by Freedonia Industry Studies
November 25, 2020
Single-use foodservice packaging has become the target of increased environmental scrutiny in the US, Europe, and many Asian countries. However, much of that scrutiny and the initiatives resulting from it – such as reduced usage of disposable coffee cups and bans on expanded polystyrene (EPS) containers and certain plastic bags – have been put on ice by COVID-19. The pandemic reversed these recent developments by causing renewed demand for single-use cups and other disposable tableware as restaurants shifted away from in-house dining to increased pickup and delivery business.
While the pandemic has created something of a respite for many affected products, one food producer has gone in a somewhat different direction. Kraft Heinz has debuted the Heinz Keystone Automatic Dispenser, which uses “no touch” technology to dish out half-ounce portions of ketchup, mustard, mayo, ranch, BBQ sauce, and other sauces and condiments.
No-touch dispensers are reassuring to customers concerned with surfaces touched by other people (think of bathroom soap or paper towel dispensers). They also reduce packaging requirements associated with packets and other single-serve formats, and reduce (but don’t eliminate) the labor costs of constant vigilance on the part of restaurant workers in light of stricter hygiene regimens brought on by the pandemic.
For more information and discussion of market opportunities, see Packaged Facts’ food- and beverage-related reports, including Food Carryout & Delivery and the companion report with timely consumer insights from our in-house survey capabilities. The Freedonia Group’s extensive collection of off-the-shelf research provides a strong complement to packaged food and restaurant industry analysis, including US Restaurant Reopening: COVID-19 Impact on Supplies and Global Foodservice, as well as packaging industry titles such as Pouches, Foodservice Single-Use Products, Global Foodservice Single-Use Products, and Global Single-Use Packaging Regulations.