Biodegradable Wooden Trays Now Used at Market Cheese Shops

Sustainable practices are very important to us at Market of Choice, and we know they are important to our customers, too.

At your Market Cheese Shop, we’ve started using wooden trays made by PacnWood, a carbon-neutral company that only uses natural, organic and recyclable materials. The wood is sourced in curated forests, grown specifically for this use, and every harvested tree is replaced with a new tree. While most wood products are created with glues, plastics, paper or inks that renders it non-compostable, PacnWood’s wooden trays are completely biodegradable.

“We’ve been looking for ways to get rid of as much plastic packaging as possible and replace it with more sustainable products,” says Marcus, our specialty cheese sales manager. “Finding sustainable packaging is very hard; much of it is too expensive or not very practical.”

PacknWood was the perfect partner, when it came to cost, usability and convenience, Marcus says. “Beginning this relationship with PacknWood is just the start of our war on plastic. I’m still communicating with them every week on packaging that we want to bring in for new products,” he says.

Our Market Cheese Shop Pincho Trays, Monger’s Boards, and Custom Cheese Boards are all packaged on these new wooden trays.

Pincho Trays are relatively new to our Cheese Shops. These single-serving trays feature cheeses, meats, fruits, nuts and snacks and are available in six varieties. Marcus explains: “Pincho is a Spanish term that describes a wide array of food preparations, usually eaten in cafes and bars. The word ‘pincho,’ however, directly refers to the ‘spike’ used to eat the food, like a toothpick or a skewer. Since all of our Pincho Trays include a small buffet fork, we thought this was the perfect name.”

Monger’s Boards, created by our knowledgeable cheesemongers, feature some of our favorite choices and are priced accordingly. Similar to our Monger’s Boards, our Custom Cheese Boards are designed-to-order – customers can consult with a cheesemonger and have a board custom created to suit their taste or can even be built around a specific wine or beer, for instance.

We’re excited to offer these choices to customers, all served on trays that are more sustainable, better for the planet, and are consistent with our commitment to use sustainable packaging, whenever possible, as we continue reduce plastic packaging throughout our stores.