App-enabled reusable food boxes

Customers return their used ‘CauliBoxes’ to conveniently located kiosks

Spotted: Takeaway orders in the UK in January 2023 were 12 per cent lower than the same period in 2022, something experts attribute to the increased cost of living along with more people eating in restaurants than in previous years. Despite the reduction in food orders, experts expect overall demand for delivery services to continue growing, with one survey indicating that nearly two-thirds of consumers intend to order takeaways and grocery deliveries at least as frequently as they did in 2022. 

To help restauranteurs make the most of slim business margins while also improving sustainability practices, reusable takeaway food packaging company CauliBox is working towards saving 15 million single-use takeaway containers every year. The company provides food businesses with recyclable takeaway food boxes and coordinates the pick-up, cleaning, and redelivery processes that make it possible to switch from single-use to reusables.  

CauliBox takeaway boxes and cups are made from BPA-free polypropylene, and each piece of packaging is usable at least 400 times before being recycled. Reuse eliminates the carbon emissions from both recycling and production, and each use of a CauliBox saves 9.75 litres of water and emits 237 grammes less carbon dioxide than that produced by a typical single-use plastic item.  

Smart return kiosks track every piece of packaging, and consumers use an app to record their returns. Boxes can be dropped at any return location, and regular customers are rewarded with loyalty points. Each piece of packaging is commercially cleaned to meet food-grade sanitation standards.

Single-use packaging from the food industry is a huge scourge on the environment. Luckily, Springwise has spotted many innovators in the archive who are looking to revamp food packaging, including a reusables-as-a-service model and tracking software for circular food containers.

Written By: Keely Khoury