Growing Popularity of PET Plastic Cups in Fast Food Chains

For a fast-food chain to be successful, it must stay in tune with the shifts in its market. However, restaurateurs may not be aware that one recent trend does not specifically involve food or beverages, but rather one of the products that they come in: PET plastic cups.

The market for these products is experiencing exceptional growth for several reasons. Read on to learn what is driving the growing popularity of PET plastic cups in fast food chains.

What Are PET Plastic Cups?

If you are not familiar with PET plastic cups, now is a good time to learn more about them. Made of polyethylene terephthalate plastic, these cups are often used by restaurateurs to sell foods and beverages. The transparent nature of the material also allows customers to have a clear view of the product inside as they eat or drink it.

Restaurants can top these containers with multiple types of PET cup lids, including traditional flat or dome-shaped lids. The latter are available with different hole sizes, which can be very helpful if the customer chooses to enjoy a frozen beverage or treat with a spoon.

Why Are PET Cups Rising in Popularity?

There are several reasons for the growing popularity of PET plastic cups in fast food chains, ranging from convenience to consumer safety. Find out about each of these below to learn why you should incorporate them into your restaurant.

The Cups Accommodate the Beverage Boom

One reason why the cups are gaining popularity is that more consumers are purchasing cold and carbonated beverages. This has put the PET cups in an ideal position, as restaurateurs can use them to meet customers’ needs.

PET Cups Are Strong

PET cups are also surging because they are strong and reliable containers, unlike some other products. How many consumers have had the unfortunate experience of a food or beverage container break and spill its contents all over them? A PET plastic cup can provide customers with the security they need.

For example, when a fast-food restaurant serves a customer an ice cream sundae in a PET cup, they should find that the rigid walls won’t easily crack due to the cold temperatures. Instead, their delicious treat will stay inside the cup, allowing the customer to savor every spoonful of the savory, cool dessert.

They Have a Cool Appearance

Not only do PET cups do a good job of keeping customers’ cool drinks or treats safe, but they also help improve their visibility of the product within. Their transparent nature allows people to view the food or drink as customers carry or consume it.

This can be especially beneficial when you serve customers a particularly colorful dessert or beverage, such as a yogurt parfait or an iced coffee. Seeing such products in the PET cup will motivate others to order that same item or beverage, which will improve your sales.

The PET cups themselves also look impressive. The containers feature a clean, streamlined design that catches the eye of the customer. You can further accentuate the effect by topping the cups with a curved lid.

A PET Cup Provides Convenience

People also like PET cups because they provide consumers with convenience and cause very little hassle. When a person has a busy schedule, they may not have time to sit at a table at their favorite fast-food restaurant and enjoy a milkshake or an iced tea. Instead, they will need to carry it out, and the PET cup meets that need.

Thanks to the cup and its rigid walls, consumers can enjoy their items on the go, making it easy to fit this nourishment into their schedules. Plus, the cups are lightweight, making it easy to carry them around while enjoying them, rather than feeling a burden during their commute.

Using Them Provides Green Advantages

Many restaurants within the fast-food sector have adopted green initiatives. One way that they’ve become more sustainable is by utilizing PET cups.

Although it can take hundreds of years for plastic to decompose in a landfill, the material can also go through a recycling process. After your customers put their used PET cups into your restaurant’s recycling bin, you can send them to a plant for recycling.

The lightweight nature of the PET cups also allows for environmentally friendly outcomes. Because the products are not as heavy as others, vehicle engines won’t have to work as hard when they transport them to your restaurant. This means that the vehicles will produce fewer emissions, resulting in less environmental harm.

PET Cups Help Ensure Consumer Safety

This next reason why PET cups are rising in popularity may surprise you: they allow consumers to feel more assured of their safety. When customers dine in a sit-down restaurant, they often drink beverages from cups or glasses that must go back to the kitchen to be washed afterward. This may make some people afraid that they are at risk of contracting germs from the customers who previously used them.

However, when fast-food restaurants provide customers with food or beverages in a PET cup, they can feel far less at risk. Manufacturers produce these cups for a single use, so customers don’t have to worry about who drank from them earlier. Instead, they can enjoy their iced tea or tiramisu in peace, feeling fully content that they were the only ones to eat or drink from these containers.

Another reason consumers can feel safe drinking from a PET cup is that its material—polyethylene terephthalate—won’t react negatively with most consumable items placed inside the cup. That will help eliminate their worries about chemical poisoning.

The Plastic Helps Restaurateurs Enjoy Savings

PET cups are also gaining steam in the fast-food sector because polyethylene terephthalate provides restaurateurs with cost advantages. Unlike with some other plastics, manufacturers spend less money using this material to make their cups.

In addition, their lightweight nature also allows for savings when manufacturers ship the products to fast-food chains. Restaurateurs will also find them to be conveniently stackable when they arrive, allowing them to experience savings in their space when they put them in their storage rooms.

After learning about the various reasons why PET cups are gaining popularity, you should seriously consider adding them to your fast food restaurant’s operations. By doing so, you’ll deliver benefits to your company, your customers, and even the environment. Don’t hesitate to discover firsthand why these cups have gained prevalence in the fast-food industry.