Custom Ice Cream Pint Tubs with Printed Lids for Take-Home Sales

What is an ice cream pint tub?

A pint tub is the lidded tub that ice cream goes home in. It is taller and straighter than a scoop cup, and a separate lid presses down over the rim.

The name is loose. A UK pint is 568 ml, but most tubs sold as pints hold between 460 ml and 500 ml. What matters is the volume printed on your label, so we size the tub in millilitres.

Unlike a scoop cup, a pint tub has to last. It sits in a shop freezer, travels home in a bag and then waits in a home freezer for days or weeks.

What do our photos show?

Our photos show four printed pint tubs. A pink tub has a dark lid and a round white label panel with the words ice cream.

A strawberry flavour tub carries a bold illustrated wrap and a red lid with the brand name. A chocolate tub with a gold-coloured lid shows a dripping design and a flavour line along the base.

A pink tub with a matching lid carries a cone illustration and printed text on the lid. Each one shows the lid used as a second print area, which is the main difference from an open cup.

Who sells ice cream in printed pint tubs?

Pint tubs suit anyone making ice cream who wants customers to take it home.

For many of these sellers the tub is the only packaging a customer keeps. It sits in a home freezer for weeks, so the print keeps reminding them where the ice cream came from.

• Dairy farms selling their own ice cream from a farm shop
• Parlours with a take-home freezer by the door
• Small ice cream makers supplying delis and cafés
• Restaurants selling their dessert ice cream to take away
• Market traders with a freezer at a weekly stall

How do I choose the right tub volume?

Start with the volume you want on the label, then allow headroom. Ice cream should sit below the lid so the lid presses down cleanly without pushing into it.

Follow these steps before you request a quote.

If you sell through a deli or farm shop, ask about their freezer too. A tub that fits your own freezer may be too tall for a shallow chest freezer elsewhere.

1. Choose the volume you want to sell, such as 460 ml or 500 ml.
2. Fill a sample tub to that line and check the gap under the lid.
3. Measure the shelf height in the freezer you sell from.
4. Check that two tubs stack on that shelf with the lids on.
5. Send the volume and shelf height, and we confirm the tub on your proof.

Which tub suits which sale?

Most makers sell more than one size. The table shows how sizes usually line up with the way the tub is sold.

Start with the main retail size and one smaller tub. Add a family tub once you know how the first two sell through a season.

Freezers, frost and the board

Frozen tubs collect frost when the freezer door opens, and that frost melts on the walk home. White or kraft board with a lining or coating on request copes with that cycle better than plain board.

Food-contact materials are available on request, and the material for your tubs is confirmed on the written quote. Our explainer on linings and coatings for food board compares the options.

Fill tubs cold and get them into the freezer quickly. Soft ice cream pressed against the lid freezes to it and tears the board when opened.

Hand customers a paper bag with each tub on warm days. Two tubs side by side in a bag keep each other cold a little longer than one tub alone.

How should you print a pint tub and lid?

Customers look down into a freezer, so the lid is often seen first. Put the brand and the flavour on the lid in large type.

The wall then carries the full design, with a clear panel for the flavour, volume and any ingredient or allergen label you add. Leave that panel plain if your flavours change, so a sticker can go on each batch.

One design with a colour change per flavour keeps a freezer looking organised. The red, pink and chocolate tubs in our photos show how far a colour change carries.

What mistakes do makers make with pint tubs?

Most of these show up in the first week of selling.

Each is cheap to fix at the proof stage and costly once a full run is printed. Send a photo of your freezer shelf with the order and we check the fit.

• Ordering a tub too tall to stack on the freezer shelf
• Filling to the rim so the lid presses into the ice cream
• Printing flavour names on every tub when the menu changes
• Forgetting to order lids in the same quantity as tubs
• Placing the label panel where the wrap-round seam falls

What sits beside pint tubs in the shop?

A take-home tub sells better next to a counter that serves the same ice cream. Matching printed scoop cups for counter serves let customers taste a flavour before they buy a tub.

Some makers add a small 150 ml tub as a single treat at the till. It uses the same print and introduces new customers to the brand at a low price point.

How do I order custom ice cream pint tubs?

Send the volumes, the number of tubs and lids, and your artwork through our pint tub quote request, by email or on WhatsApp. Our designers can lay out the wall and lid for free.

Tubs start from £0.25 per unit, confirmed in writing before anything is made. The free proof shows the wall and lid side by side. Production takes 4–6 business days after approval, and free tracked UK delivery follows in 2–3 business days.

Launching a new flavour for Easter or the summer holidays? Plan the artwork a few weeks ahead, so filled tubs reach the freezer on the day you want.