Foodservice | Takeout Packaging
Despite switching its packaging mid-pandemic, Cliff’s ensured customers were aware that the product — and product quality — remained the same.
“It’s such a simple thing, but our customers seem to like the paper bags, and we plan to continue to use them,” said Amanda Austin St. Romain, marketing director for Y-Not Stop. Although Cliff’s Local Market in New York State did not need to offer curbside pickup or delivery during the pandemic, the chain had to be flexible with its foodservice packaging when its usual containers became difficult to source. “All of a sudden, packaging we’ve used for years doesn’t show up on the truck,” said Derek Thurston, director of foodservice operations for Cliff’s Local Market, which operates 20 locations. But the issue required more, operationally, than simply switching containers — for example, when it came to salads, trading the usual round salad bowl for a new square one was only the first step. The entire layout of the food presen88
CSTORE DECISIONS •
October 2021
tation in the container had to be thought out and changed as well to ensure that it looked as attractive and tempting as usual. “It’s important that our customers know that, except for the packaging, nothing has changed, and they are getting the same quality food in the new containers,” Thurston said. The new salad bowls are more expensive than the ones they are replacing, but Thurston likes them better and says he will continue to use them even when the usual packaging becomes available again. In November, Cliff’s stores will also transition from foam to paper cups for its hot dispensed beverages ahead of a foam ban that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2022. The 6x9-inch takeout containers used for food will also be switched from foam to paper.
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