Pizza packaging you knead to know about

Daniel Schwitzer, Director of Communications & Sustainability, at amipak

As one of the most popular and recognisable dishes worldwide, most of us can name our favourite pizza quicker than we can dial our local takeaway. A piping hot circle of molten cheese, quick and easy to eat, and loaded with tasty toppings, there’s a reason why pizza is one of the most popular dishes on the planet.

While the event around which pizza packaging history revolves is a subject of debate, many credit its widespread introduction to the founder of a certain global pizza chain – Tom Monaghan.

The humble pizza box is a relative whippersnapper, born as recently as the mid-1960s at a time when large-scale pizza delivery was transforming the way we consume food. But making it from oven to doorstep isn’t always plain sailing. And businesses need to box clever to stay ahead of the competition at a time when the foodservice industry is again growing rapidly.

A Great Pizza Work

The modern pizza box is a modern marvel of minor but well-formed proportions. Its simplicity allows it to circumnavigate many competing constraints. Seal it up too much and the moisture will make the dough soggy. Vent it too much and you lose the heat.

So, how do you get a warm, steam-emitting foodstuff from oven to doorstep inside 30 minutes without delivering a lukewarm, soggy mess? The solution lies in the box material. Simply slide the hot pizza into a corrugated cardboard box. Better still, one of ours!

Yes, the pizza still degrades a little over time, but products like these give your food products the best chance of travelling well.

Pizzas are humid, crispy, and slick all at once, so the challenge is to keep the contents warm and release the right amount of steam to avoid creating a soggy, lifeless crust. Each flute of the corrugated substrate is a channel for steam to travel through and allowing steam to flow prevents condensation on the box’s interior.

Light enough for easy delivery and sturdy enough to sustain rough handling; corrugated boxes keep pizza intact, hot, and fresh. When the consumer opens the lid, they’ll be presented with a warm, fragrant wisp of steam and a perfect pizza – the ideal opening experience.

A slice of goodness

Pizza boxes are so much more than a disposable cardboard box design with a lift top and folded sides, finished with a little illustration of a pizza chef.

From a packaging point of view, they tick plenty of vital boxes: they’re resistant, easy to produce and recycle, well insulated and ventilated to keep the food warm yet dry, flatpacked and easy to assemble, and their stackability makes them ideal for transporting.

For many businesses, the boxes also represent untapped marketing collateral, a chance to impress the brand upon customers. A perfect blank canvas for personal touches to connect with the customer.

In terms of visual value, boxes have somewhere between 5-8 minutes to visually engage with the consumer. Customised pizza box printing can be one of the most compelling strategies to give consumers the ultimate level of experience. On top of using vibrant and eye-catching design, businesses have taken to turning the box into augmented reality board games, and even printing QR codes that link through to mood-setting Spotify playlists.

A good packaging partner should be able to work with your specific menu and customer needs to develop a shortlist of options that can be used in a variety of ways. With tight kitchen spaces and even tighter budgets, it should only take a handful of packaging products to fit your full menu.

So, from an 18” family-style pizza to a variety of side dish packaging, to corrugated liners and tripods too, some of the most desirable takeaway food around is served in our easily customisable table-ready pizza packaging. Not only does it maintain the food’s same beautiful look and feel, it helps fulfil the versatility of your menu, standardises portions, and drives the overall aesthetic you’re working to.

Products should preserve the optics of the dish and help maintain quality, freshness, and temperature. Our solutions go the extra mile by being breathable, odourless, microwavable, customisable, space-saving, and crucially, designed to fit into your existing waste management system. They are compostable and recyclable – now key to today’s more eco conscious consumer!

As demand for takeout and on-the-go foodservice continues to grow, restaurants and other food delivery services need more from their packaging, especially when it comes to sustainability.

Foodservice vendors are now tackling sustainability with renewed vigour. The global proliferation of legislation around packaging waste dictates this and consumers can and do vote with their wallets if they don’t like your sustainability credentials.

There have been advancements, particularly around making pizza boxes easier to recycle. The greaseproof corrugated liner and tripod, which prevent the soggy lid from sagging down towards your pizza, mean that once you’ve scraped any leftover crusts into the bin, the takeaway box can go straight in the recycling bin.

Our simple food-grade certified pizza liners safeguard the recyclability of the whole box. Keep in mind that waste recycling plants reject tonnes of otherwise acceptable cardboard pizza boxes each year because of contamination with too much grease, melted cheese spillages, or passata smears.

There are three main issues for the takeaway industry to tackle today: single-use packaging, delivery challenges, and food presentation. Designed for maximum impact and versatility, our solutions address all of these and more, unlocking added value for all stakeholders.

