Is Your Food Packaging Ready for the Rise of Delivery Apps?

Until recently, most Americans enjoyed restaurant food in their home in one of two ways: they ordered a pizza or they reheated the previous day’s leftovers in a microwave. Little was required to boxing up the food because dining experience and sale was already complete. For the restaurant, the customer journey ended when they walked out the door. That’s all changing.

Companies like Grubhub, Eat24, OrderUp and Caviar are all vying for the $70 billion food delivery market by expanding beyond pizza and Chinese food. Now, these food delivery businesses supply their own fleet of drivers who pick up to-go orders from restaurants that otherwise never offered delivery services of their own. Pizza, however, will still likely hold a strong market share of deliverable food.

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Over here at Ernest Packaging Solutions, this news can only mean one thing: It’s time for packaging innovation in food delivery. Not everything will fit so neatly into a pizza box (the standard of food delivery packaging) nor will every cuisine be appealing in a plain brown box.

Increasingly, food delivery companies are changing that game because the to-go market now reaches far beyond pizza and other fast grub. Hungry eaters with refined palates are ordering tikka masala, sushi, filet mignon and other fine cuisine into their homes. And the food packaging should be equally refined to provide customers the culinary experience the chef intended. After all, we eat with our eyes first. Presentation is everything.

Food delivery packaging offers a prime opportunity to engage your brand with your end users in multiple ways. From meticulously branded delivery packaging to an enticing unboxing experience of aromas, restaurants must delight their at-home customers to get them to order again…or dine in.

That’s the crux, right there! Branding encompasses your customer’s entire experience with your packaging as much as the product within the box.

Let’s talk about how your food packaging may need a revamp. Contact Ernest Packaging Solutions today to see how our engineers can craft a solution that works for you and keeps your customers hungry for more. Also, check out our No More Brown Box and Unboxing white papers for insights on how to use your delivery packaging to reinforce your brand’s story.