How to Choose Takeaway Food Boxes
Most takeaway businesses end up with three or four box types. The skill is matching the box to the food, not buying the cheapest one. This guide goes through the main materials we stock and what each is best at, so your first order is the right one.
Start with the food, not the box
Ask three questions about each dish: is it hot or cold, is it wet or dry, and will the customer reheat it? A burger needs a sturdy hinged box that does not go soft. A curry needs a leak-resistant container. A cold salad needs a clear or tall lid so it looks good. Write the answer next to each menu item and the box list builds itself.
Bagasse boxes
Bagasse is moulded sugarcane fibre. Our bagasse boxes are hinged, microwave and freezer safe, and come in 9x9 inch (single or three-compartment), 9x6 inch (single or two-compartment), 7x5 inch and a 6x6 inch burger box. The compartment boxes keep a main and sides apart, which suits rice and curry, roast dinners and meal deals. Cases are 200 to 500 boxes depending on the size.
Kraft boxes
Kraft boxes are folded paper-based boxes, the classic choice for sandwiches, burgers, wraps and dry foods. We stock kraft food boxes in No5 small, No8 medium and No2 large, plus an extra large burger box. They are light and take branding well, so they are a good place to start with custom printing.
Deli bowls and salad containers
Round kraft deli bowls in 750ml, 1000ml and 1300ml suit soups, noodles, pasta and salads, with matching lids sold separately. Clear hinged salad containers run from 250cc up to 1250cc: the small sizes are for sides, dips and desserts, and the large ones for full salads and pasta. Choose the lid at the same time as the bowl, so the sizes match.
Microwave containers
If customers will reheat the food, use a container made for it. Our microwavable containers run from 8oz up to 1000ml heavy duty, with lids. They suit meal prep, curries, soups and school or office lunches.
Foil containers
Aluminium foil containers and lids are the traditional choice for hot food that travels: curries, kebabs, roasts and bakes. They go in a conventional oven but not in a microwave, so tell customers how to reheat. Foil containers use matching lids (9x9, No6, 6A, No2 and others), so check the lid code when you order.
A simple starter order
- One case each of two or three bagasse or kraft sizes that match your most popular dishes.
- The matching lids, if the box needs one.
- A case of paper bags or a carrier for orders of several boxes.
Order small, see what sells, and reorder the sizes you use. Orders placed by 4pm Monday to Friday leave the same day, with free UK delivery, so you can top up quickly. Not sure which size is right? Try a sample first, or ask us.