Sustainable packaging may make food deliveries costlier by 10-30%: Zomato
Zomato executive Anjali Ravi Kumar stated that transitioning to sustainable packaging could increase food delivery costs by 10-30% for consumers. The company is promoting its 'PackSwitch' platform to help restaurants find affordable, eco-friendly alternatives to plastic.
Why it matters
It highlights the economic trade-offs between environmental sustainability and consumer affordability in the rapidly growing food delivery sector.
Use of sustainable and biodegradable packaging materials may make food orders costlier by 10% to 30% for consumers, said Anjali Ravi Kumar, Chief Sustainability Officer, Zomato Limited, a food ordering and delivery platform.
Currently, a majority of food deliveries are done in plastic containers or plastic wrapping materials and this packaging typically accounts for 5% of the total cost of the food order and is borne by the consumer.
Ms. Kumar, in a conversation with The Hindu , said the toughest challenge in replacing plastic packaging in food delivery with sustainable alternate materials such as Bagasse, aluminium, paper, and earthenware was affordability, with consumers unwilling to absorb such a premium for going green.
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