How to Package Food for Takeout and Delivery

Whether your business is cooking up terrific takeout or delivery, hot or cold, it is essential to consider what packaging works best to maintain the quality of your food. You want to make sure your food stays just as fresh as it was made for your customers to fully enjoy their eating experience! 😋

The food packaging industry has amassed a wide selection of different products to suit your hospitality needs. With a comprehensive menu of choices, it is tricky to know what packaging to look out for and how to keep your food in top-notch condition.

In this article, you'll discover:

• what to look out for in takeout and delivery packaging
• how best to package your food
• the latest clamshell packaging to help you stand out from the crowd.

🍴 What to look for in takeout and delivery packaging?

There is a range of ever-changing packaging products out there. Depending on your service, you'll need to consider several different characteristics.

Sustainable materials

Ensure your food packaging is eco-friendly with sustainable materials to avoid generating excessive amounts of non-renewable waste. For many businesses in the food industry, compostable and biodegradable choices are more readily available to choose from and customize while working just as well as traditional methods.

For example, a common sight and more environmentally responsible alternative to styrofoam packaging can be found in eco-friendly clamshell takeout containers. They're made from tree-free bagasse – a compostable resource that is a byproduct of sugar extraction.

They're:

• suitable for hot and cold foods
• microwave and freezer safe
• oil-resistant.

Pair your compostable clamshell containers with food-safe wax paper – which acts as a moisture and grease barrier - as an inner lining. noissue wax paper is BPI certified and meets ASTM D6400 standards for commercial compostability.

Additionally, our custom sandwich bags are made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified 40% recycled fibers, and are curbside recyclable. Fill with your sammies or subs, fold the self-opening top down, and fit into a clamshell container for an effortlessly convenient and compostable takeout package.

Customizable branding

Just because packaging may be eco-friendly doesn’t mean it can’t be aesthetically pleasing, either! You want unique packaging that leaves a long-lasting impression on the customer. Personalizing your packaging with your brand identity can make all the difference.

With our online templates, roll labels, sticker labels, and custom wrap paper, you can personalize packaging to promote your restaurant or service. You can even upload a design you've made elsewhere.

Our custom roll labels are made from FSC-certified materials and printed with compostable inks. They are easy to dispense from the rolls, and you can add your logo, a brand design, an interactive QR code, or important information on your products and packaging.

You can also add custom roll labels to sandwich bags, burger boxes, and takeaway containers. There are plenty of choices to suit your branding needs that are also more eco-friendly!

Durability

The ability to make packaging last a long time is an important feature and avoids breakage during the carry and transport of food. Durability offers advantages in reducing damage and costs and maintains the food quality during transit.

We offer packaging that provides durability, making the packaging reusable and lasting longer. noissue Food Wrapping Paper has a thickness of 38gsm (comparable to baking parchment), which allows it to be flexible enough for presentation yet sturdy enough for performance.

Accurate sizing

The correct sizing is another characteristic that can make or break the customer experience. Pick a size that's too big, and the food will slide from side to side, making it unappealing upon arrival. However, if your packaging is too small, the food will be squashed.

You want just the right size, which is why we offer Food Wrapping Paper in seven sizes that you can mix and match to suit your food presentation needs.

User-friendly customer experience

When it comes to elevating the customer experience, sustainable and durable packaging is essential and valued by the customer.

There is nothing more enjoyable than receiving food that is fresh, intact, and at the right temperature. Sustainable packaging can still offer you all you need to provide the exact customer experience you're hoping for while keeping your brand presentation consistent.

🍟 How to package food for takeout and delivery

Opting for versatile packaging is sensible whether your food is hot, cold, frozen, fresh, or fast. Here are some ways to best package your food for the long haul to hungry customers.

Hot food

Anyone expecting piping hot food would be horrified to find it cold. When packaging hot food, it is vital to use heat inductive materials. Aluminum foil is regarded as the best packaging for hot food because of its heat inductive qualities, which will hold heat well and keep your customers happy.

However, since it’s not the most eco-friendly option, avoid overwrapping hot food with too much foil that could cause sogginess, and can’t be recycled or composted. For dry goods, like baked pastries and sandwiches, greaseproof food wrapping paper or sandwich paper will do the trick without dampening items.

Fresh food

As more and more consumers want to maintain a healthier lifestyle, it is no surprise that the fresh food market is as buoyant as ever. Investing in smarter food packaging is well worth it and keeps our much-loved fruit, vegetables, and sandwiches as fresh as possible.

By having packaging that removes the oxygen that surrounds food, you can create a resistance to humidity and water vapor, which will preserve freshness. Providing this extended shelf-life will keep your customers satisfied.

Fast food

The priority for fast food is the speed of service, and the packaging decision you make can greatly affect customer satisfaction. As fast foods tend to be items like pizzas, burgers, or fries, you want to preserve heat as well as quality.

Of course, fast delivery helps, but at the risk of facing a terrible traffic jam, you want some ventilation in the packaging to ensure the steam doesn't make crispy items soggy.

Eco-friendly noissue Takeout Bags have handles for easy carry and transport, making them ideal packaging for takeout collection and delivery. They are made from 100% recycled fibers and are reusable.

Wax paper is ideal for fast food because it's coated with food-safe wax, which acts as a moisture and grease barrier. It's therefore perfect for wrapping burgers in burger boxes, cheese, or more – so add a logo to custom wax paper to elevate your food’s presentation!

Cold or frozen food

Who wants a hot can of soda at the height of summer? Separating the hot and cold items is a sink or swim decision.

You want to maintain the temperatures of the items, so making use of dry ice or ice packs to keep food frozen is sensible. For even more brownie points, check there is no damage to the ice packs before inserting them into the packaging.

Beverages

There's nothing more frustrating than finding a spillage in your takeout food or delivery. Separating beverages from the food lowers the risk of that frustration as well as ensuring the hot and cold elements don't affect one another in transport.

Drink and wine carriers are also helpful for all kinds of beverages, including hot and cold drinks, milkshakes, cans, and bottles. They hold the drinks in position and reduce the risk of spillage and disappointment.

Sides and sauces

If you were going to guess what items are likely to spill in transit, you'd be right in assuming it's the sides and sauces. They are more likely to leak if not wrapped correctly or if packaged in containers that are the wrong size. Reduce the risk of leakage by using foil to prevent a mess and keeping it separate from the main dish.

Eating utensils

As part of being eco-friendly, you can ask whether the customer wants eating utensils to be delivered. If they do, you can pack recyclable, compostable, and biodegradable utensils.

🎁 Wrapping it up

So there you have it! Choosing the right packaging for your takeout deliveries is easy once you understand these few simple principles. Don't let all your hard work go to waste by turning delicious food into cold, sloppy, inedible sludge! Poorly packaged food will attract bad reviews that will hurt your reputation, even if you produce excellent takeout. Rather, turn to reliable takeout packaging that’s better for your customers and the environment to get those rave reviews and elevate your brand!

Let noissue be your one-stop shop for sustainable food packaging supplies. We offer packaging ideas that bring sustainability, durability, customizable branding, and sizing options – all creating a user-friendly customer experience! Check out our eco-friendly food packaging to deliver great food and customer satisfaction all at the same time.

Hungry for more? Head to our guide to the best takeout and delivery products for budding restaurant and hospitality brands!