Food containers: Movable feast

Whether it's on the train, in the car or at our desks, many of us need to eat on the hoof at least occasionally, if not regularly. Just last year, train operator GNER said it was serving 200,000 on-board meals a year in its first-class restaurant cars, and Mintel now measures the average UK lunch break as 27 minutes - hardly enough time to sit down and enjoy a meal. It seems eating on the go has become part of our culture.

"Over the last five years there has been a massive increase in the number of people wanting to eat on the go," says Alan Kirkup, marketing manager for Select Service Partner (SSP) Rail, which operates more than 400 sites at UK railway stations. "It's largely lifestyle-driven, with people trying to cram more into the time available."

David Sanger, managing director of hotdog franchisor Rollover, identifies working professionals as the core customers in this market. "They can no longer afford the time to have breakfast at home or go out for their full lunch hour," he says. "An increasing number of professionals are spending time away from the office and travelling by car or train, so snacking or ordering ‘food to go' throughout the day has become the norm instead of sitting down and having three separate proper mealtimes."

Road users presented an opportunity not to be missed by Rollover last year when a self-service hotdog unit developed specifically for Roadchef was installed at the M25's Clacket Lane service station. The unit has a warmer to heat and hold hotdogs and ready-sliced baguettes and is located in the food corner of the forecourt alongside hot beverages. It allows customers coming into the shop to pay for their fuel to serve themselves with a hotdog. Sales soon shot up to several hundred a week. "People spend about 40 seconds in the shop and we wanted to capture their interest and boost sales," says Darren Emery, Roadchef's forecourts new initiatives manager.

But it's not just the travelling public who make use of a food-to-go offering.

Workers looking for a quick lunch to eat at their desks present a huge opportunity to food service operators, and those not offering take-out items are missing out on a slice of this market, says Martin Dibben, of contract caterer Artizian. "There is such a high take-up. You only have to see the queues of 20-30 people at M&S at lunchtime all buying grab-and-go items to realise there is a need to be able to purchase a meal quickly and take it away."

Dibben points out that providing such a service is also a way of increasing the throughput of a staff dining facility. Restaurant seating is expensive to provide when you consider it is used for only about 90 minutes, he says.

At Artizian sites, to-go items include salads, sandwiches, wraps and baguettes, which are all pre-made for speed of delivery because customers don't want to have to wait. These account for 30% of lunchtime sales. There are containers for taking away hot items such as soup and baked potatoes, but Dibben doesn't really consider these as to-go items. For him there are three requirements an item must satisfy to qualify as such: it must be easy to eat without mess; be capable of being carried without spillage; and must be clearly labelled with content information.

But Kirkup thinks pretty much anything can be made to work as a take-away option. "You can downsize a product, make it hand-held and so on," he says. "You can make anything portable - whole pizza becomes a slice of pizza, and even pie and mash can go into a box."

SSP is about to open the first of a new chain of stores under the Camden Food Company brand, aimed at being a one-stop shop where on-the-move eaters can buy sandwiches, salads, fruit, crudités, freshly squeezed juices, Fairtrade organic coffee from a traditional espresso machine, freshly baked muffins and organic carrot cake. "Besides speed of service, people want a good range of products to choose from," says Kirkup. "They don't want to have to go to one place for a decent sandwich, then have to call somewhere else for a decent cup of coffee."

Everything will be freshly made every day, with bread and morning goods baked in-house. Sandwiches will be deli-style using rustic fresh breads ready-filled - but not pre-packed - so the customer doesn't have to worry about missing the train.

London's Victoria station will be the first site, with Charing Cross to follow, then another half-dozen ready to roll out quite quickly. The plan is to have six to eight outlets at key UK stations nationwide.

Packaging Packaging is key to a take-out offering, according to Kirkup. "To make something portable, you have to package it, and that packaging needs to be very functional in terms of the product," he says. "It must not leak and it must support the product."

For Dibben, the packaging's role is to draw attention to the product, because he believes customers in this market are very brand-driven. Artizian offers bespoke branding, with the name of the client company, the restaurant or even the floor it's on incorporated into the labelling.

As for the future, Dibben says it will be a case of dealing with environmental issues. "Many companies are going green and there's lots of waste product in the grab-and-go market," he says. "Operators will start using biodegradable packaging as a marketing tool."

Container options

Bunzl is promoting the environmental benefits of the Huhtamaki BioWare range of packaging derived from naturally grown maize.

The clear plastic containers are fully biodegradable and compostable under ideal conditions within 60 days of disposal. The salad containers come in 250ml, 375ml, 500ml, 750ml and 1,000ml sizes.

Huhtamaki has a new Food to Go range for a variety of meals. The containers are available with clear plastic lids and feature a modern design. Made from durable double-walled paper, they are available in four sizes - 8oz, 12oz, 16oz and 32oz.

Also new from Huhtamaki is the Twister bowl for salads, comprising a wide black bowl and a domed, clear APET lid that uses the same twist-locking mechanism as is found on bottles and jars. The lids can be customised with embossing or labelling.

The "it range" is a new collection of branded café products from Planglow aimed at independent cafés, coffee shops and delis which might be unable to afford their own branding. There's a "Grab it" bag, "Choose it" menu, "Sip it" ripple-wrap cup, "Munch it" wedge and "Taste it" label.

Meal Kit Options from Veriplast International is a three-part system made from clear polypropylene with a polystyrene middle section that keeps components such as salad leaves, chicken and dressing separate but visually presented together, ready for the customer to assemble. They are microwaveable and available in 400ml, 500ml and 600ml capacities with a 97mm diameter domed lid that fits all three volumes.

Heat ‘n' Hold fluted packaging from BCP offers excellent insulation, so the item is comfortable to hold when heated. The patented concept avoids common problems that can occur when heating products in their packaging: containers can melt or soften and increase the risk of scalding. It can be litho-printed in up to six colours plus varnish.

Munchie Cups from Solo Cup Europe have tapered bases and self-lidding fold-down tops to prevent spilling. Available in sizes from 2oz to 9oz, they are suitable for fries, nuggets, take-away snacks and other finger foods.