Min. 100 units · 3–5 days
Cake Boxes
Custom Food Packaging
Specify thisCustom Food Packaging
Cupcake Boxes
Custom cupcake Boxes produced to your size and substrate, with printing and finishing handled in one run.
- Minimum order
- 100 units
- Production
- 3–5 business days
- Construction
- folding carton
- Delivery
- US, UK, Canada, Australia
No obligation
Quote this by the case
Name, email, phone and what you are packing and the volumes you run. Attach artwork if you have it. We reply with a specification and a written price, usually within one business day.
What cupcake boxes have to cope with
Cupcake Boxes hold cupcakes with piped tops that must not touch anything above them. That is the starting point for the specification, because cavity depth has to grip the case, and lid clearance has to clear the tallest swirl you actually pipe, not an average one.
In service they are used for bakery collection and delivery, almost always carried at a slight angle.
Where cupcake boxes are actually used
Cupcake Boxes are specified for bakery collection and delivery, almost always carried at a slight angle. Cavity depth has to grip the case, and lid clearance has to clear the tallest swirl you actually pipe, not an average one.
- Bakery collection and delivery, almost always carried at a slight angle
- Shelf display in specialty retail
- Subscription and gift sets
- E-commerce inner packaging
The substrate for cupcake boxes
A 16pt board with a separate die-cut cavity insert. The insert grips the case; the outer only needs to hold shape.
The options we would consider for this format are below; cavity depth has to grip the case, and lid clearance has to clear the tallest swirl you actually pipe, not an average one.
- 12pt SBS paperboard
- 14pt SBS paperboard
- 16pt SBS paperboard
- 18pt kraft board
- recycled CCNB board
Printing cupcake boxes
A window in the lid sells the product, but it must sit above swirl height or it shows the side of the icing rather than the top.
Offset lithography, Digital press, Flexography are all available for this format. Run length usually decides which is cheapest: digital removes the plate cost on short quantities, offset and flexo overtake it at volume.
Finishing cupcake boxes
A window in the lid sells the product, but it must sit above swirl height or it shows the side of the icing rather than the top.
Finishes are costed one at a time because each is a separate operation — that way you can see which one is carrying the price.
- Gloss lamination
- Matte lamination
- Soft-touch lamination
- Spot UV
- Foil stamping
- Embossing
- Debossing
- Aqueous coating
Sizing cupcake boxes
Set by cavity count: 4-hole around 7 × 7 × 4 in, 6-hole 10 × 7 × 4 in, 12-hole 14 × 10 × 4 in.
Send the contents rather than a box size. Buyers pick a box height for a standard cupcake and then run a tall swirl, which has nowhere to go.
Holding cupcake boxes before service
The cupcake lifts out of its cavity when the box tilts and the icing meets the lid.
Paperboard also absorbs moisture from the air until it equalises with its surroundings. If stock sits more than about six weeks in unconditioned space, a moisture-resistant coating is worth its small premium.
Preparing artwork
Supply artwork on the dieline we send you, with 3 mm bleed past every trim edge and all text held 4 mm inside the fold lines.
Supply a print-ready PDF or vector file with fonts outlined and images at 300 dpi. Our prepress team checks every file before a proof is issued. The check that catches most files is type sitting too close to a crease, which is easier to move at layout than at proof.
From enquiry to delivery
Start with dimensions and quantity. If you already run something similar, a physical sample tells us more in a minute than a specification does in a page.
You approve the quote, we send the dieline, prepress proofs it, and production follows. The proof stage is where changes are still free.
What buyers get wrong with cupcake boxes
Buyers pick a box height for a standard cupcake and then run a tall swirl, which has nowhere to go.
The rest of these come up often enough across the format to be worth stating plainly.
- Specifying board weight without saying how hot or greasy the contents are.
- Forgetting that a pack carried at an angle in a courier bag behaves differently to one on a counter.
- Choosing a vented lid for a dish that needs to stay hot, or a sealed one for a dish that needs to stay crisp.
- Ordering a year of stock that then sits through a humid summer.
Testing the fit first
We can produce a plain unprinted sample so you can check the fit and structure of cupcake boxes before committing.
Sample costs are normally credited against the production order.
