Who better than students to design packaging for students? In a sector where “late-night delivery” is practically a campus sport, Deliveroo’s latest packaging update comes straight from Sheffield Hallam University, and it’s now on sale, not just on a moodboard.
Deliveroo is adding a new “more sustainable” takeaway box to its UK packaging webstore, offering restaurant partners an alternative to conventional plastic-lined containers used for delivery. The pack was developed through a three-way collaboration between Deliveroo, packaging producer BioPak and Sheffield Hallam University, and is now available for restaurants to purchase.
The design originates from Deliveroo’s first Sustainable Packaging Challenge (2024), which tasked apprentices on Sheffield Hallam’s Professional Packaging BSc with creating an option that was not only “greener”, but also functional and cost-effective: two non-negotiables in last-mile food logistics.
What makes the box distinctive is a new locking/sealing mechanism: instead of adding extra components, the structure uses additional paperboard folds to create a tighter closure. The goal is to reduce two persistent pain points in delivery packaging (leaks/spillages and heat loss) while keeping costs under control.
On materials, Deliveroo says the pack is made from PLA-lined paperboard and is industrially compostable (EN 13432) where suitable facilities exist. In other words, the sustainability claim is linked primarily to end-of-life: in areas with food-waste collection and industrial composting capacity, contaminated packaging can follow an organic-waste route rather than heading to landfill. Deliveroo also notes a practical reality for the sector: food-soiled packs are often difficult to recycle, making compostability an alternative pathway, provided the local system can actually process it.
For packaging professionals, the move is interesting for a simple reason: it combines material switching (away from conventional fossil-based plastic linings) with design-for-performance (closure and insulation), and it tries to do so without a “green premium” that would slow adoption by independent restaurants.Deliveroo frames the launch as part of a broader effort to help restaurants transition to more sustainable packaging, and confirms the initiative returned in 2025 with a new challenge in collaboration with partner GAIL’s Bakery, a signal that the company is treating packaging as an ongoing innovation track, not a one-off pilot.
