Deliveroo has adopted a new takeaway box with a locking mechanism, designed by apprenticeship students from Sheffield Hallam University to prevent food waste while reducing plastic use.
The packaging originates from Deliveroo’s Sustainable Packaging Challenge in 2024, in which apprenticeship students on the Professional Packaging BSc were asked to develop cost-effective packaging designs that would maintain food temperature, prevent spillages, and improve sustainability.
Apprentices Josephine Shaw and William Shaw were named as the winners of the challenge. Their design incorporates additional folds in the cardboard to create a locking mechanism – a feature set to keep products at the desired temperature and prevent food from spilling in transit.
Now produced by Biopak, the boxes are made from PLA-lined paperboard in line with the EN13432 standard. They are designed to be industrially compostable where the facilities exist, with Deliveroo arguing that composting is a more realistic end-of-life option for takeaway packaging than recycling due to food contamination.
The packaging is now available to UK restaurants via Deliveroo’s packaging webstore and is not thought to generate ‘significant’ costs for customers.
“We are constantly seeking innovative solutions to global challenges,” said Jen Bagshaw, head of Packaging at Deliveroo. “Partnering with the talented apprentices at Sheffield Hallam University has been an inspiring journey, allowing us to champion the next generation of sustainable packaging designers.
“By providing the platform and financial backing to turn the students’ creative vision into a reality, we are thrilled to see this solution officially launch on our webstore for our partners to purchase.”
William Shaw and Josephine Cooper, winners of Deliveroo’s Sustainable Packaging challenge and the designers of the new packaging, added: “We focused on creating a locking mechanism that performs in the real world, and we’re proud to know our work can now be used by restaurants, reaching customer front doors across the UK. We hope this proves that sustainable packaging can be both highly functional and cost-effective.”
Deliveroo’s Sustainable Packaging Challenge returned in 2025 and collaborated with Gail’s Bakery as an exclusive partner. Students were challenged to develop a prototype cup for transporting hot drinks that would prevent spillages, arrive in the best possible condition, and factor sustainability into its design.
In other news, Lieferando has started providing partnering restaurants with corrugated paper delivery boxes from Huhtamaki, coated with Xampla’s plant-based polymer. The move is expected to replace one million kilometres of plastic-coated paperboard by 2031.
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