1. Introduction
With the increasing global awareness of environmental protection and the continued implementation of plastic restriction policies in various countries, eco-friendly lunch boxes, especially those designed as to-go containers eco-friendly enough to replace traditional disposable plastic ones, are ushering in unprecedented development opportunities. However, the price of these to-go containers' eco-friendly alternatives remains generally higher than that of traditional lunch boxes, which has become a key factor restricting their large-scale popularization.
In terms of market size, the Chinese disposable eco-friendly lunch box market reached RMB 35.509 billion in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 18.3%, and is expected to climb to RMB 42.611 billion in 2025. Despite strong market demand for sustainable to-go containers, eco-friendly in design, price remains a core challenge for the industry's development. Traditional polypropylene (PP) lunch boxes dominate the market due to their low cost of RMB 0.1-0.3 per box, while PLA lunch boxes-widely used as to-go containers eco-friendly and certified-are priced at approximately RMB 0.8-1.2 per box, which is 2-3 times that of traditional PP lunch boxes.
The problem of the high price of eco-friendly lunch boxes has complex and systemic characteristics. From an industry chain perspective, it involves multiple links such as raw material planting, processing, manufacturing, and logistics; from a cost structure perspective, it covers multiple factors such as raw material costs, production equipment investment, energy consumption, labor, and certification; from a market environment perspective, it is affected by multiple factors such as policies and regulations, technological maturity, and consumer acceptance. This report will analyze the fundamental reasons for the high price of to-go containers and eco-friendly lunch boxes from seven dimensions: raw material costs, production processes, market supply and demand, compliance costs, technology research and development, environmental externalities, and supply chain efficiency, and propose corresponding cost optimization suggestions.
2. Raw Material Cost Analysis
2.1 Cost Comparison between Bio-based Materials and Traditional Petroleum-based Materials
The raw materials for to-go containers eco-friendly lunch boxes mainly include bio-based materials (such as PLA, PBAT, PHA, etc.) and plant fiber materials (such as bagasse, bamboo fiber, pulp, etc.). These materials have significant differences in cost structure compared to traditional petroleum-based plastics.
According to the latest market data, the average price of PLA raw materials in 2024 remained at around 23,000 yuan per ton, an increase of about 8.5% compared to 2023. Traditional PP plastic particles cost only 8,000-10,000 yuan/ton, PE about 8,900 yuan/ton, and PP about 9,200 yuan/ton. This means that bio-based materials used in to-go containers eco-friendly options that are 2-3 times more expensive than traditional materials, with PLA being 150%-200% more expensive and PBAT 180%-250% more expensive.
Plant fiber materials have relatively lower costs. Sugarcane bagasse fiber costs 8,000-12,000 yuan/ton, and pulp costs 4,500-6,000 yuan/ton. Sugarcane bagasse raw material costs only one-third of plastic raw materials, with bagasse pulp costing 3,908 yuan/ton, a significant advantage over wood pulp at 5,229 yuan/ton. However, even with the relatively lower cost of plant fiber materials, their price advantage cannot completely offset the cost pressure brought by bio-based materials in most to-go containers eco-friendly products.
From a cost perspective, the high price of bio-based materials stems primarily from the following aspects: First, the planting, harvesting, and processing costs of the raw materials themselves are high; for example, fluctuations in the price of corn starch directly affect the cost of PLA widely applied in to-go containers eco-friendly packaging. Second, the production process of bio-based materials is complex, requiring multiple steps such as fermentation and polymerization, resulting in high energy and equipment costs. Third, the production scale of bio-based materials is relatively small, and economies of scale have not yet been achieved.
2.2 Raw Material Supply Stability and Seasonal Fluctuations
The stability and seasonal fluctuations in the supply of raw materials for to-go containers eco-friendly lunch boxes are important factors affecting prices. The raw materials for bio-based materials mainly come from agricultural products and are significantly affected by factors such as climate, planting area, and market supply and demand.
Corn starch, as the main raw material for PLA used in many to-go containers eco-friendly solutions, directly impacts PLA costs due to price fluctuations. In the first half of 2025, corn starch prices fluctuated between RMB 2,700 and 2,960 per ton, reaching a high of RMB 2,960 per ton in June. The price of corn starch is significantly affected by the price of raw corn. In the first half of 2025, persistently high corn prices increased the pressure on losses in the corn starch industry, leading major companies to successively raise prices.
The supply of bio-based raw materials exhibits significant regional fluctuations. In 2024, the price of PLA raw material corn starch rose by 15% due to extreme weather, but companies mitigated the risk through raw material diversification (increasing the proportion of sugarcane and cassava to 40%). Among paper-based raw materials, the bamboo pulp supply is relatively stable, but in 2024, international bamboo pulp prices rose by 20% due to export restrictions in Southeast Asia, driving a 30% expansion of the domestic bamboo planting area.
The stability of raw material quality is also a crucial factor affecting costs. The quality of raw materials for biodegradable to-go containers eco-friendly directly impacts product performance and safety; therefore, the selection and cooperation of raw material suppliers are particularly important. Differences in quality exist between different batches and from different origins of raw materials, requiring companies to invest more in quality control costs in procurement, storage, and use.
The impact of seasonal factors on raw material supply cannot be ignored. The prices of some raw materials suitable for to-go containers eco-friendly, such as certain plant fibers, are significantly affected by seasonality. Prices are relatively low during the summer when production is high, and higher during the winter when production is low. This seasonal fluctuation not only affects raw material prices but can also lead to supply disruptions, increasing inventory costs and operational risks for businesses.
