Zomato, India’s food ordering and delivery platform, has launched PackSwitch, an interactive website designed to help restaurants identify suitable sustainable packaging options for different items on their menus.
The platform aims to address a key challenge facing restaurants seeking to move away from conventional plastic packaging: the lack of easily accessible and credible information on alternative materials, their functionality, commercial viability and environmental impact.
PackSwitch enables users to identify suitable packaging in three steps, find the dish, view relevant sustainable packaging materials and browse information on suppliers.
The platform provides practical information on sustainable packaging materials, recommendations based on different food categories and access to a network of 100+ verified suppliers across India.
The launch event brought together restaurant partners, packaging manufacturers, sustainability practitioners and investors to explore emerging solutions for food delivery packaging. Prashanth Prakash, Founding Partner, Accel India, addressed the gathering.
“The responsibility of protecting our cities from plastic pollution rests with each and every one of us. Sustainable food delivery packaging adoption by restaurants often stalls at good intentions because knowledge, awareness and products are not aligned. With Zomato’s PackSwitch initiative, restaurants now have a tool that simplifies decision-making around sustainable packaging. I hope to see more restaurants use PackSwitch to transition away from plastic packaging paving the way for greener cities,” said Accel India, Founding Partner, Prashanth Prakash.
Addressing the packaging gap
Packaging represents a significant share of global plastics production, while food delivery is among its fastest-growing applications. Although awareness of sustainable alternatives is increasing, restaurants often have to evaluate a fragmented market while balancing performance, cost, availability and end-of-life disposal.
PackSwitch seeks to bridge this information gap by providing restaurants with a dish-led resource that can help simplify packaging decisions and accelerate the adoption of sustainable alternatives.
“Sustainability is embedded in how we do business across Eternal companies. Over the last two years, we’ve invested in building consumer awareness through Zomato’s Plastic-Free Future program which awards restaurants a ‘low plastic packaging tag’ on the app to recognize them for moving away from plastic to pack main dishes. PackSwitch focuses on building restaurant awareness through dish-led sustainable packaging information,” said Eternal Ltd Chief Sustainability Officer, Anjali Ravi Kumar. The launch builds on Zomato’s wider Plastic-Free Future initiative, which has been aimed at encouraging restaurants to reduce their reliance on plastic packaging.
The company’s Plastic-Free Future Packathon, conducted in collaboration with Startup India and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), has highlighted innovators developing plastic-free packaging solutions for restaurants.
The Plastic-Free Future programme has so far recognised more than 10,000 restaurants across 500 cities for using alternatives to plastic packaging for their main menu items. As of March 31, 2026, participating restaurants had collectively delivered more than 100 million ‘low plastic packaging’ orders.
Focus on commercially viable solutions
As part of the PackSwitch launch, an exhibition showcased eight sustainable packaging materials and a range of coatings used in the food delivery sector. Curated by Shashwat Das and Jyoti Shrestha, the exhibition examined how different materials perform in delivery operations, their commercial feasibility and their environmental trade-offs.
The PackSwitch supplier directory also includes sustainable packaging solutions available through Hyperpure, Eternal’s B2B supply platform serving more than 100,000 restaurant outlets across India.
Zomato said PackSwitch is intended to support wider adoption of sustainable food delivery packaging by making information on materials and suppliers easier for restaurants and other interested users to access.
For consumers, restaurants already using lower-plastic packaging can be identified through the ‘low plastic packaging’ tag on the Zomato app. Users can also apply the corresponding filter to discover and support restaurants adopting more sustainable packaging practices.
The initiative effectively shifts the sustainability conversation from awareness to informed purchasing and packaging decisions, potentially helping restaurants evaluate alternatives not only on environmental credentials but also on operational and commercial considerations.