Food-Grade Packaging · MOQ 500 pcs
Large-format board and corrugated boxes for cakes, tiered bakes, loaves and sharing platters, with a lid that survives a car journey. Indicative $0.28–0.42 per piece at 3,000 pcs; board grade and reinforcement are quoted per size.
Overview
A bakery box is the same one-piece die-cut construction as our standard food box, scaled up and specified for weight. Where the product is light and sold across a counter, folding boxboard is the right material: it folds fast, stores flat and takes print cleanly. Where the box has to carry a cake through a delivery run or stack on a van shelf, E-flute corrugated earns its extra cost, because the flute is what stops the lid bowing and the corners crushing. Buttercream, cream and fruit fillings also change the barrier specification: an aqueous coating covers a sponge cake comfortably, while a cream cake in a warm delivery van is a liner conversation. Board grade, base reinforcement and the barrier are all decided against the bake and the journey, not against the artwork.
The format suits bakeries that run a fixed menu on a fixed size, and it is where a multi-branch programme finally makes sense of the price ladder: at 3,000 pcs the unit cost is roughly a third of the 500 pc tier, which is why this box is normally bought as a programme with two or three sizes rather than as a one-off. The trade-offs are freight and flexibility. A large box is mostly air, so it costs more to ship and to store than it looks, flat-packed supply is not optional at this size, and a box that is right for a 9-inch cake is the wrong box for a loaf — which is exactly why we push back on ranges that try to cover both with one size.
Specification
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Board | Folding boxboard (GC1 / GC2) for counter formats; E-flute corrugated for delivery, stacked or heavier bakes |
| Format | Tuck-top with self-locking base; gable and carry formats for takeaway; window-lid versions where the bake should be seen |
| Size range | From a loaf or single-portion format up to a large sharing or celebration box, priced per size because every size needs its own die and print setup |
| Outer face as standard; the lid is the face that carries the brand, and full-coverage artwork is the most expensive print route | |
| Barrier | Aqueous or PLA dispersion coating, coated board, or a greaseproof liner — selected against the bake and its dwell time |
| Reinforcement | Doubled base board, a rimmed tray insert or a corrugated base where the load needs it — quoted as its own line |
| Packing | Supplied flat and banded in export cartons; assembled supply changes both the carton count and the inbound freight |
| MOQ | 500 pcs per size and print; reinforcement, liner and window quoted separately |
| Lead time | 12–18 days after sample approval, plus 3–5 days for the sample |
Variants
The choice here is almost always board grade and base reinforcement. Print specification matters less than buyers expect on a box this size.
The cheapest version and the right one for light bakes sold and carried home the same day. Trade-off: it protects the product from dust and handling, not from being stacked.
The upgrade for delivery, for stacked van shelves and for heavier bakes. Trade-off: it costs more, takes more freight volume and prints less crisply than a folding board, so the design has to be simpler.
A die-cut window in the lid for bakeries that sell from a display case. Trade-off: it costs a die and a film, and grease shows at the film edge sooner than on plain board.
A doubled base board or a rimmed tray that carries the load, so the lid stays square in transit. Trade-off: it is an extra component and an extra line item, and it changes the box height.
The handle is part of the die-cut, which removes the bag and lets the customer carry the box from the counter. Trade-off: it uses more board and needs a stronger grade.
Materials
On a box this size the board grade is the structural decision and the barrier is the food decision. Print is the third question, and usually the cheapest one to answer.
We will supply the destination market's required material declarations and migration test documents for the exact board, coating and ink in your specification. Ask for the current certificate for the specification you are buying, and tell us the market at brief stage — the requirements differ, and so do the coatings that satisfy them.
