MrTakeOutBags.com Foodservice Jesse Harster Blog

Have you ever woken up and reached for the bag of coffee – or gone into your place of business – only to find that the coffee you thought was good had gone stale and lost all its luster? Chances are, the dire need for caffeine took over, tensions rose, and for the rest of the day nothing seemed to go right. It’s true, bad coffee can lead to a bad day.

Your customers want fresh coffee to enjoy in your shop and at home, so you need a way to ensure your coffee doesn’t go stale. Packaging it in tin tie bags not only provides an impressive, classic coffee shop aesthetic, it also keeps your product at peak freshness.

Prevent Baddies from Contaminating Your Coffee

Coffee tin tie bags are specially designed to block moisture or oxygen from contaminating your fresh coffee beans or grounds. The bags come with a closure that seals it shut when folded over, and is re-sealable for each and every use. Unlike regular bags, the coffee tin tie bag seals out anything that can cause coffee beans to spoil or lose its taste, such as debris found in the air. By cutting off contact with airborne particles, your coffee lasts longer and stays fresher than coffee left out on its own.

Extend Shelf Life

Here’s a no-brainer for you: If your coffee can stay fresher longer, then its shelf life will extended. Not only do you get fresher coffee, but you also save money by not having to replace a product that went stale before its time. What’s the magic behind all this? There are several different types of inner liners that lock freshness inside. These options are your standard Poly lined bags, the fully-compostable PLA liner, and bags lined with grease resistant paper. All of these types of linings help to keep the good stuff in (hello, perfect coffee) and the bad stuff out (so long, dust particles).

Offer Artisanal Packaging Customers Will Adore

No one gets excited about a plain old grocery bag, but so many of us swoon over great packaging. Remember being a kid on Christmas morning and the sight of all those beautifully wrapped packages was just as exciting as opening them? It’s still the same way today, only for adults. Your customers will love being handed neatly wrapped packages with high-quality material and a window box to view their new goodies inside. This helps to increase the perceived value of a product. It shows that you really care about what you are making and selling. An added bonus: branded items help get your company’s name out there, in front of other potential customers.

Choices include natural kraft, white, black, gold, bright red, and festive holiday bags.

For your business, it’s no question that you need efficient products to keep your goods fresh and safe from unhealthy debris. The coffee tin tie bags from MrTakeOutBags.com can provide all the practical features you need and will look great for customers too.

Gift cards are the ultimate Christmas gift. Everyone can use them, and everyone secretly wants them, especially to avoid the infamous experience from “A Christmas Story” of unwrapping bunny footie pajamas, complete with a cotton tail from your great Aunt Gertrud. However, the main reason many of your customers may choose not to purchase a gift card is because they feel it won’t make their recipient feel as special, or it won’t be as exciting to open as a wrapped present. But there is a way you can make gift cards just as unique, and convince your customers to purchase what they know will truly make the people on their list happy.

Pop-up gift card boxes are designed to present the gift card as a gift. They are made with special wrapping paper and display the gift card inside like the little gem it is. Recipients will feel very special receiving this gift, and you can make your customers’ lives much easier this year by offering this fancy gift card option.

Combine a Special Presentation with What Your People Really Want.

So many stores and restaurants sell their gift cards with only a mere piece of paper to write “To” and “From” and nothing more. This lack of personal touch and excitement is what keeps many customers from purchasing a gift card for family and friends, even though they may know that the recipient would love a gift card from that particular business. The holidays are meant for showing the people in our lives how much they mean to us and how much we care, and your customers want to give their loved ones something heartfelt and meaningful. Pop-up gift card boxes make giving a gift card something truly special.

Pop-up Gift Card Boxes Come in a Variety of Styles to Suit All Personalities.

You can choose from a variety of colors and patterns of pop-up gift card boxes to suit everyone on the list. For the “Christmas Elf,” offer boxes wrapped in Santa red or adorned with little Christmas trees over a gold background. The “Fashionista” will love a lipstick pink, leopard print, or silver cheetah print box. For something sleek and sophisticated, go for classic black, tuxedo pinstriped, or leather styles.