Reference
Cupcake Boxes at a specification level
| Product | Cupcake Boxes |
|---|---|
| Category | Custom Food Packaging |
| Construction | Die-cut, creased and seam-glued |
| Board thickness | 12pt – 18pt depending on product weight |
| Ships as | Flat-packed, glued one seam |
| Materials | 12pt SBS paperboard, 14pt SBS paperboard, 16pt SBS paperboard, 18pt kraft board |
| Printing | Offset lithography, Digital press, Flexography |
| Finishes | Gloss lamination, Matte lamination, Soft-touch lamination, Spot UV, Foil stamping |
| Minimum order | Minimum order is 100 units on any format, and unit cost falls sharply as the quantity rises. |
| Lead time | 3 to 5 business days after artwork approval |
| Shipping | Across the US, UK, Canada and Australia |
Specification builder
Specify Cupcake Boxes in under a minute
Set what you know, leave the rest. Everything here travels with your request, so nothing gets retyped.
- 100-unit minimum
- 3–5 day production
- Free dieline
- No obligation
Cupcake Boxes
Drag to rotate
In practice
What matters in service
Sized to the contents
Set by cavity count: 4-hole around 7 × 7 × 4 in, 6-hole 10 × 7 × 4 in, 12-hole 14 × 10 × 4 in.
What goes wrong in service
The cupcake lifts out of its cavity when the box tilts and the icing meets the lid.
What it is specified for
Specified for bakery collection and delivery, almost always carried at a slight angle.
The detail that decides it
Cavity depth has to grip the case, and lid clearance has to clear the tallest swirl you actually pipe, not an average one.
This format sits in our custom food packaging range, alongside 33 other made-to-order formats.
Answers
Cupcake Boxes: service and food safety
Specification, minimums and lead times for cupcake boxes.
How tall should a cupcake box be?
Measure your tallest piped swirl, not a standard cupcake, and add clearance. The cavity also has to grip the case firmly — most icing damage happens because the cake lifted out of its hole when the box tilted.
Are these food-contact compliant?
We specify food-contact compliant boards and inks where the pack touches food directly. Tell us whether contact is direct or through a liner for cupcake boxes, because it changes which stocks are available to you.
How do you stop grease showing through?
A grease-resistant coating or a greaseproof liner. Untreated board will always strike through eventually with hot, oily food — that is a property of the material rather than a quality fault, and it is inexpensive to design out.
Do cupcake boxes arrive flat or assembled?
Flat and glued along one seam, so they pop open on your packing line. That keeps freight cost down considerably compared with a pre-assembled structure.
What happens after I approve the quote?
We issue a dieline template sized to your product, prepress checks your artwork against it, and a proof comes back for sign-off. Nothing runs until you approve that proof, and folding cartons then take 3 to 5 business days.
Can you hold the specification for repeat orders?
Yes. Once a first run is approved we hold the board, structure, dimensions, print method and finishes against your account, so a reorder references the same specification exactly rather than being re-derived. The board and coating are held together, so a reorder cannot quietly arrive on a stock with different grease resistance.
Do you offer recycled or recyclable options?
Recycled grades are available across most of the substrates we run for folding cartons. Recycled content, kerbside recyclability and certified compostability are three different claims though, so tell us which one you intend to print.
What file format should I send artwork in?
A print-ready PDF or a vector file, with fonts outlined and any raster images at 300 dpi at final size. We supply the dieline to design onto, and prepress checks bleed, safe area and crease clearance before issuing a proof. The dieline we supply carries the crease positions, so keeping type clear of a crease is easier to solve at layout than at proof.
What is the minimum order for cupcake boxes?
A flat 100 units on any format. Most folding cartons in this range are quoted from 100 units upward because unit cost falls sharply above that, but the minimum exists so you can validate a structure first.
How long do cupcake boxes take to produce?
3 to 5 business days after artwork approval, plus freight. Folding carton runs with applied finishes can take longer because each finish is a separate pass, and we confirm a firm date in writing with the quote.
What do cupcake boxes cost?
Prices start from $0.30 per piece for large-volume orders. For this format the biggest levers are quantity, print route, board grade and how many finishing passes are involved. We quote each element separately so you can see where the money is going. Finishing passes are the lever buyers most often underestimate: each one is a separate run through the line.
Can I see a sample first?
Yes. We can send a plain unprinted sample so you can check the fit and structure, or a printed prototype for colour and finish. Sample costs are normally credited against the production order. Worth running a few through your actual line rather than checking them by hand: fill speed and hot contents find fit problems that a desk check does not.
Next step
Start on Cupcake Boxes
Send the fill size and the volumes you run. We reply with a full specification and a written price, usually within one business day.