September 2019 – William Murray

“just one look at McDonald’s recent plastic-to-paper straw fiasco proves that good intentions can come a cropper.”

Less plastic! Zero waste! We have the best of intentions when it comes to living more sustainably but sometimes life, laziness or an overwhelming number of options gets in the way.

Inspired by a gathering of some of the food and hospitality industry’s most respected women – Melissa Hemsley, Skye Gyngell, Grace Dent, Anita Rani and Jules Pearson – for The Sustainability Sessions: The State of Your Plate at Ennismore Sessions House last week, we’ve compiled a quick, easy guide to the waste warriors who get the thumbs-up from some of the best in the business.

Great Plates

More than 90% of consumers expect operators to act sustainably, but just one look at McDonald’s recent plastic-to-paper straw fiasco proves that good intentions can come a cropper. So which places are doing things properly?

Silo

https://silolondon.com/

London on the Inside’s Jules Pearson can’t speak highly enough of this zero-waste restaurant that has just opened in Hackney alongside Crate Brewery. Plates formed from plastic bags, crockery from crushed wine bottles and even its own flour mill, Silo’s chef and owner Joost Bakker takes sustainability seriously and it has never tasted so good.

Spring

http://springrestaurant.co.uk/menus/pre-theatre-scratch-menu/

The lady who warmed our hearts when she declared ‘veganism is not the answer!’, celebrated chef Skye Gyngell has ditched all single-use plastics at her restaurant Spring (including a momentous crackdown on the 800km of cling film they were using each year). But what we really love is the daily Scratch Menu. Served from 5.30pm-6.30pm the dishes are created using ‘waste’ produce. Beetroot tops and potato skins turned into simple soups. Trimmings from house-made pasta baked with leftover cheese, or yesterday’s bread transformed into warm bread pudding served with a spoonful of last year’s Fern Verrow gooseberry jam. The price reflects the produce (£20 for three courses) so it’s also a great way to experience Spring at a lower price point and enjoy a top quality and interesting pre-theatre feed.

The Small Holding

https://thesmallholding.restaurant/

This gem, nestled in the Kentish countryside, was top of restaurant critic Grace Dent’s recommendation list. The kitchen, led by award-winning chef Will Devlin, harnesses the fresh ingredients grown (or reared) in the farm on site in Kilndown, along with foraged bounty. Super seasonal, loyally local, and fiercely fresh.

Shop Smart

While the supermarkets are making promises to minimise pointless plastic packaging, smaller, independent, more nimble shops are just getting on and eradicating it altogether.

Hero Market

https://heromarket.co.uk/

We already love Crystal Palace as a destination for independent shops, boutiques, cafes and restaurants and now they’ve got their own plastic free grocery store, we heart it even more. As well as cutting down on pointless plastics and single use packaging, zero waste shopping from the likes of Hero Market can help combat food waste as its very nature encourages us to only buy what we need plus helps us choose healthier ingredients. Follow them on Insta to be the first to know when they have new stock arriving.

Plastic Freedom

https://www.plasticfreedom.co.uk/

Time-poor Londoners, or those still waiting on great local options, can get online with plastic-free, vegan online shop, Plastic Freedom. Home, beauty, travel, food, clothing, even pets – all life’s categories are covered. Plus, for every order, one tree is planted in the Amazon Rainforest offsetting the usual guilt of an online splurge. Winning.

USELESS

https://useless.london/

This website (pronounced “Use Less”) is London’s first digital directory dedicated to showcasing the capital’s zero-waste shops. As well as the interactive map to point you to your nearest zero waste shops, the site also offers a ‘survival kit’ of ethical products you can buy to help lessen your impact on the environment such as bamboo toothbrushes and cling film alternatives.

There’s an app for that

Yes, there’s an app for everything, but some are definitely worth the download. Who better to tell us her top three sustainable selection than Jules from our city’s food and trends bible London On The Inside?

OLIO

https://olioex.com/

Who doesn’t hate throwing away good food? But with so many of us living alone or with busy last-minute life plans, that stocked fridge can soon go to waste. Olio connects neighbours so you can share food, rather than chuck it away. Just snap a photo, set the pick-up location, get notified when you get a request, and boom – you’ve reduced your waste and given a neighbour a free feed.

