Reusable Hu bowls used for workplace dining with sandwiches, salads, and fresh meals, reducing single-use packaging in contract catering.

Reusable Food-to-Go Packaging for Contract Catering

Hu & Hive: Smarter Design for Modern Catering Environments

In today’s contract catering landscape, food-to-go is no longer a secondary offer, it’s a core part of the service. Customers expect speed, convenience, and quality, but they also expect operators to reduce waste and make sustainable choices. For caterers, the challenge is balancing all three: keeping counters moving during peak times, presenting meals in packaging that feels substantial whist moving away from single-use plastics that damage both margins and the environment.

That’s where Dalebrook’s Hu and Hive ranges come in. Purpose-built for the pressures of modern catering, these reusable solutions are transforming the way food is served, stored, and enjoyed. The Hu and Hive product ranges deliver efficiency for operators and a better experience for customers.

Hu: Human, Hungry, Humble

Team dining with Hu reusable bowls, part of Dalebrook’s contract catering food-to-go solutions. Catering trolley stacked with Hu reusable bowls and trays, ideal for efficient food-to-go service in schools and workplaces.

Hu is built around three simple but powerful truths about the way we eat.

Human

We instinctively want to eat from something solid and reassuring — not cardboard that wilts before lunch is over. Hu delivers pots, trays, and bowls that feel more like tableware than packaging, making food-to-go a better experience for the people who use it every day.

Hungry

The lunchtime rush doesn’t wait. Hu is designed to withstand busy service and the pressure of peak demand. Durable, reusable, and reliable, it’s built for the moments when customers are hungry and time is short.

Humble

Hu is a quiet solution with a big impact. By replacing single-use with long-lasting, closed-loop alternatives, Hu helps caterers take a humble but meaningful step toward sustainability without compromising on performance or presentation.

Hive: Reusable Food Containers for Workplace Dining

Hive reusable bowls and trays in a collection, showcasing sustainable contract catering food-to-go solutions. Close-up of Hive reusable bowl with clear lid containing fresh sushi rice and avocado, highlighting food-to-go sustainability.

Hive takes its name and inspiration from the beehive. One of nature’s most efficient systems. Just as bees leave the hive to work and return to sustain the colony, Hive containers are designed to move seamlessly through service, collection, and reuse.

Smart Service

Made from germ-resistant melamine with reusable lids,  Hive is lightweight, stackable, and dishwasher-friendly. It’s built for the busiest lunch counters, keeping queues moving while food stays fresher for longer.

Sustainable Return

Hive anticipates the return journey. Containers come back, get washed, and go straight back into service — efficient, economical, and repeatable.

Sustainable Food-to-Go Solutions That Work Together

Together, Hu and Hive address two of the biggest challenges in modern catering:

  • Customer experience: giving diners packaging that is practical, familiar, and genuinely enjoyable to eat from.
  • Operational efficiency:  supporting caterers with durable, reusable solutions that reduce waste while keeping service fast and smooth.
Hu reusable trays filled with salmon, pasta, and salad, designed for contract catering and workplace dining. Hu reusable bowl with soup and fresh basil garnish, sustainable alternative to single-use containers in food-to-go catering.

From schools and universities to workplace dining and contract catering, Hu and Hive represent a smarter way forward: human-centred design, sustainable thinking, and efficiency at scale.

Ready to take your catering offer beyond single-use?

Discover how Hu and Hive can help you deliver smarter, sustainable food-to-go solutions for your business. Contact the Dalebrook team today to learn more or arrange a showroom visit.

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