Pop-up Gift Card Boxes Make a Gift Card Special For Friends, Family, Boys, Girls, And All Ages.

No matter if you’re shopping for your mother, grandfather, daughter, nephew, or little brother, a gift card often makes the perfect gift. They are suitable for all ages and personalities because they allow the recipient to choose for themselves exactly what they want. However, giving a gift card doesn’t have to be dull and impersonal. You and your customers can make it special by putting the gift card inside a pop-up gift card box. They will truly enjoy receiving this little box and will feel excited opening it.

Help make the decision to buy a gift card from you much easier for your customers, and allow them to personalize it and make it truly something special with a variety of pop-up gift card boxes from MrTakeOutBags.com.

Carols are on loop on the radio and stuck in our heads. Wreaths are being hung on shop windows and doors. And everyone seems to be a little cheerier than usual. The holiday season is here, and it’s time to bring the festivities to your business.

You might be hanging decorations in your bakery, restaurant, or food product store, but what about the things you give to customers? One way to display your business’s celebration of the holidays is through festive wine bottle bags. After all, the holiday spirit comes from everyday items that are turned into something special.

Add Cheer to Your Community with Wine Bottle Bags in Holiday Colors.

Choose wine bottle bags in festive colors like bright red and winter forest green to celebrate the holidays and the season of giving. Your customers will feel extra special being handed these specialty bags and will probably want to reuse them to give gifts to their family and friends! You can use these wine bottle bags to hand customers treats from the bakery, a bottle of wine from your collection, or a bottle of bubbly to celebrate good cheer. Stuff these bags like a stocking and your customers will be feeling the holiday spirit!

Print Your Business’s Logo onto Wine Bottle Bags.

Another way to make your mark this holiday season is to add your logo or business name to the outside of paper wine bottle bags. It’s a perfect way to get your name out there, display your business’s love of the holidays, and you can also include an extra special message thanking customers for their support this year. Customers love these little details and will appreciate the special attention. As you thank your loyal customers for their love this season, you can help yourself at the same time by marketing your business and encouraging more customers to find what they’re looking for with you. Customized wine bottle bags can hold one item, two items, and can come with sturdy handles for easy carrying through the snow.

Give Thanks to Nature with Eco-Friendly Wine Bottle Bags.

To truly get in touch with all that is good this season and to give thanks for all we are grateful for, we can’t forget to include Mother Nature. Use festive wine bottle bags that are recyclable, biodegradable, or compostable so you won’t be adding to the landfills. You also have the option of choosing reusable wine bottle bags so customers can take them home and continue to use them for all sorts of items over and over. It’s the gift that keeps on giving!

Make like an elf and add some magic to the holiday season this year with the festive and eco-friendly wine bottle bags from MrTakeOutBags.com. Santa will be proud!

Do you know what “double cupping it” is? As the owner of a coffee shop, this is a term of endearment all too familiar with your customers: Instead of walking around town, relaxing with a double-shot, sugar-free caramel latte in hand, it starts with your hand being practically scalded after grabbing the disposable cup; That shock to the system causes you to jump in surprise, spilling the hot beverage everywhere. The result? Wet and stained clothes, a hospital, and more low quality coffee cups angrily thrown into the trash (followed by a string of profanities..).

However, this whole experience can be completely avoided. There are many great coffee cup products out there that can help you avoid these frustrating situations as well as achieve your business goals. Here are 3 tips for how to find your perfect coffee cup:

To Eliminate The Double Cup: Look For Disposable Cups With Double Insulation

If the safety and well being of your customers is important to you (of course, it is!), look for disposable cups with thermo-grip technology which uses a double wall of insulation to keep heat in, and eliminates the need for double cupping. There will never be situations like the one described above, and you can skip purchasing extra cups and sleeves during your next order of supplies to save your business money. Not to mention, you won’t have to keep as many products stocked, which will make you happy no doubt, as well as Mother Nature.

