Custom Food Packaging: Retail Cartons, Shippers and Brand-Ready Print
Food packaging has to be clear on a shelf, strong in a shipping carton, and consistent across a product range. Here is how food brands use folding cartons for retail and corrugated shippers for delivery.
Retail first, shipping second
Most food brands need two boxes, not one: a retail carton that sells the product, and a shipper that protects it. Designing them together keeps the branding consistent and avoids a retail carton that is too weak to ship on its own.
Folding cartons for retail
- Reverse-tuck or sleeve cartons, typically on 300–350gsm board
- Full-colour print for product, flavour and brand colour
- Matte or gloss lamination for shelf durability
- MOQ from 200 pieces, production typically 12–16 days
Corrugated shippers for delivery
For multi-item orders, heavier products or freight, a corrugated shipper in E, B or BC flute is the outer protection. It starts at 100 pieces, with production typically 10–15 days, and can carry full-colour print so the delivery still looks branded.
What food brands should send
- Product size and weight, and whether it ships singly or in multiples
- Retail or direct-to-consumer, or both
- Any flavour or range variation, so the carton system works across SKUs
- Quantity, with a single sample first if you want to check shelf and ship fit
A note on scope
This guide covers the outer retail carton and the shipping carton. If your product needs direct food-contact packaging, tell us at the start so the structure and material choice can be confirmed for that use before production.
Try your box
Pick a style and enter your inside dimensions, then send the exact specs to our factory on WhatsApp.
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