Find out about our partnership with CrewFood, one of Europe's leading crew catering companies.

Every major event has a workforce most people never see.

  • 40,000 at the World Rowing Cup.
  • 305,000 Formula 1 fans at Zandvoort.
  • 45,000 golf fans at the KLM Open.

Behind every one of these events, there are thousands of crew members, participants, and technicians who need to eat well to do their jobs well.

Think about it this way: the athletes are at the top of their game. The crew keeping everything running behind the scenes need to be at the top of theirs. That starts with proper food, served quickly and reliably.

That is where CrewFood comes in. Founded by Bram Drost in Venlo, the Netherlands, CrewFood is one of the leading crew catering specialists serving major events. They provide full-service catering at festivals, sporting events, and large-scale productions.

At Hello Straw, we are proud to be CrewFood's official sustainable disposables supplier. We provide the paper cups, paper cutlery, and paper straws that help CrewFood serve up to 7,000 meals a day.

One of our biggest products in this partnership is the A-Cup. The Hello Straw A-Cup is a paper cup built to handle any drink type, from hot beverages up to 85 degrees to strong spirits of 45% ABV. CrewFood also uses the A-Cup for soups, and we co-brand them together so the cups carry both the Hello Straw and CrewFood names.

What Does Crew Catering Actually Require?

It is one thing to talk about sustainability. It is another thing entirely to deliver it when you are feeding thousands of people in temporary kitchens, under time pressure.

At that volume, there is no room for cups that leak, cutlery that snaps, or straws that go soft halfway through a drink. If a product fails, it slows down service. When the people you are feeding are keeping a world-class event running, that is not an option.

That is the standard we build to at Hello Straw:

  • The Hello Straw A-Cup, our co-branded paper cup that handles both hot drinks, cold drinks, soups, and alcohol.
  • Durable paper cutlery that can handle the toughest steak. No bending, no breaking.
  • Paper straws that stay strong for a minimum of two hours, even in cold drinks.

Every Hello Straw product is built to replace single-use plastic without giving up the performance that large-scale catering needs.

Why Did CrewFood Choose Hello Straw as Their Disposable Supplier?

When your catering operation serves thousands of crew members at some of Europe's biggest events, your supply chain has to be reliable. CrewFood founder Bram Drost had tried other sustainable alternatives before, including wood disposables, and was not satisfied with the results.

"Sustainability is a big thing for CrewFood. We used wood disposables before. We were not fans. Hello Straw is exactly what we were looking for. They helped us leave that behind."
Bram Drost, Founder, CrewFood

That shift was not just about swapping one material for another. It was about finding a disposable supplier that could match CrewFood's needs: consistent quality, reliable delivery, and products that worked under real conditions.

"Hello Straw is the strongest partner for all disposables. Price, quality, the strongest company."
Bram Drost, Founder, CrewFood

How Much Waste Does Event Catering Actually Produce?

Large-scale events produce huge amounts of waste. A single multi-day festival can create hundreds of tonnes, and food service packaging makes up a big share of that.

This is because traditional catering setups rely on plastic cups, plastic cutlery, and plastic-lined containers.

Switching to paper-based sustainable disposables changes the picture. Hello Straw's paper cups, paper cutlery, and paper straws are designed to be recyclable and, in many cases, compostable under industrial conditions. That means less waste going to landfill and a cleaner waste stream for event organisers to manage.

Built for backstage kitchens and everyday operations

For caterers, the real question is not whether sustainable disposables exist. The question is whether they can perform at the volumes, speeds, and conditions that large-scale catering demands. That is exactly what Hello Straw is built for.

The partnership between Hello Straw and CrewFood is rooted in a simple idea: sustainable products should work just as well as what they replace. No trade-offs.

From athlete food at World Rowing to Formula 1, the range of settings where Hello Straw products have been tested is enormous. When the A-Cup or a paper cutlery performs at 7,000 meals a day in a temporary kitchen, you know it can handle anything.

FAQ

Can paper cups handle hot drinks and alcohol at events?
Yes. The Hello Straw A-Cup is a paper cup built for both hot and cold drinks. It handles hot beverages up to 85°C, cold drinks, soups, and spirits up to 45% ABV. CrewFood uses the co-branded A-Cup across their events because one cup type needs to cover every drink served throughout the day.

Are Hello Straw paper straws strong enough for all-day use at events?
Yes. Hello Straw paper straws stay firm for a minimum of two hours, even in cold drinks. They do not go soft or collapse, which is a common worry with lower-quality paper straws. This matters at events where drinks may sit for a while between serving and drinking.

What makes paper cutlery a good alternative to plastic or wood at events?
Hello Straw paper cutlery is built to last. It can cut through steak, scoop heavy side dishes, and hold up under the kind of tough use that crew dining requires. Unlike wood options, Hello Straw paper cutlery has a smoother finish and gives more consistent results.

How do paper disposables help with event waste management?
Paper-based disposables from Hello Straw can be sorted into recyclable or compostable waste streams more easily than plastic. For event organisers, this makes post-event waste sorting simpler and cuts the amount of material going to landfill.

Who is CrewFood and what events do they cater?
CrewFood is a crew catering company founded by Bram Drost in Venlo, the Netherlands. They provide crew catering at major events, serving up to 7,000 meals a day. Hello Straw is CrewFood's official sustainable disposable supplier, providing co-branded A-Cups, paper cutlery, and paper straws for their operations.