To Support The Environment: Choose Compostable And Biodegradable Paper Cups

Choosing recyclable coffee cups is the first step for choosing eco-friendly products, but if you wish to take it to the next level, be sure to choose biodegradable and compostable paper cups from MrTakeOutBags.com. Biodegradable means that the product will completely break down and will simply return to nature, without sitting in a landfill contributing to pollution; compostable means a product will not only break down but will actually turn into nutrient-rich food for our soil. If minimizing your carbon footprint is important to you, then you need to use these eco-friendly paper cups in your shop for hot and cold beverages.

To Make Your Business Stand Out: Look For Unique Colors And Designs

Your business needs a certain brand image to stick out from the sea of other shops. You need to decide what makes you special, what you support, and what you wish to convey to customers. If you support eco-friendly products, then look for natural kraft coffee cups with the green product stamp. You can also look for coffee cups with unique designs with vibrant colors, coffee cup icons, and swirls, to set your shop apart from those that use all white cups.  All colorful cups are made using water-based inks, and with mostly renewable resources, so you don’t have to sacrifice eco-friendly for appearance.

We are usually told that we can’t have it all; If we want practical and safe, we need to sacrifice style; If we want eco-friendly, say goodbye to saving any money, etc. But you can have it all. Most coffee cup products at MrTakeOutBags.com combine environmentally friendly components with other features. In the very least, all products are recyclable using mostly plant-based materials so you won’t have to add to the landfills whether aesthetic, cost-savings, the environment, or your customer’s safety is your main conc

If you’re hosting a holiday dinner this year, the look and feel of the table sets the tone for the entire evening. And for many American families, the feast is the center of the holidays. Who said that setting a picture-perfect table needed to be pricey? There are many attractive, high quality table pieces that happen to be disposable – like glassware, cutlery, and plates. Opting to use disposable items not only saves you money (hello, extra holiday gifts), but it also reduces clean up time, which in turn increases family time.

Disposable Wine and Martini Glasses

Disposable plastic wine and martini glasses bring all of the class and sophistication you want for a holiday cocktail hour or catering event, only without the possibility of dangerous broken glass. Plus you spend no time at the sink scrubbing dishes later. Concerned about the amount of waste produced? Not to worry, our plastic martini glasses, as well as our disposable wine glasses, are recyclable. Keep a few colorful, metallic markers on hand and encourage guests to personalize their glasses. It’s unique and helps avoid drink mix-ups.

Tip: Step up your presentation by serving up dessert in the martini glasses. Mousse, parfaits, sundaes, and pudding all work perfectly.

Serving Plates

Disposable plates can be just as durable as their formal cousins, but minus all the time it’ll take you to wash the fine china this holiday season. Corrugated, disposable plates give the same feel as reusable plates, provide the same sturdy hold, but can be tossed in the recycle bin after using. We bet your guests may not even notice that they are eating off of recyclable dinnerware. Some of the more elegant options, like these square black plates, provide an elevated look comparable to fine dining establishments.

Tip: Complement your plates with thick, linen-like napkins, or these rustic burlap printed napkins to enhance the overall look of your table’s setting.

Cutlery

You really can have it all. Disposable flatware is chic, it’s convenient, and it won’t break the bank. In addition, there is a multitude of options. For a traditional look there are the silver style utensils. For the environmentally conscious there is compostable flatware. And for those who want a modern look there is the Reflections cutlery line. No need to polish Grandma’s old silverware this year!

Tip: No table is fully set without serving ware. Ladle sauces and serve slices of pies with these fine utensils.

Be prepared for lots of “oohs” and “ahhs” this season when your guests see your table scape and then learn that it’s all disposable.

Get ahead on your holiday decor planning and order everything you need from MrTakeOutBags.com.

You would have thought my mom won the lottery.

It was a few months ago for my father’s birthday when my mom had a huge dinner with all the fixings and the whole family over. There were 27 of us.

Anyways… outside of supervising the TV remote, the other way I contributed to this event was by bringing a couple dozen take out containers with me.

