Ice Cream Tubs and Dessert Packaging for Parlours and Vans

What is in the ice cream and dessert range?

Six items make up this range. Four are for ice cream, served by the scoop or taken home by the pint. Two are for hot desserts: churros and waffles.

Cold and hot desserts make opposite demands. Ice cream needs a container that copes with condensation and melting. Churros and waffles need one that copes with steam, sugar and sauce.

The table compares all six.

Who orders ice cream and dessert packaging?

Ice cream parlours, seaside kiosks and ice cream vans are the core buyers. Dessert bars order the waffle and churro boxes alongside tubs.

Farm dairies selling their own ice cream need pint tubs for the farm shop freezer. Event caterers and festival traders need cone holders and churro boxes that work at speed.

For scoops sold at the counter, ice cream tubs sized by scoop are the first item most parlours order.

• Ice cream parlours and gelato counters
• Seaside kiosks and pier stalls
• Ice cream vans
• Dessert bars serving waffles and churros
• Farm dairies with a shop freezer
• Festival and event dessert traders

How do you size an ice cream tub?

Scoop tubs are sized by how many scoops they hold, usually one, two or three. Volume in ounces is the common way to order, as it matches how parlours portion.

A one-scoop tub is often around 4 oz. Two scoops fit an 8 oz tub. Three scoops with sauce and toppings need 12 oz or more.

Sundaes and loaded tubs need more room than plain scoops. Brownie pieces, wafers and a swirl of cream can add 30 to 40 mm above the rim. Allow for the finished dessert, not just the ice cream.

Take-home tubs are sized differently, by the amount sold. Ice cream pint tubs with a fitted lid are the usual size for farm shops and parlours selling to freezers at home.

Which board copes with condensation and melting?

Cold food out of a freezer gathers condensation as soon as it meets warm air. On a hot day, a tub can be wet on the outside within minutes.

Ice cream tubs are usually made from folding board with a coating on request to resist moisture. The coating helps the tub hold its shape as the ice cream softens.

Pint tubs spend longer in a freezer, so the lid fit matters. A snug lid keeps ice crystals from forming on the surface and stops the tub picking up smells from other food in the freezer.

Napkins help too, but they are no substitute for the right board. A tub that softens in the hand is the quickest way to lose a customer's goodwill on a hot afternoon.

What do cone sleeves and cone holders do?

Cone sleeves wrap around a cone below the scoop. They catch drips, give the customer something to hold and carry your branding on every cone you sell.

Cone holders solve a different problem. When a customer orders three cones for their family, someone needs to carry them. A holder keeps each cone upright in its own slot.

Sleeves are cheap per cone and quick to fit. Printed ice cream cone sleeves are sized to the cone you buy in, so measure its height and top width.

Holders are a bigger piece of board and often printed on the top surface, where it shows in photos.

When are cone holders worth ordering?

Holders earn their place wherever customers buy cones in groups. Beach kiosks, theme park stalls and ice cream vans parked at events are the obvious places.

They also help in a busy queue. Staff can fill several cones into a holder, hand it over in one go and move to the next customer.

Ice cream cone holders for family orders are usually firm folding board. They stay flat while carrying the weight of melting ice cream.

• Family orders of two to four cones
• Event stalls with long queues
• Kiosks where customers walk away from the counter
• Vans serving children's parties and school events

What packaging do churros and waffles need?

Churros and waffles come off a fryer or hot plate, often with sugar, chocolate sauce or fruit. Packaging needs to resist grease and hold heat for a few minutes without trapping steam.

Churros are long and thin, so they suit a long box or a cone. A dip pocket for chocolate sauce keeps the sauce off the churros until the customer is ready.

Churro boxes with a dip pocket are popular at markets, where people eat while walking. A grease-resistant lining or coating on request stops sugar and oil marking the outside.

Portion size drives the box length. Five or six churros of about 120 mm each fit a box around 150 mm long, while a sharing portion of ten needs a wider base.

How do you choose a waffle box?

Waffles vary more than most desserts. A round waffle, a square waffle and a waffle on a stick all need different shapes.

Open trays suit waffles eaten at once with a fork. Lidded boxes suit delivery and collection, though they need venting so the waffle does not go soft.

Size from your waffle iron. Waffle boxes sized to your iron leave room for toppings piled on top, which is usually the tallest part of the dessert.

1. Measure the waffle straight from your iron.
2. Add height for toppings, cream and sauce.
3. Choose an open tray for eating now, or a lidded box for delivery.
4. Ask for a lining if you serve sauces or melted chocolate.
5. Send your sizes for a written quote.

How should ice cream and dessert packaging be printed?

Ice cream branding is usually bright and playful. Full colour CMYK on white board shows colour best and suits parlours with lots of flavours on display.

Tubs are small, so keep the design simple. A logo and one line of text read better than a busy pattern on a 4 oz tub.

Inside print on trays and boxes works well for waffles and churros, where the base shows once the dessert is eaten. Matte or gloss varnish can be added to board items.

Can hot and cold desserts share one brand look?

Yes, and most dessert bars want them to. A customer who buys a waffle today and a tub tomorrow should recognise the packaging both times.

We set your logo and colours once, then adapt them to each shape. A round tub suits a band of colour around the side. A long churro box suits a repeating pattern. A cone sleeve has room for a short wordmark and little else.

Kraft and white board can sit side by side in one range. Some parlours use white for ice cream, where colour matters, and kraft for hot desserts, where a warmer look suits the food.

Free layout help from our designers comes with every order. You do not need finished artwork for every shape before you ask for a price.

What mistakes do ice cream sellers make with packaging?

Most problems come from forgetting how fast ice cream melts and how wet cold packaging gets. A few others come from treating hot and cold desserts the same.

Timing is the other common slip. Ice cream sellers often order on the first warm weekend, when the busiest days are already under way.

• Ordering tubs without a moisture-resistant coating
• Sizing cone sleeves without measuring the cones
• Using a lidded waffle box with no venting for delivery
• Leaving churro sauce loose in the box
• Printing fine detail on small tubs, where it gets lost

How do you order ice cream and dessert packaging?

Tell us which items you need, the sizes and roughly how many. For sleeves and holders, measure the cones you use.

A written quote follows, from £0.25 per unit, with quantities quoted per order. Food-contact materials available on request.

A free design proof comes before printing. Production takes 4 to 6 business days after you approve it. Delivery is free and tracked to anywhere in the UK, arriving in 2 to 3 business days.

Ice cream sales peak in summer, so place your spring order in good time. Misprints or damage are reprinted or refunded if you send photos within 10 days.