Customers care about sustainability when ordering takeaway

The survey, of which 7,000 global consumers responded, showed customers valued when venues were transparent about sustainability processes, avoided excess food waste and were mindful about packaging. Consumers would be willing to pay more for sustainable options, the survey also revealed.

While 65% of respondents said they found healthy, sustainable eating to be more expensive, almost half (43%) said they were willing to pay more for takeaways in restaurants that had visible sustainability practices, with another 47% claiming they would consider changing what they ordered from the menu to be more sustainable.

Honesty and transparency

In addition, more than half (56%) of respondents would like restaurants to better share how they are working to make their takeaways and deliveries more sustainable, with 56% claiming they didn’t believe restaurants were very transparent about their sustainability practices.

What’s more, 66% said they felt it was important restaurants were open about practices to limit food waste, proving that communication between customer and pub to be key.

Minimising food waste was also important to consumers: while 67% of consumers usually keep larger than necessary food portions as leftovers, more than half (51%) stated that seeing large amounts of food waste frustrated them and put them off ordering from that venue ever again.

Even more so, 73% valued having accurate portion sizes to avoid food waste, with 68% feeling takeaway restaurants should have precautions in place to avoid unnecessary food waste.

Sustainable packaging

Consumers are also on the lookout for pubs that use sustainable materials in their packaging. More than half (54%) of customers stated they would prefer to order from restaurants that remove excess packaging from the food delivery, with 56% claiming they would prefer a restaurant that uses eco-friendly packaging and doesn’t use single-use plastic.

It’s not just consumers that value sustainability: 99% of hospitality professionals said it was important for them to work for an organisation with sustainable values, according to a recent report from BRITA Professional.​

That another survey showed​ only one fifth of hospitality businesses tracked whether their food waste came from preparation, spoilage or plant waste showed the industry needs to increase focus on sustainability to attract customers and retain staff.