I opened my sandwich bar ‘The Sweet Life’ six years ago at the ripe old age of 20. I’m now ashamed to admit that my impact on the environment wasn’t at the top of my priority list.
To be honest, my mind was more occupied on what colour I would paint the walls of my shop, and how my food appeared to others on my Instagram posts.
As my business evolved, so has my conscience. I am now so much more aware of how my business impacts the planet. Reducing the environmental impact of my business on the planet has become central to many decisions I make everyday.
When I first started offering corporate platter lunches for local companies, I would always turn to Makro or Bookers for our platter boxes. This was for pure convenience and ease, rather than making a conscious effort to explore other options.
I would buy rigid plastic platter boxes, which admittedly looked great when full of sandwiches, fruit or cakes. I soon started to realise that although our customers were pleased with the food I was providing, they weren’t as thrilled about the unnecessary plastic mountain that was left behind when the food had been eaten.
Clients started asking if they could return the plastic platter boxes after use so that I could reuse them. After only a few attempts at this, I realised that washing them left the plastic with a cloudy appearance and not to mention added a lot more work for my team.
Eventually, I decided that despite our best efforts, reusing them wasn’t an option. This began to dampen our fantastic feedback and reviews with “Great food” followed by, “it’s a shame about the plastic platter boxes”. I realised that something had to change.
When I started making a conscious effort to explore the world of sustainable, recyclable platter boxes, Colpac was a breath of fresh air. They offered me a larger range of types and sizes than I had previous access to through Bookers and Marko, plus they looked so much more natural and more presentable. On receiving my first delivery, I instantly regretted not making this choice sooner.
At first, my biggest concern about using Colpac platter boxes was that they might soak up any moisture from the food I was placing in them, such as sandwiches or fruit.
Simply lining the bottom of each platter box with a recyclable greaseproof paper eased my mind and I’ve never had this problem with any of the 1000s I’ve sent out to my customers. I doubt now that this is even necessary, but you know ‘piece of mind’ is a powerful thing.
I can now honestly say that using Colpac recyclable and sustainable platter boxes over the plastic I once used, is beneficial to me, my customers and the planet.
I frequently receive 5* reviews and great feedback from my customers. Any compliments regarding my food and my new packaging are uplifting.
It truly has become a win-win situation. Colpac packaging now matches the quality of the food my team prepares throughout my business. There are about twenty different Colpac products that we use with confidence everyday.
My knowledge of food packaging now enables me to choose a sustainable solution to fit each item we produce. I now look at how packaging presents my food and how it will maintain its original quality even hours later. Thanks to Colpac my environmental impact also has reduced significantly.
My business continues to grow and the slight increase in my packaging costs is negated by my customers' loyalty, almost all of whom I serve on a daily basis.
Being the best at what I do relies on every element of my business. Reflecting my commitment to quality, creativity and sustainability continues to be an important focus of mine. My willingness to make changes and to listen to my customers' feedback has always served me well.
