Plastic has thousands of applications in our daily lives and it’s everywhere around us. Buying wholesale plastic containers is convenient for restaurants that get a lot of takeout and delivery online orders. After the pandemic, the restaurant industry has been growing significantly online. However, with the current plastic pollution levels, a lot of environmentally-conscious businesses are switching from plastic to compostable alternatives when ordering restaurant supplies. In this blog article, we’ll dive deeper into the industry of wholesale plastic containers and their applications for businesses in the food and beverage industry. We’ll also share some tips on how to minimize the use of plastic.
What Businesses in the Food Industry Buy Wholesale Plastic Containers
Restaurants and Fast Food Chains
Food-serving establishments buy wholesale plastic goods for a variety of reasons. Among the main applications of plastic containers is takeout containers. They can also be used for storing food. Disposable tableware, utensils, and drinkware are also often made out of plastic.
Fast food restaurants also partner with wholesale businesses and purchase wholesale plastic containers. The same goes for other small food-serving companies such as food trucks and food stands. As they often serve customers on the go, they constantly need plastic goods.
Catering Companies
Trays and platters are just some of the items that are needed to cater an event. Catering businesses often use various types of plastic containers for food. In addition, both event planning and catering companies require different colors and types of containers in order to match the event’s needs. That’s why they prefer to find suppliers that can offer customizations and a wide range of products.
Bakeries, Coffee Shops, and Cafeterias
These establishments often serve hot and cold beverages to go. In addition, they sell various desserts, small dishes, and various snacks. That’s often done in plastic cups or food containers. They benefit from the lower wholesale price per unit and count on distributors of wholesale plastic containers and other goods.
Key takeaway: Even though businesses strive to use less plastic goods, they still have lots of applications in restaurants and other food industry businesses. The most purchased wholesale plastic containers and other goods include drinkware, tableware, cutlery, containers, and other small goods.
Most Frequently Used Plastic Goods by Restaurants
Even though food establishments are actively trying to reduce the amount of plastic used, there are still many applications for it. Let’s dive a little deeper into the main ones.
- Food storage containers. Venues buy wholesale plastic containers with lids in order to store food leftovers, ingredients, and prepped food. These containers can vary in size depending on the needs of the restaurant.
- Drinkware, cutlery, and tableware. It’s common for fast food restaurants to serve their orders with disposable plates, utensils, and cups. Plastic cups can be used for both hot and cold beverages. One of the recent restaurant industry trends is to introduce a deposit return scheme for cups and other tableware. That way, the cups can be washed and used again.
- To-go containers. Delivery and takeout orders are a big percentage of a restaurant’s business. That’s why venues often work with distributors and purchase wholesale plastic containers for food deliveries or takeout orders. There are a wide variety of sizes and forms to match different dishes like burgers, sushi, or soup.
- Tablecloths. Restaurants that use tablecloths might choose to order plastic ones. They allow waiters to quickly prepare the table for the next guests. No matter if they are plastic or cotton, ordering wholesale table cloths means a lower price per unit.
- Other plastic goods. Straws, bags, wraps, and other small items are all necessary in a food-serving establishment. Luckily, compostable alternatives are emerging on the market. However, it will take time for businesses to fully switch to wholesale paper goods and stop using plastic goods.
How Businesses Can Reduce Plastic Usage
A lot of customers are actively trying to lower their plastic footprint. That’s why restaurants should strongly consider purchasing less wholesale plastic containers and goods. Not only is that better for the environment, but it can also be used as part of their restaurant marketing efforts. Allow us to share a few ideas on how to do so.
- Use eco-friendly containers. There are numerous compostable options on the market. Even though some of them are more expensive than plastic ones, you can allow customers to choose the type of takeout container.
- Introduce reusable options. Fast food chains can serve meals and drinks in reusable cups and containers. This can be done via a return scheme where customers get money back if they return their containers to the counter.
- Purchase in bulk. Items like wholesale cleaning supplies can be ordered in different sizes. The bigger the size, the less plastic is used. It’s both eco-friendly and comes at a lower price per unit to order wholesale janitorial supplies in large quantities.
- Organize “bring your own plate” campaigns. Environmentally-conscious businesses are organizing campaigns where customers can bring their own cups, plates, or cutlery in order to avoid being served in single-use containers.
- Replace small plastic items with items of sustainable materials. Straws, stirrers, utensils, and other small items don’t have to be made of plastic. Instead, they can be made out of bamboo or cardboard.
Frequently Asked Questions about Wholesale Plastic Containers
Even though everyone uses plastic goods on a daily basis, you might have questions on the topic. We have answered some of the common questions on the topic of wholesale plastic goods in the next few paragraphs.
How to Find Eco-Friendly Plastic Containers?
Products labeled as recyclable or recycled are produced from environmentally friendly materials. Companies and consumers strive to reduce their plastic footprint on nature. The easiest way to do so is by switching to eco-friendly plastic or other alternatives. It’s not only good for the planet but can be beneficial for your business too. One of the main benefits of buying wholesale plastic containers is that they can be washed and refilled. So, a company can cut costs by investing in multi-use plastic containers instead of single-use ones.
What Types of Plastics Are Used in the Food Industry?
There are six main types of plastic used for food packaging. They all have different applications, pros, and cons.
- PET plastic. This is one of the most frequently used types of plastic in the food industry. Products made from PET are clear, durable, and recyclable. Their disadvantage is that they are not heat-resistant.
- LDPE plastic. Even though it’s not heat-resistant, it’s very flexible. Most times, this plastic is used for bags.
- PP plastic. It has great resistance to chemicals and heat. Wholesale plastic containers from polypropylene should not be reused many times as they can become toxic with time.
- PS plastic. You will often see this type of plastic used for packaging of many things. However, it’s not recyclable. Thus, instead of buying wholesale cups or tableware from polystyrene, companies tend to switch to compostable alternatives.
- PVC plastic. It has many advantages over other types of plastics. However, the production of PVC plastics has a high toll on the environment.
- HDPE plastic. This very strong plastic is used for milk jugs and other large containers. You can see it used as a container for wholesale soap, wholesale sanitizer, and other chemicals.
What to Consider When Buying Wholesale Plastic Containers?
The main factors that should be taken into account when purchasing wholesale plastic containers are material, durability, and size. Furthermore, cost is also a major factor when picking a distributor of restaurant supplies.