Food Packaging Materials for Restaurants: Choosing the Right Options
Posted:
By:
Joe Sizeland
Posted:
Many restaurants today operate across multiple service models. Alongside dine-in, many now rely on takeaway, delivery, outdoor seating and event service, all of which depend on disposable food packaging. In these environments, food packaging materials for restaurant use need to support speed of service, food safety, transport and waste management, while still protecting food quality.
This guide looks at the different types of packaging materials for food commonly used by restaurants, how they perform in real service conditions and how to choose the right food packaging materials to suit your menu, workflow and operational priorities.
Menus are rarely uniform, and the demands placed on packaging vary depending on how food is prepared, held, transported and served. As a result, having different types of packaging materials to hand that can manage heat retention, moisture, shelf life and service speed is necessary for running an effective operation.
In practice, this means restaurants often use PET plastic packaging for items that need moisture control or structural support, paper and cardboard for foods that benefit from breathability and fast service, and compostable materials where food and packaging waste need to be managed together.
For most restaurants, packaging decisions are shaped by service flow rather than material theory. How food leaves the kitchen, how long it is held and how it travels to the customer all influence which packaging materials perform reliably. Hot items moving straight into takeaway or delivery place different demands on packaging than cold dishes prepared ahead of service, and outdoor or off-site service introduces further handling and transport pressures.
The strongest packaging strategies reflect these realities, using different materials across the menu to support speed, consistency and food quality. This approach allows restaurants to maintain service pace and reduce avoidable waste, rather than relying on a single packaging format to cover every scenario.
Plastic packaging remains a core part of restaurant food service because it delivers predictable performance where conditions are variable and margins for error are small. Food-grade plastics handle moisture, grease and temperature changes consistently, which makes them well suited to wet foods, acidic foods and menu items that need to retain heat, structure or presentation during transport and holding.
In practice, plastic containers are often relied on where leakage, deformation or temperature loss would lead to customer complaints or wasted food. This includes sauced dishes, chilled items prepared ahead of service and food moving through delivery platforms where handling conditions sit outside the restaurant’s direct control. In these scenarios, plastic packaging helps stabilise outcomes rather than introduce risk.
Siliconised papers sit alongside plastic as a useful hybrid option in bakery-style food prep settings. They provide grease resistance and food separation while remaining lightweight, reusable and easy to dispose of.
For most restaurants, plastic packaging works best when it is applied deliberately rather than by default. Using plastic where it delivers clear functional value, and pairing it with paper-based, recyclable or compostable materials elsewhere on the menu, allows operators to maintain food quality and service consistency while keeping packaging use proportionate across the wider food packaging supply chain.
Paper packaging and cardboard-based solutions form a core part of restaurant food packaging. Materials such as kraft packaging are widely recyclable and ideal for takeaway and outdoor service.
Cardboard box formats, folding cartons and corrugated cardboard boxes are commonly used to safely transport food products for restaurant delivery while remaining easy to store and assemble. These materials are valued for their rigidity, shelf appeal and ability to stack efficiently in busy kitchen environments where floorspace is limited.
Corrugated boxes also play a role where delivery of goods such as patisserie are sourced from industrial bakeries and require secure transport to the restaurant.
Many restaurants now include compostable materials and eco-friendly alternatives within their packaging mix, particularly in service settings where food and packaging waste are difficult to separate. Compostable plates and bowls made from organic materials such as palm leaf or bagasse are commonly used for wedding events, outdoor restaurant seating, takeaway service during peak periods, temporary street-facing service windows and restaurant-run pop ups.
For restaurants that already understand the basics, packaging choice becomes a question of performance under pressure. The right food packaging materials support how food actually moves through your operation, from preparation and holding through to service and transport. Because when packaging fails in service, the impact is immediate - increased food waste, higher packaging waste and avoidable rework that disrupts service flow. All things that impact your margins.
These considerations also vary by location. A single-site restaurant with a small takeaway window will face different pressures to a multi-site operation managing delivery, outdoor seating and peak-time volume across several locations.
Regularly reassessing how your packaging performs in live service conditions allows you to tighten material selection, standardise where appropriate and adapt where necessary. Measuring outcomes such as reduced waste, fewer service issues and smoother handover between kitchen and front-of-house can highlight where a packaging rethink improves operational efficiency and helps protect margins. This creates a clear foundation for more informed packaging decisions going forward.
iKrafts supplies food packaging materials for restaurant use across takeaway, delivery and outdoor service environments. Our range includes plastic packaging, paper packaging, corrugated boxes and compostable options selected for food safety, reliability and real-world performance.
We support restaurants by holding consistent stock levels in the UK, with volume discounts on all packaging, and same day dispatch on all orders before 1pm.
If you are looking to review your current packaging needs and formats, call us on 0161 341 0737 or email us at sales@ikrafts.co.uk for a free packaging materials consultation and let's review where we can cut your costs and sharpen the way your packaging works for your restaurant.
