BioPak Become Finalists at the 2024 Food Packaging Awards

Global sustainable packaging brand BioPak is a finalist in the Product Innovation Front of House category at this year’s Food Packaging Awards at The Grand Hotel Brighton.

The FPA Awards were established to celebrate best practices in the foodservice packaging sector. They are driven by the industry itself as FPA actively engages its members in the selection of award winners for most of the categories.

BioPak entered their bespoke Taco Box in the award that was custom-made for Wahaca. Wahaca’s mission is to create delicious Mexican food whilst integrating sustainable practices into all aspects of their operations. This goal led Wahaca to join forces with Deliveroo and BioPak to deliver top-tier food in sustainable innovative packaging. The taco takeaway solution is the first plant fibre home compostable (NF T51-800) product in the UK market, helping MasterChef winner, Tommi Miers, and her team deliver their tacos fresh and piping hot to customers.

BioPak UK Technical Director Sam Walker commented on the significance of this achievement for BioPak.

“Product innovation and sustainability are our daily mantra at BioPak. We are incredibly proud to be recognised by the industry, as they acknowledge our effort to help customers achieve their goals while creating new and effective solutions,” said Walker.

“Tacos are notoriously hard to package and most taco takeaway systems on the market weren’t fit for purpose. It was actually quite a simple problem to solve as we developed a home compostable solution around the shape and size of the signature Wahaca taco”.

By implementing this BioCane Taco solution, Wahaca has furthered their sustainability commitment*. Since partnering with Deliveroo and BioPak:

The weight of their packaging has been reduced by 42%

They’ve avoided 9 tonnes of plastic from going to landfill

They’ve reduced their carbon emissions by 69%

They’ve reduced their packaging costs by 37%

Sam Walker continues, “We’re witnessing a growing trend in restaurants establishing ESG goals and Net Zero targets. The true advantage lies in our ability to assess their packaging, redesign it to use fewer and more sustainable materials, and consolidate all this data into a comprehensive solution with scientifically backed statistics on how they can effectively reduce their carbon footprint.”

Wahaca was recently named the UK’s most sustainable restaurant chain by consumer group Which? coming on top thanks to strong practices in sourcing policies, transparency and customer choices. Wahaca Sustainability Manager Carolyn Lum commented on the recognition of their signature taco packaging.

“We love working with BioPak. Their resilience and determination to perfect the taco box were wonderful to work with. The fact that it’s certified home compostable is very important to us. Once our customers finish their taco feast they can just put the tray into their compost bin and it takes between 3 and 6 months to decompose. An orange peel takes 6 months and an avocado pit takes 12 months,” said Lum.

BioPak is the exclusive packaging partner for Deliveroo in the UK. Their shared commitment to environmental responsibility and passion for innovation is revolutionising the way food is delivered and consumed.

Deliveroo Global Packaging Manager James Grainger commented on the collaboration with BioPak and Wahaca.

“Having a partner like Wahaca on board for both our food delivery platform and our packaging proposition is fantastic. This showcases a true foodservice industry collaboration that we are proud to have streamlined. Together, our goals are to make a significant difference in reducing waste and delivering food in a way that is both delicious and sustainable.”

The full list of winners for the FPA 2024 awards is here. Find out more about our deal with BioPak for NCASS members here.

*These figures are based on annual quantities of packaging used by Wahaca. We have used emission factors provided by the third party that calculated BioPak’s 2022 footprint (available upon request). These projections compare BioPak BioCane Tacos Trays and Lids with Wahaca’s previous packaging, also supplied by BioPak.