| Option | What it means |
|---|---|
| Folding boxboard (GC1 / GC2) | The default for counter formats. Folds fast, prints well, cheapest per box. Trade-off: it is a sheet, not a structure — it will not carry a heavy bake through a delivery run without support. |
| E-flute corrugated | A fluted board that adds stiffness and crush resistance for delivery and stacking. Trade-off: more expensive, more freight volume, and a coarser printed surface than a folding board. |
| SBS (solid bleached sulphate) | A whiter sheet for fine print and pale colours, often used where the box is part of the gift. Trade-off: a higher sheet cost with no extra strength. |
| Aqueous or PLA dispersion coating | The plastic-free grease barrier, and usually enough for sponge, plain bakes and light buttercream. Trade-off: it resists oil rather than cream or fruit moisture, so it is tested against your bake before the bulk run. |
| Separate greaseproof liner board | A liner under the bake for genuinely oily, creamy or warm products. Trade-off: an extra component your staff have to place, priced as its own line — but the only route that does not coat the box itself. |
| PE or wax coating | The strongest moisture barrier for cream and fruit. Trade-off: plastic, usually blocks repulpability, and increasingly the claim customers are checking against. |
Best for
A fixed menu and a fixed size across several shops is what makes the 3,000 pc tier work. We hold the specification stable so a reorder skips re-approval.
Large formats with a reinforced base, and usually a window or a printed sleeve rather than a film window, because grease and cream show quickly at an aperture edge.
Sharing boxes for tarts, slices and dessert platters, right-sized against the tray so the box does not become the biggest part of the freight.
Loaf and pastry formats where the box replaces a paper bag for customers who carry the product further — the grease load is light, so the cheapest barrier route usually fits.
Large runs against a fixed date, often in two or three sizes at once. Quoting them as one programme is what keeps the unit cost down.
Sizing
A bakery box is the clearest case in this range for right-sizing, because the empty volume is large and the parcel travels often. Take the product, the tray it sits on and the clearance the bake needs, and size the box from those three numbers — not from the shelf it will sit on.
The indicative band is quoted against the standard food-box tier at 3,000 pcs. Larger formats and heavier board grades are priced per size and per grade, and the reinforcement or insert you choose is quoted as its own line.
| Dimension | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Start from the tray | Give us the tray or board the bake sits on, plus the product's height. Most over-sized bakery boxes exist because the box was sized from the shelf rather than the product |
| Headroom | Leave enough for the decoration and enough for the lid to close without touching it — a lid pressing into a cream finish is a complaint, not a saving |
| Load and stack | Tell us the weight and whether the boxes are stacked. That is the difference between a folding board grade and E-flute corrugated, and it is cheaper to answer now than after the first pallet |
| Multiple sizes | Two or three sizes on one order share the setup and lower every unit cost. Treating each size as a separate project costs you the ladder |
| Flat vs assembled freight | Flat-packed supply is standard at this size because it is cheaper to ship and cheaper to store. Assembled supply is possible and quoted as its own line |
Free quote
Send the basics and you will get an itemised price plus a 3D mockup with your branding.
What you get
Reply within one business day. No obligation, and no design files needed to start.
FAQ
Size, board grade and barrier — in that order. Everything else follows from them.
Keep looking
One die-cut sheet, tabbed and locked without glue, on board chosen for direct food contact. Grease resistance comes from an aqueous or PLA dispersion coating, a coated board grade or a separate liner, tested with a sample of your product before the bulk run. It travels and stores flat and assembles in seconds, which is why bakeries and takeaway counters reorder it — but on this format the barrier decides the price, not the artwork.
A tray with a rim in board or corrugated, wrapped in a printed sleeve, with die-cut dividers that separate components so nothing arrives crushed or leaking into everything else. The failure in meal-kit packaging is rarely the box itself — it is a sachet that opens into the dry goods. So the structure is designed around your components, and inserts are cut to your own items and quoted as separate lines so you can drop one and see the saving.
The same one-piece tuck-top construction as our standard food box, with a die-cut window and a film specification so the product is visible before it is opened. That visibility is the whole reason to buy it: it merchandises macarons, biscuits and truffles on a shelf or in a delivery photograph. The trade-offs are honest ones — the window adds a die and a film choice, and the film is the part of the box most likely to conflict with your market's packaging rules.
Get a free quote
Tell us the product, the quantity and the destination. You will get an itemised factory-direct price, a recommended structure and a 3D mockup — no design files needed to start.
Free quote
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