Designed by: Morrama | Country: UK

Wagamama, a British chain of restaurants, is known for serving Asian food with a focus on Japanese cuisine. Founded by Alan Yau, the first restaurant was opened in Bloomsbury, London, in 1992.

Morrama, a London-based industrial design consultancy, developed a sustainable packaging system for Wagamama’s delivery and takeaway operations.

“Approached by wagamama in 2021, the design team was challenged to rethink the restaurant’s takeaway packaging to meet the brand’s ambitious sustainability goals. Drawing inspiration from the circular economy strategy and with advice from external recycling and packaging experts, the innovation agency first defined the driving principles behind wagamama’s packaging redesign: Reduce: wagamama will no longer rely on up to 330 tonnes of virgin plastic every year for its delivery packaging operations; Recycle: wagamama is the first in the industry to use materials made from 70% recycled content; Improve: Morrama worked with both wagamama guests and the design team to improve the overall experience from ‘bowl to soul.’”

The packaging

With the world moving towards a sustainable future, it does not come as a surprise when private ventures follow the bandwagon in helping governments move in the right direction. Wagamama’s effort toward making the world plastic-free is commendable. Morrama worked on removing plastic elements from the packaging and replaced them with biodegradable materials.

“Where possible plastic was removed completely. However, despite exploring bio-based and biodegradable materials, plastic remained necessary to preserve the taste and temperature of some dishes and ensure they make it to customers without leakages. To ensure the new packaging range met the sustainability criteria, Morrama spent over a year working alongside a thermoformed food packaging supplier to develop a solution using a new, industry-first recyclable material called cPET.”