Deliveroo, Vietnamese restaurant chain Pho and Sheffield Hallam University have joined forces for this year’s edition of Deliveroo’s Sustainable Packaging Challenge, where students can re-design Pho packaging for a chance to win £1,500 and potentially bring their design to life.
For this year’s challenge, students from the university’s Higher Degree Apprenticeship Packaging Professional programme will re-design Pho’s bag used for its signature fresh herbs and chillies and a container designed to keep rice and curry separate during delivery. Deliveroo says the designs need to ensure food reaches the consumer ‘hot, fresh and spill-free’ whilst focusing on sustainable innovation.
In just under five months the students are expected to produce prototypes to meet these objectives, whilst receiving guidance and support from experts at Deliveroo and Pho. The winning design is due to be selected at a final exhibition, with the winners receiving a £1,500 cash prize and the potential to bring their design to life in partnership with Pho.
Azucena Gómez, course leader at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “We are excited to build on our successful partnership with Deliveroo and to collaborate with Pho on this new challenge. This fresh opportunity encourages apprentices to push their thinking in new directions, explore innovative solutions, and gain valuable insights from working with industry leaders.”
Last year the delivery platform and university collaborated with GAIL’s bakery for the challenge. Students attempted to develop a sustainable cup for transporting hot drinks between a GAIL’s bakery and its customers, requiring the drink to remain hot without spilling.
More recently, Deliveroo adopted a takeaway box with a locking mechanism, designed by apprenticeship students from Sheffield Hallam University to prevent food waste while reducing plastic use. The design originated from the 2024 edition of the Sustainable Packaging Challenge, where Professional Packaging BSc students were asked to develop cost-effective packaging designs that would maintain food temperature, prevent spillages, and improve sustainability.
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