Sponsored by GP PRO
Plastic snap-on cup lids are inexpensive and permanently shelf stable, but their virtues end about there. Large boxes each holding 1,000 of them take up significant shelf space in already snug restaurants, and once used by customers, lids typically end up in landfills.
In a rush, they’re easy for workers to mishandle—for example, covering one cup with multiple lids—and can fall to the ground from newly opened sleeves. In the hands of unaware customers, lids can be wasted and contaminated. Even worse, most snap-on lids aren’t tamper-evident or liquid-tight.
GP PRO, a division of Georgia-Pacific, has devised a helpful solution to those problems with the GP PRO Automated Sealing Machine (Auto Sealer). By applying a plastic, tamper-evident seal on to-go cups from eight to 44 ounces, the need for plastic snap-on lids is nearly eliminated.
Improving to-go beverage hygiene
Operating the Auto Sealer is simple. A worker inserts the beverage-filled cup vertically into a port on the machine, and a liquid-tight seal is applied to the top in about two seconds. When correctly handled, workers do not contact and contaminate the sanitary seal.
Alec Frisch, vice president and general manager of foodservice at GP PRO, says the company began developing the Automated Sealing Machine three years ago to address surging demand for to-go beverages sold for carryout and delivery. But as COVID-19 restrictions shifted billions of restaurant orders through those channels in 2020, GP PRO decided the time was right to bring to market its highly hygienic and tamper-evident drink-sealing system.
“Especially with the virus changing so much operationally, we knew it was important to provide something to restaurant operators that could help improve hygiene,” Frisch says. The automatically applied seal means foodservice workers never touch the lid, and customers can be certain the seal will not be broken upon receipt. “With the GP PRO Automated Sealing Machine, customers can be confident that whether their beverage comes through the drive-thru or it’s delivered, they’ll get it safely.”
Delivering a sustainable solution
While helping restaurants grow to-go beverage sales was a top priority, John Salvador, director of sustainability strategy for GP PRO, says the sustainability benefits of its Automated Sealing Machine also align with many operators’ sustainability goals.
A two-roll case of the machine’s plastic sealing film eliminates the use of 5,000 traditional plastic cup lids and requires 60% less plastic. That the film case takes up 90% less space than the typical plastic lid box means fewer trucks are required to deliver them.
“One truckload of our sealer film can cover the same number of cups as would 20 truckloads of plastic lids,” Salvador says. “It’s easy for us to connect the dots to the sustainability benefits of fewer trucks, less greenhouse gasses and better treatment of the environment.”
Salvador also points out that there is no plastic film waste with the Auto Sealer, because it doesn’t trim each plastic seal to fit each cup opening. It shrinks the film to custom fit every cup size.
Frisch adds that many GP PRO customers have high-level sustainability goals for their operations, and the GP PRO Automated Sealing Machine helps them meet many of those.
“For some operators, the focus is on how they can just use less stuff,” says Salvador. “So reducing drink lid plastic use by 60% is huge for them, and so is taking up less space in the restaurant. I used to own a QSR, so I can really relate to both.”
Others, he says, are focused on indirect benefits like greenhouse gas reduction and putting less waste into landfills. “Taking trucks off the road is important to customers, so they appreciate this option.”
“Our obvious goals for sealing drink cups were tied to making them better and safer for delivery,” Salvador says. “But this technology gives us so many more options to improve sustainability. We know our partners really like that.”
Tamper-evident, sustainable and ideal for generating drink sales, the GP PRO Automated Sealing Machine can be seen in action in this video. For more details about the Auto Sealer, visit here.