So, as humble as the pizza box may be, it remains a great example of simplicity being the motherhood of invention.

UK headquartered, amipak is an expanding third generation family business specialising in the manufacture of food grade packaging from sustainable materials. amipak puts a strong emphasis on customer service, seeking to develop lasting partnerships with its customers and suppliers. Having grown since 1999, when it was formed as the result of a merger between Home Suppliers Ltd. and F&Z Packaging Ltd., amipak today operates with over 110,000 sq. ft. of modern production and warehousing facilities in Croydon and Willesden, North London supplying the UK and European foodservice packaging markets. Offering a comprehensive range of cartonboard and corrugated boxes and liners for a wide range of food and non-food applications, amipak works with brands and foodservice distributor partners to deliver excellence in packaging design, production, finishing and supply.

For more information on Parkside and its activities, please contact PHD Marketing Ltd. First Floor, Succhi Suite, Nostell Business Estate, Wakefield, WF4 1AB. Tel: +44 (0) 1977 708 643 or Email: hello@phdmarketing.co.uk

JJ Opens Doors to New Suppliers at its 2022 Conference

JJ Foodservice is inviting food and drink manufacturers who are interested in working with the national wholesaler to attend its annual conference on November 10th, 2022.

Taking place at 1 Wimpole Street in London, the event is themed ‘Delivering Gold Standard, Sustainable Service’ and will be attended by JJ senior managers and buyers. Chief Product Officer at JJ Foodservice, Sezer Ozkul, said “We’re keen to develop existing partnerships as well as meet new suppliers who will help us to grow our range.”

Suppliers will join JJ’s senior management and buying team to learn how the group is investing in customer service, tech innovation and a commitment to sustainable practises to achieve record sales of more than £275 million in 2023.

JJ held its first supplier event last year to strengthen partnerships and align future strategies following the challenging impact of the pandemic. “Better communication means better partnerships and mutual growth for everyone involved,” said Sezer.

The event will be chaired by Patrick MitchellFox, Senior Analyst at IGD. Guest speakers include hospitality ‘futurist’ Simon Stenning; Head of Force for Good at Innocent Drinks, Emilie Stephenson and Customer Service expert, Richard Knight from Insight6. Book your tickets here: https://go.jjfoodservice.com/JJConference22

Bain Marie Liners

Easy Liners

Easy Liners Ltd, Unit 14, Chester Park, Alfreton Road, Derby, DE21 4AS

T: 01332 412273 or 07447 146512

E: info@easyliners.co.uk

W: www.easyliners.co.uk

Easy Bags Ltd

Enterprise Road, Millennium Business Park

Mansfield, Nottinghamshire NG19 7JX

T: 01623 423423

E: customerservice@easybags.net

W: www.easybags.net

Daymark-Supplies Ltd www.daymark-supplies.co.uk

The Refill Centre Ltd, t/a Daymark-Supplies, Unit 14, Poplars Farm, Forshaw Heath Road, Earlswood, Solihull, West Midlands, B94 5JX 0845 23 015 23

Sirane Ltd www.sirane.com

Sirane Ltd, European Development Centre, Stafford Park 6, Telford, TF3 3AT 01952 230055

GM Packaging Ltd www.gmpackaging.co.uk

Unit B7, Tyne Tunnel Estate, Hamar Close, North Shields, Tyne and Wear, NE29 7XB 0191 296 2007

Batter Suppliers

Goldensheaf

Kerry Foodservice, Bristol

T: 0800 138 1938

E: Julian.warner@kerry.com

W: www.kerry-foodservice.co.uk

Henry Jones

Kerry Foodservice, Bristol

T: 0800 138 1938

E: Julian.warner@kerry.com

W: www.kerry-foodservice.co.uk

Ceres | Pure Food Innovation

Seriously Good Gluten Free

T: 0845 3711 522

E: hello@worldofceres.com

W: www.worldofceres.com

W: www.thebattercompany.co.uk

Middleton Food Products Ltd, www.middletonfoods.com

655 Willenhall Road, Willenhall, West Midlands, WV13 3LH sales@middletonfoods.com

01902 608122 or 08453 706 550

Henry Colbeck

Seventh Avenue, Team Valley Trading Estate, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, NE11 0HG sales@colbeck.co.uk

0191 482 4242

Weston Catering Supplies www.westoncateringsupplies.com

Unit S4, Mendip Business Park, Rooksbridge, Somerset BS26 2U westcatering@hotmail.com

01934 750367

Business and Property Sales

Rosens Business Transfer Agency www.rosens.co.uk

Unit 3, Alexander Charles House, Station Passage, South Woodford, London, E18 1JL info@rosens.co.uk

