Deliveroo and Gail’s have partnered with a university to challenge students to develop a sustainable coffee cup for delivery.
As part of Deliveroo’s Sustainable Packaging Challenge, students at Sheffield Hallam University have been asked to develop a sustainable cup that enables hot drinks to be delivered from Gail’s to customers whilst remaining hot, without spilling, arriving in the best possible condition and considering sustainability as a main driver for innovation.
They will have just under five months to produce a prototype for a cup that meets these objectives, receiving guidance and support from experts at both Deliveroo and Gail’s. The winning design will then be selected at a final exhibition, with winners receiving a £1,500 cash prize and the chance to discuss the potential for their design to go into production with the bakery business.
Breakfast and coffee is one of the fastest growing categories on the Deliveroo app, it said. With the growth of coffee deliveries through Deliveroo, the business is keen to ensure drinks orders arrive in perfect condition in packaging that is ethically sourced, recyclable or made from renewable resources and/or is compostable. It chose Gail’s to partner with as the business is one of the most popular brands in the breakfast and coffee category on the platform.
Gail’s initially joined Deliveroo with 19 of its London sites two years ago. Since then it has expanded to over 160 bakeries across 13 cities, including Manchester, Birmingham, Oxford, Cambridge, Reading, Leamington Spa, Brighton, Chelmsford and most recently Bristol and Bath.
“Breakfast and coffee is a big area of growth for Deliveroo, and this partnership demonstrates the value in large businesses supporting the development of cutting-edge research, working with universities to bring new, creative and more sustainable ideas to market,” said Jen Bagshaw, head of packaging at Deliveroo.
Rosie Hill, head of e-commerce at Gail’s added that the firm hopes to “innovate and improve on the customer experience, whilst implementing an even more sustainable packaging solution”. “With our hot drinks being so popular on Deliveroo, the students have a significant opportunity here to join our mission to make a positive impact,” Hill added.
This initiative follows continued steps made by Deliveroo to support restaurants to transition to sustainable packaging. In 2024 they worked with Sheffield Hallam University, challenging students on their Degree Apprenticeship in Packaging Professional to develop a piece of sustainable packaging for food delivery that prevented spillages and maintained food at the correct temperature. The winning design is now being produced in collaboration with BioPak and will be available for all partners to buy through Deliveroo’s sustainable packaging webstore this year.
Additionally, Deliveroo has a £2.5 million packaging fund that subsidises the cost of select environmentally friendly packaging items from the Deliveroo packaging store, elevating its sustainability offer to restaurant partners to support them in switching to greener choices.
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