Food-Grade Packaging · MOQ 500 pcs
A one-piece tuck-top box on board selected for direct food contact, with the grease barrier specified for what you actually pack. Indicative $0.48–0.68 per piece at 1,000 pcs; the coating or liner is quoted as its own line.
Overview
The box is a single die-cut sheet of coated folding boxboard that folds into a tray with a tuck lid or a self-locking base. Two things follow from that construction, and both matter for food. No adhesive or tape is held against the product, because the box locks on itself; and the whole format travels and stores flat, so a bakery with limited dry storage can keep six sizes on a shelf and fold them as they are needed. The barrier is a material decision rather than a print decision: an aqueous dispersion or a PLA dispersion coating is the plastic-free route, a coated board grade is the cheaper one, and a separate greaseproof liner board is the fallback when the product is genuinely oily.
It is the right choice when the product is dry to mildly oily, sold or delivered on the same day, and needs to look considered without paying for a rigid box. The trade-offs are worth stating plainly. A dispersion coating resists oil rather than standing fluid, so a hot, heavily oiled product held in the box for hours needs a liner instead — and both the coating and the liner are quoted as their own lines, because they are priced on the area they cover. Board also softens when it stays wet, and a printed box is not a display case: if the food should be seen before purchase, order a window format. Where the packaging is the gift rather than the carrier, the rigid range will do the job better and cost more.
Specification
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Board | Coated folding boxboard (GC1 / GC2) as standard; SBS or E-flute corrugated where the load or the shelf life demands it |
| Format | One-piece die-cut, tuck-top lid with a self-locking base; no glue in the structure |
| Size range | 20×15×8cm is the format the published price ladder is based on; any custom size from a single-portion box to a sharing format, priced per size because each size needs its own die |
| Outer face only as standard, one or two colours being the cheapest route and full coverage the most expensive; interior print is a separate pass and is only specified against your market's food-contact rule | |
| Barrier | Aqueous or PLA dispersion coating, a coated board grade, or a separate greaseproof liner board — each quoted as its own line |
| Packing | Supplied flat and banded, then consolidated in export cartons; assembled supply only where you ask for it, and it changes the freight |
| MOQ | 500 pcs per size and print, with the barrier and any insert quoted separately |
| Lead time | 12–18 days after sample approval, plus 3–5 days for the sample |
Variants
Each is quoted on the same board and barrier specification, so the difference you see between them is the structure and the barrier — not a different sheet.
The volume format: closes without tape, locks without glue, stores flat. Cheapest of the three and the one most bakeries and takeaway counters settle on.
Adds a die-cut window and a film specification so the product sells itself. The window is its own line item, and the film has to be chosen against your market's packaging rule — a paper window avoids plastic entirely but hides less.
Die-cut board dividers on a rimmed tray, so pastries, truffles or portions arrive apart rather than crushed together. Cut to your products, not to a stock grid.
The barrier upgrade for genuinely oily or warm products. It is a second component, so it is quoted separately — and in some markets a liner is easier to document than a coated board, which is worth checking before you commit.
The handle is part of the die-cut, so the box becomes the carrier for a takeaway meal or a picnic set. A heavier board or a corrugated grade is usually needed where the load is hot or heavy.
Materials
There is no single food-grade material. There is the material that suits your product, your dwell time and your market, and it is chosen on those three things before price.
Certificates follow the material, not the supplier: we will supply the declarations and migration test documents the destination market requires for the exact board, coating and ink in your specification. Ask for the current certificate for the specification you are buying, because a document issued for a different board is not evidence for yours.
| Option | What it means |
|---|---|
| Coated folding boxboard (GC1 / GC2) | The default board for this range. Prints well, folds cleanly, inexpensive. Trade-off: the coated face is not a barrier on its own, so an oily product still needs one of the coatings or liners below. |
| SBS (solid bleached sulphate) | A whiter, smoother sheet that takes fine print and light colours better than grey-back board. Trade-off: it costs more per sheet and does nothing extra for grease resistance. |
| Aqueous dispersion coating | The plastic-free grease barrier we recommend first: water-based, repulpable and usually documentable in markets that restrict plastic coatings. Trade-off: it resists oil rather than standing liquid, and it should be tested against your product and dwell time rather than assumed. |
| PLA dispersion coating | A bio-based, plastic-free alternative with a slightly stronger story on the label. Trade-off: it costs more than the aqueous route, and it only makes sense if your market and your customers recognise the difference. |
| PE or wax coating | The strongest and most moisture-resistant barrier, and the cheapest way to stop a very oily product marking the board. Trade-off: it is plastic, it usually rules out repulpability, and in several markets it is exactly the claim your competitors are being called out for. |
| Separate greaseproof liner board | A second surface between the food and the printed box. Trade-off: it adds a component your customer has to separate, and it is priced as its own line — but it is often the cheapest way to reach a real barrier without coating the outer box. |
Best for
Cakes, pastries, doughnuts and cookies sold the same day. The box has to fold fast at the counter and hold a light grease load — exactly the case a dispersion coating covers.
Hot, oily food travels further and sits longer, so the barrier moves towards a liner or a coated board, and the format often becomes a gable or carry box so it can leave without a bag.
Cocoa butter and pralines mark uncoated board, and the box is usually seen before it is opened — a window format or a compartmented insert earns its cost here.
Components are packed dry and separated, and the box ships flat to your assembly site. The barrier question is normally one oily item rather than the whole box.
Cheese, cured meat, olives and salads: a heavier board or a liner, sized to the portion so the box does not become the largest part of the freight.
Large-format sharing boxes and platters, often ordered in a hurry for a fixed date. Right-sizing against the tray matters more than the unit price at this volume.
Sizing
A food box is usually ordered in the size that fits the shelf rather than the size that fits the product. That is the conversation worth having before the die is cut: every centimetre removed from the empty volume is a centimetre you stop paying to ship, on every order and every parcel.
The published price ladder in this range is based on a 20×15×8cm tuck-top box. Other sizes are quoted per size, because each one needs its own die — so two sizes cost more than one, and a range of four sizes is a different project rather than a bigger order.
| Dimension | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Reference size | 20×15×8cm tuck-top — the format the indicative price band and the published ladder are quoted against |
| Right-sizing | Give us the product's outer dimensions and how it is stacked. Empty air inside a food parcel is dimensional weight you pay on every shipment, and it is usually worth more than a few cents off the unit price |
| Depth | Keep depth to what the product and its liner actually need. A tall box with a shallow product is the most common right-sizing mistake we see |
| Multiple sizes | Each size needs its own die and its own print setup, so merging a two-size order into one run lowers the unit cost more than negotiating on either size alone |
| Flat-packed vs assembled | Boxes ship and store flat as standard. If you want them assembled, say so at brief stage — it changes the carton count and the inbound freight volume |
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FAQ
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Keep looking
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.
The large-format end of the food range: a tuck-top or self-locking box in folding board, or E-flute corrugated where the load needs stiffness. A multi-branch bakery buys this box for a fixed menu programme, so the conversation is about size, board grade and how the boxes travel — not about how many colours go on the lid. Base reinforcement, window lids and carry handles are each quoted as their own line.
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.
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