As part of its commitment to tackle the impact of takeaways on plastic pollution, leading online global marketplace Just Eat has expanded its trial of Ooho! seaweed-based sauce sachets with ten restaurants across London.
In March, Just Eat announced a package of measures to reduce excess plastics used in UK takeaway deliveries. As part of this, the business partnered with sustainable packaging start-up Skipping Rocks Lab to invest in the research and development of innovative and practical alternatives for single use plastics.
Just Eat first teamed up with Skipping Rocks Lab to trial the sachets, which are fully compostable, at The Fat Pizza in Southend for six weeks over the summer. As part of the pilot, more than 6,000 servings of ketchup were provided in the seaweed based sauce sachets, receiving positive feedback from customers:
- 89% said they would like to see more of their takeaway sauces coming in the seaweed based sauce sachets.
- 83% found the sachets as easy as, or easier than, a normal sachet to use.
Just Eat is now expanding the trial with 10 restaurants across London for eight weeks to test the sachets, filled with ketchup, on a larger scale. The trial will also assess the feasibility of rolling out the sachets even more widely across its network.
The sachets are made from an alginate based material and degrade in approximately six weeks. They are opened just like normal sachets and can be thrown into the home compost, or otherwise the normal bin, to fully decompose.
Graham Corfield, UK Managing Director of Just Eat, said:
“At Just Eat, we’re committed to tackling plastic pollution in the takeaway industry. We have already taken a number of measures to help reduce the amount of plastic used across the sector and drive environmentally-friendly behaviour across our network.
“We were delighted to see the first trial of seaweed based sauce sachets, receive excellent feedback. It is a great initiative and these sachets are fast emerging as an alternative to the traditional plastic packaging. We’re now looking forward to expanding this trial with some of our fantastic restaurant partners across London.
Pierre Paslier, Co-Founder, Skipping Rocks Lab, said: “We’re thrilled to be working in partnership with Just Eat to expand the trial of our Ooho! Seaweed sauce sachets. They are 100% plant based, naturally biodegradable and decompose within six weeks, making them a natural and sustainable alternative to single-use plastic packaging. As a sustainable packaging start-up, we’re passionate about finding credible alternatives to single use plastics and we’re excited to see these sauce sachets be used more widely across London.”
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