far wrong with something that’s really simple.

What you see is what you get with this top-notch pie packaging.

Pie packaging

It’s a cardboard sleeve that finishes in a nice semi-circle on each side to compliment the circular shape of the pie, but it doesn’t stop there!

Those very same semi-circle-shaped ends are actually flaps which fold right back on themselves to enable the eater to get stuck in straight away!

Of course, pies tend to be about a few degrees above scolding for roughly 3 hours, but once the wait is over, you’re away.

Recyclable, easy to serve in, easy to eat from, nice.

 

Pizza Plate 10/10

Now this we love!

Pizza packaging

And here’s 5 reasons why:

  1. Pizza is great
  2. It folds flat which means you don’t have to rest your wrists on the corrugated and harsh edges of a traditional not-flat pizza box.
  3. It’s got little cutlery holders which are adorable and very practical, because;
  4. Greasy fingers are not great.
  5. It folds up into a perfect carry case which is stylish and easy to hold.

Top marks for Pizza Plate.

 

Tuna Burger Box 7/10

This next packaging design concept scores quite high on our list.

As mentioned previously, we’re fans of keeping it simple.

Tuna burger packaging

An honest, cardboard box is tricky to criticise and, particularly where burgers are concerned.

The box aspect is greatly suited to catching any falling debris and burger goodness which means you don’t have to worry about being shunned by your pals if you go in for the ‘5 second rule’, but they don’t!

What makes this design especially enjoyable is the decoy writing on the side.

Most people think they’re getting a jacket potato, when in fact, they open up the simple box and BOOM! It’s a tuna burger!

 

Paper Cup Tea Holder 3/10

This tea holder does not fill us with confidence.

tea holder packaging

It would be great if you wanted to look as British as possible while drinking from a takeaway cup, because you can hold it like a china cup with your pinky finger extended and sip away dandily.

However, as a heat guard, we can’t understand why the traditional sleeve needs changing.

It doesn’t look study and we’re not convinced that the dainty looking holder has that ‘grab a coffee and go’ feel to it.

Here’s another thing I bet you hadn’t thought of: whose cup holder can accommodate that shape!?

We think this design is ‘over egging the pudding’ somewhat and the humble, yet sturdy and effective, heat sleeve ought to be left to doing the fine job that it does.

 

If you’re considering standing out from the crowd or shaking up the packaging status quo in your town, then give our team a call about custom design.

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How to make your packaging stand out from the crowd
Starbucks packaging

The Starbucks logo is a globally recognised icon and one which surrounds the household name.

A familiar face to crowded high streets with a calming-green background, it’s undeniable that Starbucks coffee cups stand out from the crowd… or is it?

Is it really fair to say that a plain white cup with a green logo jumps out of any picture or view and meets your eye instantly?

Probably not.

What is true, is that when you do see that green logo with the siren/maiden/lady thing, it’s unmistakably ‘Starbucks’.

Last December, and piloted initially in the US, Starbucks launched a packaging campaign so great they gained the highest number of video views that season for their campaign advert:

Over 76 million views in under 1.5 months!

They beat all other brands across the whole period of Thanksgiving through to New Year 2018!

How?

They made their already iconic cup unusual and exciting.

Starting with an initial concept for the design of the holiday-season coffee cup, the cup featured seasonal, warming outlines of images of Christmas and merriment; wrapped presents, snowflakes and coca, all nestled around the Starbucks logo.

Starbucks pink packaging
Credit: Starbucks

Their short video, below, simply explained that you can “make the holiday your own” then featured the newly designed cup changing colours – you design your own!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53EgSWqQOwE

The cups in the advert feature all different colour schemes, vibrant and bold.

Even if the cups were coloured in terribly, they would be an object of humour and still likely standout.

Artists and within-the-lines-perfectionists would have really gone for it, only for the cup to then serve as a work of art and, you guessed it, free, ‘boosted’ advertising for Starbucks!

The campaign ticked all the boxes for the consumer; interaction and engagement with the product/brand, something different, something exciting (adults get to be big kids), and most of all, something personal.

 

Top Tips For Standout Packaging

As with Starbucks, doing something different to other people similar to you, will go a long way towards making you standout.

Though no longer trading, Californian-based bakers The Crazy Good Bread Co, are an example of a company whose packaging stood out because it was unusual:

standout bread packaging

Doing something slightly ‘against the grain’ will help you to get your packaging noticed, and that includes packaging your bread in a weird card holder thing.

Staying ahead of the curve is another way for your packaging to to stand out.

At a time when environmental concerns have never been higher, ensuring that you fully embrace the green/eco-friendly approach to waste and packaging will serve you really well.

Given that there are many, many businesses yet to do so, you will establish your brand as a conscious and progressive company that listens to its customers and considers carefully its own ethos and attitudes – this is a powerful consideration that certainly doesn’t go unnoticed.

Have a think about keeping it simple.

An effective way to make your takeaway packaging stand out from the crowd is to strip back your packaging.

Consider simple paper-wrapping techniques fastened and sealed with a sticker featuring a strong logo.

Stickers can be custom designed with your logo and the simplicity of the packaging will seem intriguing in its modesty and harks back to a more traditional approach to packaging takeaway food.

 

If you’ve got some ideas that you’re not sure of or you’re looking for inspiration to build on an already outstanding packaging concept then get in touch with our in-house design time who will be happy to bounce some ideas around and offer some advice.

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Compostable Food Boxes & Trays Available Now
Takeaway Food Boxes - Compostable - Takeaway Packaging

We are excited to share our new range of compostable takeaway boxes with you. These food boxes are made from a sturdy virgin Kraft board and are extremely versatile, being suitable for both hot and cold food.

Products Available
Nested Trays | Long Food Trays | Snack Boxes | Burger Boxes

Can we brand it?
We can brand these boxes with food safe inks. Our talented design team can create bespoke designs tailored to the nature of your business. Find out more about out design services here.

The Material
This Kraft is made from wood pulp, sourced from responsibly managed & sustainable forests. It is manufactured using a unique process to provide a higher durability, making it tear resistant. Products are lined with water resistant, plant based and biodegradable coating. These food boxes and trays can be recycled and are also compostable.

Features

  • Water & Oil Resistant
  • Recyclable and Compostable
  • Suitable for Hot and Cold Food

These products have been tested across a wide range of end of life options, you can find out more about these here. If you’re interested in any of these products, please get in touch with us for more information and to receive your unique quote.

Looking for other products? We are now the sole UK distributor for Ecoware. You can read all about our sole distributorship and view the full compostable range we have available here.

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