0208 539 6426

Fish Friers- Part of the Altius Group www.fishfriers.co.uk

7b Edward 7th Quay, Navigation Way, Ashton-On-Ribble, Preston, PR2 2YF info@fishfriers.co.uk

0844 248 8257

Business Buyers.com - Part of the Altius Group www.altiusgroup.co.uk Business Buyers.co.uk

Incorporating Bruce & Co

Redwoods Dowling Kerr Kings Business contact@businessbuyers.co.uk

01772 775776

Everett, Masson & Furby www.emfgroup.com

3 Cornhill, Ottery St Mary, Devon EX11 1DW info@emfgroup.com

01404 813762

Catering Equipment Suppliers/ Spares

Shop Equip

Park View, North Street, Langwith, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG20 9BN

T: 0845 400 1044

E: sales@shop-equip.com

W: www.shop-equip.com

Total QSR Ltd

Crown Chambers, 7a Market Place Melksham, Wiltshire, SN12 6ES

T: 01225 791848

E: info@totalqsr.co.uk

W: www.totalqsr.co.uk

Fast Food Systems Limited www.fast-food-systems.co.uk

Unit 1, Headley Park 9, Headley Road East Woodley, Reading, Berkshire, RG5 4SQ sales@ffsbrands.co.uk

01189 441100

Carlton Catering Equipment www.chippersandpeelers.com

Grange Farm, Braithwell Road, Ravenfield, Rotherham , South Yorks., S65 4LP carltoncatering@sky.com

01709 540004

Fryers Mate www.fryersmate.com

Unit 3, Great Northern Way, Great Northern Terrace, Lincoln LN5 8XF 01522 542054

Falcon Foodservice Equipment www.falconfoodservice.com

Wallace View, Hillfoots Road, Stirling, FK9 5PY info@falconfoodservice.co.uk 01786 455200

Marfast www.marfast.co.uk

30 Broughton Street, Manchester, M8 8NN pani@marfast.co.uk

0161 833 0024

Nisbets Plc

Regional shops throughout the UK or on-line www.nisbets.com

Fourth Way, Avonmouth, Bristol, BS11 8T sales@nisbets.co.uk 0845 140 5555 or 0117 316 5000

Hopkins Catering www.hopkins.biz

Kent Road, Pudsey, Leeds, LS28 9NF info@hopkins.biz 0113 257 7934

MCS Technical Products Ltd www.mcstechproducts.co.uk

Building 2, Westmead Drive, Swindon, SN5 7YT sales@mcstechproduct.co.uk 01793 5383908

Blue Seal www.bluesealequipment.co.uk

Unit 67, Gravelly Industrial Park, Gravelly Park, Birmingham, B24 8TQ 0121 327 5575

Restaurant Supply Store www.restaurantsupplystore.co.uk

Unit 7, Hatton Close, Chafford Hundred, Grays, Essex, RM16 6RP sales@restaurantsupplystore.co.uk 01375 651 600

Velox Grills www.veloxgrills.com

Manor Farm, Manor Road Wantage, Oxon., OX12 8NE sales@veloxgrills.com 01235 770133

Caterparts Limited www.caterparts.com

The Engine Shed, Top Station Road, Brackley, Bucks., NN13 7UG sales@caterparts.com 0845 130 8060

Vmotouk www.vmoto-uk.com

29 Shand Street London E1 2ES info@vmoto-uk.com 0800 133 7304

King Edward www.kingedward.co.uk

Unit 1A, Porthouse Ind. Estate, Bromyard, Herefordshire, HR7 4NS oven@kingedward.co.uk

E&R Moffat ww.ermoffat.co.uk

Bonnybridge FK4 2BS sales@ermoffat.co.uk 01324 812272

Sweetheat www.sweetheat.co.uk

16 Millwater Avenue

Dewsbury, West Yorks. WF12 9QN sales@sweet nheat.co.uk 01924 488619

Mitchell and Cooper Ltd www.bonzer.co.uk

136-140 Framfield Road

Uckfield

East Sussex, TN22 5AU sales@mitchellcooper.co.uk 0845 0177 488

Synergy Grill www.synergygrill.com

Active Food Systems Ltd., Synergy House, 70 High Street, Offord Darcy, St Neots, Cambs., PE19 5RH Info@synergygrill.com

01480 811000

Comark Instruments www.comarkinstruments.com

52 Hurricane Way,Norwich, Norfolk, NR6 6JB sales@comarkinstruments.com 0207 942 0712

Cook Co Nottingham Ltd www.cookco.ltd.uk

99 Manvers Street, Nottingham, NG2 4NU sale@cookco.ltd.uk 0115 912 1188

No-Fli Limited www.no-fli.com

Building C, Knaresborough Technology Park, Manse Lane, Knaresborough, Yorkshire, HG5 8LF hello@no-fi.com 01423 855600

