Deliveroo and Pho have teamed up with Sheffield Hallam University in the UK for the third year of Deliveroo’s Sustainable Packaging Challenge.

The project follows last year’s collaboration with bakery chain GAIL’s and builds on the initiative launched in 2024.

Students on the Higher Degree Apprenticeship Packaging Professional programme will redesign two pieces of Pho packaging: a bag for fresh herbs and chillies, and a container to keep rice and curry separate during delivery.

The focus is on keeping food hot, fresh and spill-free while making sustainability central to the designs.

Deliveroo senior policy adviser Eleanor Garnier said: “We want to prove that innovative, sustainable packaging can be affordable for businesses in the delivery sector. By bringing business and academia together, we’re fast-tracking creative sustainable solutions into the market.”

Students will have just under five months to develop prototypes, with support from Deliveroo and Pho experts.

The winning design will be chosen at a final exhibition. Winners will receive a £1,500 cash prize and could see their design brought to life with Pho.

Pho joined Deliveroo in 2014 with 25 sites and has since grown to more than 50 locations nationwide.

The platform said the challenge supports local businesses and communities while helping develop practical reusable packaging solutions.

In February, Deliveroo launched a sustainable delivery box developed with Sheffield Hallam University apprentices. The box was made through a partnership between Deliveroo, Biopak and the university, and is now available on Deliveroo’s packaging webstore.

The project came from Deliveroo’s 2024 Sustainable Packaging Challenge, which asked students to create packaging that reduces spillages, maintains food temperature and remains sustainable and cost-effective.