Back in 2020, Wagamama, a British restaurant chain, wanted to set themselves apart with sustainability in mind. They decided to rethink their packaging and partnered with Morrama to accelerate this change. Basically, the main goal is to cut the amount of plastic in their takeout packaging, it has to be able to carry ramen noodles securely while bouncing along the streets of London in a Deliveroo scooter without leaking. After carefully exploring different biodegradable materials, it was decided that plastic was still going to be required for some dishes.

Morrama design team focused heavily on sustainable design. They discussed multiple design strategies and used a wealth of knowledge from different materials, recycling, and packaging experts to give feedback for this new packaging design for Wagamama. The packaging design should be based on three sustainable principles: reduce, recycle, and improve.

When possible, Morrama decided to remove the plastic completely, such as why use plastic for salads when a cardboard would do. They also eliminate Katsu curry sauce boat, the main bowl is reduced in size by 20%, because by reducing air space inside, it helps keeping food hotter for longer period of time. However, in the end, plastic was still needed for some dishes.

After months of testing, Morrama found a way to switch from PP for PET. Recycled PET is safe to use in food products, switching from PP for PET would simply cut up to 330 million tonnes of virgin plastic from Wagamama’s takeaway. Using a crystallized version of PET helps bring additional heat resistance, this new packaging range is made from 70% recycled PET but remaining 30% virgin plastic is still required for structural integrity. However, this packaging is still 100% recyclable.