McDonald’s Innovative Takeout Packaging

The takeaway food giant McDonalds has released its new food product packaging McBike this June.

This food packaging can be used to carry food and drink safely and conveniently whilst on a bike.

This unique food packaging is a cardboard box that has a handle at the top of it, which can be used to put it over the handle of a bicycle or bike. The internal structure of the box is such that it has two side pockets enabling it to carry McDonald’s food items safely. The food packaging also has a hole at the bottom of the box so the user can conveniently carry his or her drink. The takeaway also keeps food fresh and retains heat, plus the packaging will be biodegradable which is great for the environment.

Fortune Magazine reported that this new kind of takeaway packaging has been designed by an Argentine adverting agency called Tribal Buenos Aires.

The launch of the packaging occurred in Denmark, but it is expected that this takeaway packaging will be introduced shortly to places such as Amsterdam and Tokyo, where there is a high volume of cyclists. The new packaging innovation from McDonald’s is intended to make the lives of its customers easier when ordering and traveling with takeaway food items.

Despite the positives of the introduction of this unique design, there has been some controversy over the creation history of the design itself.

Is McDonald’s Takeaway Packaging a Rip-off from a Student’s Packaging Design?
The new packaging created by McDonald’s has reportedly a very similar design to that created by a student called Seulbi Kim in 2013. The student at Rhode Island School of Design at that time noticed that the design she had created also had a two-pocket system that could be used for holding sandwiches and fries. The student’s design also had a hole at the bottom to conveniently carry a drink. However, the top of Kim’s packaging design differed from that of the design that McDonald’s released.

In Kim’s design, both pockets in the takeaway packaging came together to form a hook system, while McDonald’s food packaging design had an additional slit that allows customers to slide the box through the handlebars of a bicycle or bike.

Kim says on her website that she designed this package to help carry fast food more efficiently while decreasing takeaway packaging by 50%. She also mentioned that she was not contacted by anyone regarding her design, but it is good to see her design in the food industry. Kim mentioned that despite this it was a concern that it had been copied and this troubled her.

The Innovation of Takeaway Packaging
Takeaway food packaging has advanced in design and style over recent years as the growth in the industry quickens. Huge advances in the manufacturing process and the ability to create more materials mean that takeaway packaging supplies are available in more variants than ever.

Food packaging from takeaway restaurants is available in many formats from paper carrier bags, food boxes, pizza boxes, foil containers, cartons and others. Most of the takeaway packaging nowadays is compostable or reusable, as most of the large takeout restaurant brands put sustainability at the top of their priorities. There has been a notable reduction in the use of single-use plastic and a range of sustainable food packaging innovations that mean most items that are taken away are fully recyclable.

Innovation in the food packaging industry has meant that it is easier than ever to create bespoke packaging for businesses which gives the business important brand recognition to its customers and ensures the basics such as delivered food being hot and contaminated free is possible.

McDonald’s Food Packaging Supplies
McDonald’s packaging is made almost entirely of paper and plastics. The boxes that the business uses are made of corrugated cardboard and are 100% recyclable. All the plastics used in their packaging for takeaways are made of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which are both recyclable.

McDonald’s uses paper bags rather than plastic ones and their takeaway bags retain heat and keep hot food edible, and leak-proof, for when it arrives with its customer.

The company is well-regarded for its use of sustainable takeaway packaging, and it regards itself as not only an eco-friendly business but a leader in responsible actions as a provider of large amounts of packaging to consumers around the world.

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