packaging Archives

How to Turn Packaging Into a Revenue Driver (Not Just Another Cost)

Most catering operators treat packaging as someone else’s problem. You hand off specs to your supplier, they negotiate prices, and you move on to things that feel more exciting.

But packaging plays more of a role in a catering business than operators tend to realize. It directly affects your reorder rates, client acquisition costs and average order value. When you approach it strategically, it stops being a line item to minimize and starts generating measurable returns.

Elevate Your Catering: 4 Packaging Trends for 2026

As catering evolves, packaging continues to play a critical role in the customer experience. From food safety and performance to waste reduction and circularity, packaging is a way foodservice establishments can elevate their catering offerings. In 2025, we saw several innovations in food packaging, and we anticipate these trends will continue to expand in 2026.

Single-Use Packaging Makes Catering Easy

Catering plays an increasing role in today’s foodservice industry, especially with a return to offices and foodservice options continuing to diversify. As a result, the demand for convenient, sanitary and scalable catering solutions continues to grow.

At the heart of this is foodservice packaging—a reliable, convenient and sanitary solution that meets the evolving needs of caterers and their customers. From off-site or workplace events to corporate fundraisers and galas, single-use foodservice packaging, used at least once a week by more than 50% of Americans, is proving to be an essential part of modern catering success.

Smart Packaging

For foodservice companies committed to sustainability, packaging presents an ongoing challenge. After all, your food needs to get into the hands of customers. But how do you do it in a way that minimizes waste?

Steve Short, COO and chief culinary officer of Steve Short Culinary Team (SSCT) in Phoenix, has been focusing on such solutions for years. “We are convinced that if you are in the food and hospitality business, you have an obligation to handle your waste and your food from start to finish,” says Short.

How to Benefit from a Circular Economy

The foodservice industry has spent decades honing one of the most efficient and effective supply chains in the world. Not only does it deliver fresh food to an ever-expanding population, it does so at low cost and with minimal disruption.

The unfortunate fact remains, however, that this system is breaking. We operate under the guise of the “linear economy,” where we make things, use them briefly, then throw them away. In the world of food, this looks like high yields of food grown with artificial fertilizers and pesticides that degrade the soil, transported miles to their final destination, where over one third of the food is then wasted.

Transition to Takeout

In March, many caterers had to swiftly transition to a pickup and delivery model, as required social distancing due to COVID-19 resulted in a mass cancellation of events.

How Foodservice Packaging Contributes to Successful Catering

By Lynn Dyer, president of the Foodservice Packaging Institute

Catering has expanded over the years. In the past, independent caterers would bring in their prepared foods and beverages, served on reusable china along with flatware and glasses. Then, they’d clean up and bring everything back to the shop.