PPB August 2020

The bag market, boosted by growing legislation to ban single-use plastic bags and the “green wave,” has been affected by the COVID-19 crisis. To protect workers and customers, retail and grocery industries have discouraged, and even banned, customers from using reusable bags from fear of spreading coronavirus. While sales for branded tote bags have fallen during the pandemic, the need for insulated bags to support restaurant takeout and delivery orders has only increased. With people reluctant to leave the house during the pandemic, more Americans are ordering delivery. According to Nation’s Restaurant News, 51 percent use delivery services to purchase meals from casual dining restaurants and 26 percent order takeout at least once a week. The insulated bag, or thermal bag, was invented by Ingrid Kosar in 1984 to keep pizzas hot when delivering them to customers’ homes or offices. However, pizza no longer dominates the takeout and delivery business. Delivery traffic outside of pizza has risen 33 percent since 2012. Due to COVID-19, online ordering has become the primary source of revenue for many restaurants. From February to April, the number of restaurants actively using Online Ordering with Upserve, a restaurant management software, increased 169 percent along with an 840-percent increase in weekly sales through online ordering. Restaurants and delivery drivers will need branded, insulated bags to keep food hot and fresh. Insulated bags are now commonly used, and everyday consumers can experience multilayered insulation in their lunch boxes or bags. Approximately 18 million kids in the U.S. bring their lunch to school, and nearly half (49 percent) of people bring their lunch to work. Before the 1980s, adults and children carried their lunches in metal lunch boxes. One hundred years earlier, factory workers brought their lunch from home in metal pails and by the early 1900s, children were carrying lunch to school in metal lunch pails or boxes. The first decorated lunch box debuted in 1935 featuring Mickey Mouse and the market exploded in the 1950s with cartoon and TV characters. The popularity and success of lunch boxes couldn’t be ignored and major companies like McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Kellogg’s began putting their logos and mascots on promotional lunch boxes by the 1970s. By 1985, metal lunch boxes were replaced by safer plastic lunch boxes. In the 1990s, plastic lunch boxes with eye-catching covers that depicted scenes from popular movies, like Star Wars , and popular cartoon characters, like the Ninja Turtles and Care Bears, became popular. Thermos, a primary manufacturer of these plastic lunch boxes, made an estimated $40 million in sales every year during this time. Today’s lunch boxes are insulated and soft-sided, and lunch box manufacturers also use safer materials like neoprene, canvas and polyester. Food safety for businesses and consumers is a top priority. For deliveries, road trips and regular workdays, treat your clients with an insulated bag. Hot & Cold Insulated Bags Andrew Angelov / Nikita Rublev / Rum / Shutterstock.com Bags 54 | AUGUST 2020 | GROW