Food delivery platforms are promoting the widespread adoption of eco-friendly packaging, and merchants’ usage rates have significantly increased.
Release time:
2025-12-29
With the active promotion and policy guidance from food delivery platforms, domestic catering businesses have significantly increased their use of eco-friendly packaging such as pulp molded products, and eco-friendly packaging is gradually becoming the mainstream choice in the food delivery industry.
With the active promotion and policy guidance from food-delivery platforms, domestic catering businesses have significantly increased their use of eco-friendly packaging such as pulp molded products. Eco-friendly packaging is gradually becoming the mainstream choice in the food-delivery industry. Data released by leading food-delivery platforms show that in 2024, the proportion of merchants using eco-friendly packaging on these platforms rose from 35.2% in 2023 to 52.8%. Among them, merchants in first-tier cities have already reached a usage rate of 65%, and this proportion is expected to exceed 68% by 2025. Food-delivery platforms have become the core driving force behind the widespread adoption of eco-friendly packaging, guiding merchants to make the transition through various initiatives. Specifically, food-delivery platforms are promoting the use of eco-friendly packaging primarily through three key approaches: First, financial subsidies—providing merchants who actively adopt eco-friendly packaging such as pulp molded products with subsidies covering a certain percentage of their packaging costs, thereby reducing the cost of transitioning; second, traffic incentives—incorporating the use of eco-friendly packaging into merchant search ranking algorithms, giving greater exposure to merchants that have achieved remarkable results in eco-friendly transformation and boosting their order volumes; third, standardization—jointly working with industry associations and leading packaging companies to establish standards for the use of eco-friendly packaging, clearly defining requirements for product performance and environmental indicators, thus providing merchants with a reliable basis for selection. Meanwhile, major chain restaurants, food-delivery platforms, and packaging manufacturers are deepening strategic cooperation, forming a complete industrial ecosystem—from raw material procurement to end-use applications, enabling resource sharing and complementary advantages. For example, leading food-delivery platforms have established direct-purchase partnerships with several pulp-molded packaging companies, leveraging large-scale procurement to lower the prices of eco-friendly packaging while ensuring stable supply and high product quality. International dining brands are also accelerating their shift toward eco-friendly packaging; many well-known brands have integrated pulp-molded tableware into their core supply chains and are promoting its use across all their outlets nationwide. The pulp-molded coffee cups and meal boxes launched by these brands, made from sugarcane bagasse, are fully biodegradable and have received wide consumer acclaim. The impetus provided by food-delivery platforms and the exemplary role played by brand companies have not only boosted the market penetration of eco-friendly packaging but have also driven the development of industry-wide standardization. Currently, China has issued several national mandatory standards for pulp-molded tableware, including those for "disposable paper bowls" and "disposable paper plates," which regulate product quality, protect consumer rights, and lay a solid foundation for the healthy development of the industry.
Hubei Wheat-Straw Environmental Technologies Co., Ltd.
• Phone:+86 728 8201921/916/920/926/928
• Email:info@maiganchina.com
• Official website:www.maiganchina.com
• Address: East Cheng Avenue, High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Changtang Town, Xiantao City, Hubei Province, China
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