Food Box Design: Headed in a New Direction

 It's been more than a century since Food Box Design has made its way into the food industry - and other industries as well. From corrugated to paperboard boxes, they have been ever-improving, too; we've managed to make them leak-proof, customizable, colorful, and even with windows to show off the food inside. Modern paperboard food boxes are compact, pre-cut, and easy to unfold and go. When anything sticks around for more than a hundred years after their invention, you can tell that the industry is not planning on trying to fix what isn't broken, and because they've got so many uses, they probably aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

But for many years, cardboard and paperboard boxes have had to compete with other types, especially in the food industry. Styrofoam, plastic, and aluminum containers pose many of the same benefits: they're compact, come in many sizes, make it easy to store foods that contain a lot of moisture, et cetera. So why, over the past few years, have their paperboard brethren been getting ahead in the race of popularity?

One of the main reasons, of course, is the cultural obsession with "going green." This is one of the things our society has latched onto that's actually proactive and makes sense. Some of the most important benefits that plastic and Styrofoam don't have involve being more environmentally-friendly. They're recyclable [and often made from recycled materials, as well], for one, and therefore consume fewer natural resources in terms of material and energy. The majority of the resources they do use are renewable, and some brands are made from a minimum of 35% post-consumer materials.

On top of that, though, many companies are enjoying the fact that they're attractive. Paperboard packaging is more upscale in appearance and adds a little something extra to any restaurant that chooses to use them. Companies can even have their logos printed onto the boxes to assist with their branding, which shows that they put forth the extra effort for their customers.

Paperboard packaging, due to their neat, folded designs and locking lids, don't require purchasing separate lids. They already come in a number of shapes and sizes, so restaurants can get everything they need from one provider without having to worry about ending up with more lids than bases. And on top of that, they can hold any type of food: hot or cold, wet or dry.