Technomic publishes report on U.S. foodservice disposables, spotlighting sizing, forecasts & trends within the category

Due to a post-pandemic rebalancing of occasions back to on-premise, unit and volume sales have been flat within foodservice disposables over the past two years

CHICAGO, IL, UNITED STATES, September 26, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Since 2022, on-premise occasions have been regaining ground lost from off-premise occasions during the pandemic, resulting in a decline in disposables volume within off-premise-focused segments that shifted almost entirely to disposables over that period, such as full service, healthcare, college and university, etc. However, disruptions in supply chain, labor and raw materials have resulted in inflation within the category, causing an increase in dollar growth. These inflation factors are impacting operators’ product selections, putting pressure on many to turn to less-costly alternatives, which is, in turn, being noticed by consumers, who report that the quality of operators’ disposables has declined. Consumers want higher-quality packaging but feel the costs should be absorbed by the operator and not their responsibility as a customer.

“Quality and functionality are the most critical disposables attributes,” says Joe Pawlak, managing principal at Technomic. “At the end of the day, both operators and consumers want disposables to do what they are supposed to do: maintain food and beverage quality. But inflation is an anvil weighing heavily on the industry, and operators are faced with cutting costs to make ends meet, sometimes to the detriment of packaging quality.”

Some other key findings from this report include:

Disposables growth will slightly outpace total industry growth over the next five years

38% of consumers are willing to pay more for their meals/beverages if contained in high-quality disposables

The two most important disposable packaging attributes to consumers are that it’s leak/spill-proof and able to maintain temperature

58% of consumers and 63% of operators find environmental-friendliness to be an important attribute when it comes to disposable packaging

More than three in four consumers support at least some local/state regulations of disposable packaging

Uncover opportunities and explore expert recommendations to win with the Foodservice Disposables Multi Client Study. This comprehensive assessment explores industry, consumer and operator trends and challenges impacting the foodservice disposables packaging industry, along with historic and forecasted growth by category.

Learn more about the study here.

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About Technomic 
Technomic Inc., an Informa company, was founded as a management consulting firm in 1966. Since then, Technomic’s services have grown to encompass cloud-based B2B research tools, consumer and menu trend tracking and other leading strategic research and analytic capabilities, to prioritize and size business opportunities. Our clients include food manufacturers and distributors, restaurants, retailers and multiple other business verticals aligned with the food industry that are looking to make informed decisions to support their business growth. Visit Technomic at www.technomic.com. 

Clare Toledo
Technomic
info@technomic.com
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