And like I said, when I showed these containers to my mom… you would have thought I was Ed McMahon with a 6 foot oversized check. She absolutely L.O.V.E.D. them.

Since I know this (and very much condone it for personal reasons), I “borrowed” a couple dozen Twin Lock and Bio Pak containers from our Sample Room here at MrTakeOutBags. (Sorry boss – it was for research purposes.)

And here’s the thing: besides my mom, all my other relatives crowded around and were talking about how cool these take out containers are. I had to laugh. Who would have thought these containers would be the talk of the the party?

So, with Thanksgiving right around the corner, you bet I’m going to “borrow” , I mean buy, more of these to go boxes to take with me.

For you and your business, these take out boxes can work just as fantastically. We all understand that to go containers are the kings of take out and Leftover Land. That’s why choosing the right one for your establishment is key.

Yet oftentimes, clients ask me the difference between the Twin Lock and Bio Pak boxes. Or they’re curious which one to go with, because they do appear to be quite similar.

You see, BOTH of these boxes are:

  – leak resistant so you can put sauces right in it

  – hold any type of food – hot, cold, wet, dry, it doesn’t matter

  – microwaveable so your customers can toss them right in mic

  – made in the USA

  – pre-formed and nested so they’re quick and easy to grab and use

  – one piece that doesn’t require you to stock and keep track of lids

  – stackable giving you more surface area to work with

  – leave a great final impression with your customers as they take them home with them

  – limit wasted space because they fold down unlike clamshells or most containers with lids

So, with all those similarities, you too might be wondering…

“How are they different?”

Well, here’s how the two stack up:

Vents

This is probably the first noticeable difference between the two. The Twin Lock take out boxes have optional vent holes that make them especially perfect for fried foods like chicken or fish. That way heat can escape and your delicious meal isn’t transformed into a soggy mooshy mess.

Colors and Designs

Both product lines come in numerous sizes usually denoted by a simple number. For example #1, #3 or #8. Similarly, both offer their boxes in colors white, black and kraft brown.

However, Bio Pak takes it a step further by offering:

  – a windowed version called the Bio Pak View

  – two separate lines that feature designs – Inspired by Nature and Sonoma

  – and a fully compostable option with the Bio-Plus Terra

Closure

The Twin Lock container features a twin locking closing style that makes it super easy and quick to close – even with just one hand. You merely fold one side down on top of the opposite side and push down. Done. (I shot this video with one hand holding my phone.)

Eco Friendly

Let’s talk about Mother Earth.

This is probably where the Bio Pak take out boxes shine the most. Now because Bio Pak has several different lines, some are more eco friendly than others. But all of them are, at bare minimum, recyclable. Some lines, like the Bio Pak Terra are even compostable.

The Twin Lock containers, however, are not recyclable.

Price

When it comes to price, these two guys are just about neck and neck with the Twin Lock being perhaps a few pennies less expensive per box on most sizes.

So, there you have it.

Each to go box has it’s own pros and cons. But depending on what’s most important to you or the major problem you’re having with your current container, hopefully this article has helped you figure out what’s your best solution.

And, by the way, if you need containers right now or soon, here’s where to get them…

>>> Bio Pak

>>> Twin Lock

Of course, if you have any further questions, give us a holler at 888-321-2248.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 2013, Americans generated approximately 254 million tons of trash, and recycled and composted about 87 millions tons of materials. Americans are throwing out more than they are reusing, and many businesses are trying to swap those numbers around and provide consumers with more options and products that are actually good for the environment.

One such product that is used in the millions in the U.S. is the take out container. So many of these products are made from environmentally toxic plastics and styrofoam, and they aren’t healthy for us either. But these products can actually be beneficial to the environment, and many manufacturers are following this eco-friendly path with solutions like these:

Biodegradable take out containers equal less pollution in the environment, and cleaner, less toxic air to breathe.