Too Good To Go

https://toogoodtogo.co.uk/

Join
the world’s largest community of waste warriors. These guys bag up all the delicious, perfectly edible food that stores and restaurants have to throw out at the end of the day and sell it onto app users at a discounted price. To date, the app’s 1.4 million users have ‘saved’ 20,672,736 meals from going in the bin which equates to 52,477 tonnes of C02.

Dabba Drop

https://dabbadrop.co.uk/how-it-works

Love a takeaway but get post-gorging guilt when you see all the plastic tubs piled up by the bin? Switch to Dabba Drop. Currently delivering to Hackney, Leyton and Walthamstow, these fresh cooked curries get delivered to your door in re-useable stainless steel tiffin boxes which you swap each time you get a delivery. Set up a subscription for one or two dabba drops per month and consider your Friday night takeaway plans sorted. They also keep for up to four days in the fridge!

There are still tickets available for other informative and engaging Sustainability Sessions. Check out the future line-ups here

https://www.thesustainabilitysessions.co.uk/

By Rachel Taylor, managing director, William Murray

I had a great day at the QSR Redcat Media and Aw ards Conference on 22 June 2026, listening to operators, brands and suppliers unpack the future of growth.

More data. More tech. More channels. More pressure on margins.

But walking away, one thought stuck with me:

Most QSR brands aren’t struggling to grow; they’re struggling to matter where it counts.

Growth in this sector rarely unravels in strategy decks or boardroom discussions. More often, it is won or lost site by site, in local communities and on local high streets.

Customers clustered in their differing localities don’t experience “the brand” in the abstract. They experience that single location, in a specific moment, in the context of their everyday lives. And that moment is far more fragile than many assume.

If the experience feels too generic, inconsistent or disconnected, the decision is simple: customers will be indifferent. And no one wants that.

So how do you win?

Look at how the high street is shifting and being redefined. It’s no longer just a place of convenience. It’s evolved to be something more social, more experiential and more community-driven – a space of connection, routine and identity:

where people go to break up their day

where older audiences seek a sense of connection over something simple such as a coffee and a slice of cake

where date nights, small celebrations and everyday rituals play out

where younger consumers spend time, choosing brands that say something about who they are because it’s social currency.

This all points to the evolving role QSR brands need to play. The question has moved beyond: “How do we drive footfall?” It’s now: “How do we earn a place in people’s lives locally?”

Are franchisees the most underutilised growth lever?

Many QSR brands are stronger than ever centrally – with sharper positioning to more sophisticated channels. But that strength doesn’t always translate consistently at a local level.

This is where the franchisee comes in.

They sit closer to what’s actually happening in local markets than any central team ever can. They see the nuances: how footfall shifts, how local competitors behave, what resonates culturally, customer profile types and what falls flat.

That’s the missed opportunity when it comes to your comms programme.

When franchisees are properly engaged and contribute to their localised comms plan, believe in it and are equipped to bring it to life, the difference is tangible. A QSR branch becomes embedded within its community, teams operate with more confidence and customers respond differently

Why community comms is the growth boost needed

This is where communications plays a far more important role in unlocking growth than it’s usually given credit for.

Getting under the skin of each community to shape bespoke campaigns that capture attention and win mindshare makes a huge difference in a fiercely competitive market.

Locally relevant comms strategies should not be viewed as a quick customised bolt-on task. They are a growth strategy because no two locations behave the same or expect the same things. No single playbook can account for every local nuance.

In today’s market, local relevance is the strategy.

Want to hear more?

If you’re looking at how your brand performs site by site and where the gaps are between strategy and reality, it’s worth a conversation.

At William Murray PR & Marketing, we help QSR brands close that gap, building communications strategies that actually drive behaviour, consistency and growth on the ground.

Month: September 2019

In the Know: The Frantic Foodie’s Guide to Sustainability

“just one look at McDonald’s recent plastic-to-paper straw fiasco proves that good intentions can come a cropper.”

Great Plates