Electronic Temperature instruments Ltd www.etiltd.com

Easting Close, Worthing, West Sussex, BN14 8HQ sales@etiltd.com

01903 202151

Lowe Rental Ltd www.lowerental.co.uk

Unit J, Knockmore Ind. Estate, Lisburn, Northern Ireland, BT28 2EJ mail@lowerental.com

028 9260 4619

Alliance On-line www.allianceonline.co.uk

Alliance House, Marshfield Bank, Crewe, Cheshire, CW2 8UY hello@allianceonline.co.uk

0844 499 4300

Chicken Coaters &

Chicken Train

Kerry Foodservice, Birstol,

T: 0800 138 1938

Chicken Frying and Cooking Equipment

Jestic Foodservice Equipment www.jestic.co.uk

Units 3 & 4, Dana Estate, Transfesa Road, Paddock Wood, Kent, TN12 6UU info@jestic.co.uk

01892 831960

Kuroma www.premier1filtration.co.uk

Kiln Head Spring, Kneeton Lane, Barton, DL10 6NB info@premier1filtration.com

01325 377189

Hopkins Catering www.hopkins.biz

Kent Road, Pudsey, Leeds, LS28 9NF info@hopkins.biz

0113 257 7934

PD Catering International www.pizzadirect.co.uk

MFG Group

Nile Street

Bolton, Lancs. BL3 6BW info@pizzadirect.co.uk

01284 382800

Pandnet Ltd (Kuroma) www.kuroma.com

Unit 1, Premier Works

Canal Street South Wigston Leicester

LE18 4PL

0116 2772 372

Chippers and Peelers

Carlton Catering Equipment www.chippersandpeelers.com

Grange Farm, Braithwell Road, Ravenfield, Rotherham South Yorks., S65 4LP 01709 540004

Regrit-it www.regrit-it.com

1st Floor Rear, 40 Percy Park Tynemouth, North Tyneside. NE30 4JX sales@regrit-it.com 07740 664410

Williams Catering Products www.williamspotatoes.co.uk

Marinades

E: julian.warner@kerry.com

W: www.kerry-foodservice.co.uk

Dibs Distribution www.dibsdistribution.co.uk

1432b Clock Tower Road, Isleworth, Middlesex, TW7 6DT sales@dibs.uk.com

0208 568 6668

Exeworthy Farm, Staplake Lane, Starcross, Exeter, Devon, EX6 8QT info@williamspotatoes.co.uk 01626 890871

Cleaning Materials

Ecolab UK www.en-uk.ecolab.com

Various UK locations custHelpDesk.UK@ecolab.com

Central: 0 02920 852000

Pattersons www.pattersons.co.uk

Winterstoke Road

Bristol, BS3 2NS contact@pattersons.co.uk

0117 934 1270

Mammoth Cleaning Supplies.co.uk

Storeys Bar Road, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE1 5TQ sales@mammothcleaningsupplies.co.uk 0800 432 0224

Cold Drinks and Slush

Us 4 Slush Limited www.us4slush.com

4 Middle Road. Bailie Gate Industrial Estate, Sturminster Marshall, Dorset. BH21 4DB sales@us4slush.com 01202 666922

Longo & Co www.mrwhippy.biz

Unit 5A, Steps Industrial Estate Magdale, Honley West Yorkshire, HD9 6RA info@slushmachines.co.uk 01484 606352

SnowShock Ltd

Snowshock.com

Unit 43 Invincible Drive, Armstrong Industrial Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 7HX sales@snowshock.com 0330 053 6132

Crisps and Snacks

Palmer and Harvey www.palmerharvey.co.uk 106 – 112 Davigdor Road Hove, East Sussex, BN3 1RE 01273 222 100

Salty Dog www.saltydog-grrr.com

Salty Towers PO Box 766 Chesham Bucks., HP5 3YD info@saltydog-grrr.com 01494 774422

Curry and Gravy Mixes

Dinaclass

Kerry Food Service, Bristol,

T: 0800 138 1938

E: julian.warner@kerry.com

W: www.kerry-foodservice.co.uk

Kerry Foodservice www.kerry-foodservice.co.uk

Thorpe Lea Manor, Thorpe Lea Road, Egham, Surrey, TW20 8HY info@kerry-foodservice.co.uk 01784 430777

Deep Premises Cleaning

Bright Hygiene www.brighthygiene.co.uk

Omega House, Unit 7, Sarbir Industrial Park, Cambridge Road, Harlow, Essex, CM20 2EU 0800 093 7840