M&S is claiming to be the first major retailer to introduce a reusable container incentive for fresh food-to-go, as part of its plan to reduce single-use packaging.
The new scheme will incentivise customers to bring their own reusable containers to M&S’ Market Place counters by offering a 25p discount off each meal. The retailer stated that is aiming to encourage a change in consumer behaviour and reduce the use of disposable items on the high street, as new research by IGD reveals the food-to-go sector is set to grow by 26.4% by 2024.
The M&S Market Place concept is available in 23 of city centre stores and offers a variety of hot and cold lunch-to-go options, from rotisserie chicken and fish to freshly prepared salads. Over 70,000 people are said to pick up lunch from Market Place each week.
Paul Willgoss, Director of Food Technology at M&S, said: “Our priority is to reduce single-use packaging and ensure any we do use can be reused or recycled, as we work towards our 2022 target for all our packaging to be widely recyclable.
“Food-to-go is a growing market; so finding solutions in this space is an important part of our wider plan. Our Market Place containers are already widely recyclable, but we want to go a step further with the introduction of an incentive to encourage customers to switch to reusable containers.”
M&S already offers a 25p incentive for hot drinks served in reusable coffee cups.
NAM Implications:
- Presumably M&S have explored the issue of legal liability…
- …for any instances of contamination (genuine or malicious) arising from the process.
