In keeping with changing consumer behaviour, Food Passion, the operator of Bar B Q Plaza, Jum Zap Hut, Charna, Space Q and Red Sun, has formed alliances with three business partners to offer innovative food delivery services.
Chataya Supanpong, chief engagement officer of Food Passion, said its delivery service will be operated under a "wasteless delivery" initiative to reduce use of single-use plastics.
"As we come into this market, we've realised we should be helping reduce single-use plastic waste, which is a global crisis that can affect the planet in the long run," said Ms Chataya.
"The exponential growth of food delivery services has increased the amount of plastic waste. In 2019, there could be an estimated 560 million pieces of plastic waste from food delivery worth more than 35 billion baht. That amount of plastic waste is determined from an average delivery of 250 baht. That results in about 140 million deliveries.
"If one delivery uses at least four pieces of plastic, including one container, one bag for dipping sauce, one big plastic bag and one piece of cutlery, all deliveries made this year can generate 560 million pieces."
She said the wasteless delivery concept will be applied in two ways.
The first is to reduce existing trash by opting for biodegradable containers. The second is to encourage maximum reuse.
"To accomplish this goal in plastic waste reduction, cooperation from all involved parties is necessary, such as delivery service providers, restaurants, and finding replacements for plastic containers and wares. A better option is to reuse plastic bags for delivery," said Ms Chataya.
"Food Passion has found allies that share the same vision in Duni, Won Project and GrabFood. Together, we aim to push for a new standard of food delivery that doesn't harm the environment."
Duni is an expert in developing British Retail Consortium-certified sustainable products from bagasse that can biodegrade within 45 days.
Won project, operated by TPBI, focuses on solving the plastic waste creatively using the circular economy philosophy.
She said GrabFood, the leading food delivery application, is well aware of the plastic waste problem and has a policy to promote environmental sustainability.
Similar to Food Passion, GrabFood has come up with solutions to reduce single-use plastics in food delivery, such as adding a feature for customers to choose whether they want cutlery, as well as partnering with different parties to encourage customers to use paper bags instead of single-use plastic bags.
Aside from offering alternatives for customers who don't want plastic cutlery, GrabFood also created a campaign to motivate consumers to change their behaviour by offering 50,000 discount codes worth 10 baht each when they order meals from participating restaurants under Food Passion during Nov 28-Dec 31 as a thank you to customers for their participation.
Food Passion has a goal to reduce single-use plastics used in delivery service by 1.2 million pieces.
For 2020, delivery sales at Food Passion restaurants are projected to make up 10% of overall services at branches that serve as a delivery hub.