Burger and Fast Food Boxes, Printed for UK Kitchens

What is in the burger and fast food range?

This range covers the packaging that leaves a fast food counter in someone's hand or a delivery bag. It holds eleven styles, each built around a different portion or way of eating.

Some are hinged boxes that lock shut. Some are open pouches for eating on the move. Two are paper rather than board, for wrapping or lining.

The table below sets them side by side. Use it to match each line of your menu to one style before you ask for prices.

Who orders this range?

Burger bars, chicken shops, pub kitchens and food vans make up most of the orders. Dark kitchens running only on delivery apps order it too, because the box is often the first thing a new customer sees.

Event caterers use the hand-held styles. A festival crowd eats standing up, so open bags and trays beat a lidded box there.

If your counter sells one burger at a time, the standard hinged burger box with tab lock is the place to start.

• Burger restaurants with delivery and collection
• Fried chicken and wing shops
• Street food vans and market stalls
• Pub kitchens and sports clubs
• Soft play cafés and family venues
• Caterers working at weddings, birthdays and events

How do you choose a box for each item on the menu?

Start with the menu, not the packaging list. Each item has a size, a level of sauce and a way it gets eaten.

A tall double patty with onion rings needs height more than width. Our boxes made for double stacks add wall height so the lid does not crush the top bun.

Work through the steps below and most menus end up with three to five styles, not eleven.

1. List every item that leaves in packaging, including sides and kids' meals.
2. Measure the biggest version of each item, with toppings, in millimetres.
3. Group items that fit the same box so you hold fewer sizes.
4. Decide which items travel by delivery and which are eaten on the spot.
5. Pick lidded boxes for delivery and open bags or trays for eating at once.
6. Send the list to us and we price every style on one written quote.

What sizes do burger and fast food boxes come in?

Everything here is made to your size, in millimetres or inches. The figures below are common starting points, not fixed sizes.

Measure the bun at its widest point after cooking, then add 10 to 15 mm. That gap stops the bun touching the walls and pulling sauce up the sides.

Height matters as much as width. A brioche bun with a fried egg can stand 90 mm tall, so a 70 mm box will squash it.

Which board copes with grease and steam?

Most boxes in this range are white or kraft folding board. It folds cleanly, prints sharply and suits single burgers and small portions.

Bigger meal boxes and anything that will sit in a delivery bag for twenty minutes often move up to E flute corrugated, about 1.5 mm thick. The fluted layer holds heat and keeps its shape when stacked.

Grease is the other problem. A grease-resistant lining or coating on request stops oil from fried chicken and sauce from marking the outside print.

Steam is what turns fries soft. A split burger and chip box can take small vent holes over the chip side, so moisture escapes before the lid goes soggy.

Should you use a box, a bag or paper for burgers?

A box protects the burger and stacks in a delivery bag. It costs more board per unit and takes a moment to fold.

A bag is quicker. You slide the burger in, fold the top and hand it over, so queues move faster at events.

Paper is the lightest choice. A greaseproof wrap holds a burger together, lines a basket for dine-in and can sit inside a box as a second layer. Many kitchens order printed burger wrapping paper sheets alongside their boxes for exactly that reason.

• Delivery and collection: a lidded box, often with a wrap inside
• Festivals and markets: an open bag or wrap only
• Dine-in baskets: printed paper as a liner
• Fast counters with saucy burgers: a clamshell that snaps shut

How do chicken, hot dog and kids' meal boxes fit in?

Burgers are rarely the only thing on a fast food menu. Wings, strips and nuggets need a box with more floor space and a lid that does not trap too much steam.

Chicken boxes are often ordered in three sizes so one design covers a snack, a meal and a sharing bucket. Hot dog boxes are long and narrow, with a cradle that keeps onions and mustard on the roll.

Children's menus are different again. Kids meal boxes with a carry handle hold a small burger, a side and a drink carton. The outside can carry puzzles or colouring.

How does one design work across the whole range?

Most customers want every box to look like it came from the same kitchen. We set your logo and colours once, then adapt the layout to each shape.

A square lid gives you room for a large logo. A long hot dog box suits a repeating pattern. A burger bag has a narrow front panel, so a short wordmark works better than a full logo with a strapline.

Print can be plain, one colour, two colour or full colour CMYK. One colour black on kraft is the simplest way to start. Inside print on boxes lets a message appear when the lid opens.

Small items need bolder artwork. On compact boxes for junior burgers a lid can be under 90 mm wide, so fine text disappears.

How should you pack and store fast food boxes?

Boxes arrive flat, which saves space in a small kitchen. Fold a batch before service and stack them near the pass, lids open, ready to fill.

Keep flat packs off the floor and away from the fryer. Board takes in moisture, and damp boxes lose their crease and close badly.

For delivery, stack lidded boxes with the heaviest at the bottom. Put chips on top so they are not crushed, and keep sauces in separate pots. Clamshell burger boxes that snap shut are quick to close one-handed when tickets pile up.

What mistakes do kitchens make when ordering burger packaging?

Most problems come from sizing guesses or from treating every item the same. These are the ones we see most.

Ordering one size for everything is the most common. A slider rattles in a full-size box, and a double stack gets crushed in a single one. Small portions sit better in slider boxes for mini burgers.

• Measuring the raw patty instead of the finished burger
• Skipping a grease-resistant lining on fried chicken boxes
• Closing fries under a solid lid with no venting
• Using thin text that fills in when printed on kraft
• Running out of one size because all sizes were ordered in equal numbers

How do you order the range?

Send us the styles you want, a rough size for each and how many you need. A photo of your current box helps if you are replacing one.

We reply with a written quote, from £0.25 per unit depending on style, size and print. Quantities are quoted per order, and you can mix several styles on one quote.

A free design proof follows before anything is printed. Production takes 4 to 6 business days after you approve it, and delivery is free and tracked across the UK in 2 to 3 business days.

If a delivery arrives misprinted or damaged, send photos within 10 days and we reprint or refund. Food-contact materials available on request, confirmed on your quote.