Major Indian food delivery app Zomato has revealed its interactive PackSwitch website, designed to help restaurants select the most suitable packaging options for different menu items, providing material performance details and connecting them with verified suppliers.
On the website, restaurants can choose the dish to be served and explore suitable packaging materials with information on which material handles that food category the best and why. The website can then connect restaurants with verified suppliers, with a range of sourcing options.
Zomato gives examples such as a biryani box which needs to deal with steam, a curry container which has to be spill proof and a pizza box that needs to let heat escape without turning the crust soggy. Some of the material options on the PackSwitch website include bagasse, aluminium, areca, compostable plastic and earthenware.
The delivery service states that choosing the right packaging can strengthen consumer trust; reduce material use; make storage and transport easier; lower costs over time and improve compliance readiness by reducing reliance on materials that may face increasing regulatory restrictions.
The PackSwitch website builds on momentum from Zomato’s Plastic-Free Future Program, which since 2024 has reportedly recognized over 10,000 restaurants across more than 500 cities for using alternatives to plastic packaging for their main menu items. As of March this year, Zomato says restaurants involved in the programme have collectively delivered over 100 million ‘low plastic packaging’ orders.
Last month Deliveroo, Vietnamese restaurant chain Pho and Sheffield Hallam University 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. Deliveroo says the designs need to ensure food reaches the consumer ‘hot, fresh and spill-free’ whilst focusing on sustainable innovation.
In related news, Wonder and Zipline have announced a collaboration to deliver takeaway meals in their original packaging via drone to locations across Texas, USA. From January 2027, Zipline’s electronic drones will receive orders autonomously and fly them directly and ‘quietly’ to a consumer’s doorstep.
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