2.3 Complexity of Raw Material Extraction and Processing Technology
The extraction and processing technology of raw materials for to-go containers eco-friendly is far more complex than that of traditional plastics, directly leading to increased costs. Different types of environmentally friendly materials have their own unique production processes, each requiring precise control and significant investment.
The production process of PLA-commonly chosen for premium to-go containers eco-friendly-is the most complex, typically involving the following steps: First, pre-treatment of plant raw materials such as corn, including washing, crushing, and saccharification; then, conversion of glucose into lactic acid using microbial fermentation technology, a process requiring strict control of parameters such as temperature, pH value, and nutrient composition; next, purification and concentration of lactic acid, followed by chemical polymerization to produce polylactic acid; finally, post-processing steps such as granulation and modification to obtain PLA particles suitable for to-go containers eco-friendly applications. The entire production process involves multiple technical fields, including bio-fermentation, chemical synthesis, separation, and purification, with high technical barriers and large equipment investments.
The processing of plant fiber materials is equally complex. Taking sugarcane bagasse as an example, its processing flow includes: raw material pretreatment (washing, screening, and impurity removal), fiber separation (mechanical pulping to retain natural fiber strength), and molding (hot pressing). Bamboo fiber processing is more complex, requiring multiple steps such as cutting, peeling, washing, drying, steaming, mechanical crushing, chemical decomposition, screening, and fermentation. Reed fiber extraction requires chemical treatment steps including drying, grinding, acid and alkali treatment, and bleaching.
These complex processes bring multiple cost pressures: First, the equipment investment is huge, with key equipment such as fermenters, polymerization reactors, and purification systems being expensive; second, energy consumption is high, as the bio-fermentation process requires a large amount of energy, such as the polymerization reaction in PLA production requiring about 150-200 MJ/kg of energy, while PE production only requires about 120-150 MJ/kg; third, the production cycle is long, with bio-fermentation typically taking several days or even weeks, far exceeding the production efficiency of traditional plastics; and fourth, the technical requirements are high, necessitating operation and management by professional technicians, increasing labor costs.
3. Production Process Complexity and Cost
3.1 Production Process and Key Technical Requirements of Eco-friendly Lunch Boxes
The production process of to-go containers eco-friendly lunch boxes is more complex than that of traditional plastic lunch boxes, involving multiple stages such as raw material pretreatment, molding, and post-processing. Each stage has its unique technical requirements and cost structure.
Taking PLA lunch boxes as an example, the complete production process includes: raw material drying, preheating, melt plasticizing, injection molding, cooling and shaping, and demolding. The processing temperature of PLA is typically between 160-200℃, requiring strict temperature control. The production process of plant fiber to-go containers eco-friendly is equally complex, often involving high-pressure hot pressing at around 230℃.
Key technical requirements include high-precision temperature control, higher molding pressure, complex mold design (dimensional accuracy within ±0.01mm), and special post-processing such as waterproof coatings-all of which significantly increase the production cost of to-go containers eco-friendly compared with conventional plastic ones.
3.2 Investment in Production Equipment and Energy Consumption
The investment cost and energy consumption of production equipment for to-go containers eco-friendly are significantly higher than those of traditional plastic lunch box production lines. A complete PLA lunchbox production line requires investment of approximately 8.4 million RMB in machinery alone, 30%-50% higher than traditional equipment due to the need for specialized dehumidification, high-precision temperature control, and high-pressure systems.
Energy consumption is also markedly higher. The comprehensive energy consumption of biodegradable pulp tableware projects typically exceeds 520 kgce/ton, with annual electricity consumption reaching tens of millions of kWh-far higher than traditional plastic production.
3.3 Comparison of Production Efficiency and Yield Rate
Production efficiency and yield rate of to-go containers eco-friendly remain lower than traditional plastic ones. Traditional injection molding produces a cycle as short as 5 seconds, whereas PLA and plant-fiber to-go containers eco-friendly often require longer cooling and pressing times. Yield rates for complex-shaped PLA products can be as low as 70-80%, compared to over 95% for traditional PP boxes, directly pushing up unit costs.
4. Market Supply and Demand and Economies of Scale
4.1 Market Demand Scale and Growth Trend
The to-go containers eco-friendly market is growing rapidly but still represents only a fraction of the total food container market. In 2024, China's disposable eco-friendly lunch box market reached RMB 35.509 billion (up 18.3% YoY), expected to reach RMB 42.611 billion in 2025. Driven by plastic bans, food delivery boom (18.7 billion orders in 2024), and rising consumer environmental awareness, demand for to-go containers eco-friendly continues to surge-yet traditional low-cost plastic containers still dominate due to mature supply chains and economies of scale not yet fully realized in the eco-friendly segment.
4.2 Market Concentration and Production Capacity Distribution
Over 420 manufacturers compete in China's biodegradable lunch box sector, but market concentration remains low (CR5 ≈ 45%). Production is heavily concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta (78% of capacity), leading to higher logistics costs when serving central and western regions. Leading players like Kingfa, COFCO, and Fengyuan Bio are rapidly expanding capacity (e.g., Fengyuan's 300,000-ton/year PLA project), but most producers have not yet achieved the scale necessary to significantly drive down prices of to-go containers eco-friendly.