The creation of biodegradable plastics, paper and other materials do not inflict any harm to the Earth when recovering fossil fuels. In addition to much less aggravation done to the environment, this process also emits much less greenhouse gas and carbon emissions into the air. Non-biodegradable products require oil to manufacture, and according to the EPA, 42% of greenhouse gas emissions are from the harvesting of materials and food, production, and transportation of goods. To support the eco-friendly movement, look into using only biodegradable products for your business, such as biopak take out boxes, bags, coffee cups, and more.

Compostable take out containers actually nourish the soil and provide cleaner, natural methods for fertilizing and growing our plants.

Composting is the natural breakdown of organic materials into high quality soil that provides a bounty of benefits. Composting, whether it is from recyclable material or old food scraps, increases the nutrient content in soil, increases the soil’s moisture retention, eliminates the need for chemical and man-made fertilizers, and also prevents methane emissions from landfills, giving us and our environments cleaner air. A good example of compostable take out containers can be found in sugar cane fiber take out boxes which are fully recyclable, biodegradable and, of course, compostable. There are many plant-based sources that provide high performance without petro-chemicals so make the switch to compostable food containers and support a healthier environment.

Reusable and recyclable take out containers mean less waste entering the landfills, and more room for agricultural growth and cleaner air.

Recycling is the most effective way to reduce waste, because it eliminates the new production of materials in the first place. Making a new product requires a lot of energy and raw materials taken from the Earth. It must then be fabricated and transported to wherever it will be sold, furthering the amount of pollution entering the atmosphere. If you own a business in the food service industry, consider using only reusable and recyclable take out containers for your day-to-day needs and for customers. Choose to invest in eco friendly food packaging methods and encourage others to do the same.

There are simple switches and decisions everyone can make every day that all lead to a healthier Earth and cleaner air, starting with the types of products we use in our businesses. For more products and ways you can create a completely environmentally-conscious business, check out MrTakeOutBags.com, a company making eco-friendly the “newest” thing.

Whether you specialize in custom wedding cakes, French desserts, or simple baked goods like donuts, cookies, and cupcakes, you undoubtedly are constantly buying bakery supplies. One crucial product to your bakery business that comes at an inexpensive cost through a wholesaler, is food service tissue. It can make cleanup so much easier and faster, and relieve the customer of any mess as well.

If it is important to choose a high quality product that is environmentally friendly as well as practical for your everyday business needs, then this bakery supplies item is for you.

Bakery Tissue is Eco-Friendly And Healthy to The Environment.

Although it may seem like an artificial product, food service tissue can actually be good for the environment. Many bakery supplies get thrown into the trash after a single use, and then sent into a landfill where they don’t break down, and help further pollute our Earth. However, there are many high quality bakery tissues that are designed to be biodegradable and compostable, which means they won’t inflict any harm on the environment and won’t contribute to the waste in our world.

Tissues Make Cleanup Faster so You Can Get Back to What You Love–Baking!

Bakery supplies should make your life easier, especially when the demands of running a business, greeting customers, and making the products leaves you with little extra time. Food service tissue made for bakers helps cut down on your cleanup time, so you can spend it on what really matters–your business, your customers, and baking. This is also where the importance of choosing high quality, eco-friendly tissue comes in; since you and your customers throw this item away–to save time from washing–it is important that they don’t add to the waste entering our landfills.

Tissues Protect Yourself, Employees, And Customers From Passing Germs And Bacteria.

Cold and flu season means that there will be at least one or two people walking into your bakery on a daily basis with the cold. They may be sniffing, coughing, or stopping their runny nose, and you should be protecting yourself, employees, other customers, and baked goods from catching the illness as well. Use a product that can help minimize direct bodily contact–which is the best way to prevent the spread of germs. Especially when there are inexpensive and easy-to-use options, like bakery tissues. Tissues can be used to line boxes and containers, as well as to hand baked goods to customers.

If you wish to compliment your love for baking with bakery supplies that are practical, useful, time-saving, eco-friendly, and help to keep everyday food handling sanitary, check out the bakery tissues from MrTakeOutBags.com.