Min. 100 units · 3–5 days
Frozen Food Boxes
Custom Food Packaging
Specify thisCustom Food Packaging
Ice Cream Packaging
Made-to-order ice Cream Packaging in 12pt sbs paperboard, printed to your artwork and cut to your dimensions.
- Minimum order
- 100 units
- Production
- 3–5 business days
- Construction
- folding carton
- Delivery
- US, UK, Canada, Australia
No obligation
Start a quote
Name, email, phone and what you are packing and the finish you have in mind. Attach artwork if you have it. We reply with a specification and a written price, usually within one business day.
What ice cream packaging have to cope with
Ice Cream Packaging hold a frozen product that sweats the moment it leaves the freezer. That is the starting point for the specification, because an exterior barrier coating is what stops surface condensation soaking the board. It is a different requirement from cold tolerance.
In service they are used for scoop shops and retail freezers, where the pack is handled warm and wet immediately after purchase.
Where ice cream packaging are actually used
Ice Cream Packaging are specified for scoop shops and retail freezers, where the pack is handled warm and wet immediately after purchase. An exterior barrier coating is what stops surface condensation soaking the board. It is a different requirement from cold tolerance.
- Scoop shops and retail freezers, where the pack is handled warm and wet immediately after purchase
- Shelf display in specialty retail
- Subscription and gift sets
- E-commerce inner packaging
The substrate for ice cream packaging
An exterior barrier coating is the defining requirement — condensation forms on the outside, not the inside.
The options we would consider for this format are below; an exterior barrier coating is what stops surface condensation soaking the board. It is a different requirement from cold tolerance.
- 12pt SBS paperboard
- 14pt SBS paperboard
- 16pt SBS paperboard
- 18pt kraft board
- recycled CCNB board
Printing ice cream packaging
Print must sit under the barrier coat, otherwise surface moisture lifts it within a handful of uses.
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 ice cream packaging
Print must sit under the barrier coat, otherwise surface moisture lifts it within a handful of uses.
Each finish below is a separate pass on the press or the finishing line, which is why they are quoted individually rather than bundled.
- Gloss lamination
- Matte lamination
- Soft-touch lamination
- Spot UV
- Foil stamping
- Embossing
- Debossing
- Aqueous coating
Sizing ice cream packaging
Tubs and cartons by volume — 4 oz, 8 oz, 16 oz and 32 oz are the common steps.
Send the contents rather than a box size. Everyone specifies for the freezer. The failure happens in the two minutes after the freezer, which nobody tests.
Holding ice cream packaging before service
Condensation on the outside makes the print run and the pack slippery in the customer’s hand within a minute of purchase.
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.
Artwork for a finished pack
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
Send the product dimensions, the quantity and your deadline. What comes back is a board grade, a structure, a print method, a lead time and a written price — not a number on its own.
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 ice cream packaging
Everyone specifies for the freezer. The failure happens in the two minutes after the freezer, which nobody tests.
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.
Proofing before the run
Foil, soft-touch and deboss all read differently in person than on a screen, so we recommend a printed prototype rather than a digital proof alone for anything finish-led.
Sample costs are normally credited against the production order.
Reference
Ice Cream Packaging at a specification level
| Product | Ice Cream Packaging |
|---|---|
| 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 Ice Cream Packaging 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
Ice Cream
Drag to rotate
In practice
Where this holds up on a line
Fitted to what goes in it
Tubs and cartons by volume — 4 oz, 8 oz, 16 oz and 32 oz are the common steps.
The failure worth avoiding
Condensation on the outside makes the print run and the pack slippery in the customer’s hand within a minute of purchase.
The setting it is built for
Specified for scoop shops and retail freezers, where the pack is handled warm and wet immediately after purchase.
The detail that matters
An exterior barrier coating is what stops surface condensation soaking the board. It is a different requirement from cold tolerance.
This format sits in our custom food packaging range, alongside 33 other made-to-order formats.
Answers
Ice Cream Packaging: finish and presentation
Specification, minimums and lead times for ice cream packaging.
Why does my ice cream packaging go soggy on the outside?
Surface condensation. Humid air condenses on a frozen pack the instant it leaves the cabinet, and uncoated board absorbs it in under a minute. An exterior barrier coating fixes it — an interior liner does not.
How do I measure a bottle for its carton?
At the widest point, which is frequently not the base, and including the cap or pump. Send us the actual container if you can — a measurement from a drawing misses flex and applied label thickness, and both decide whether ice cream packaging close cleanly.
How much panel space do ingredient lists need?
More than most brands allow for. Ingredient copy and any warnings compete directly with the design, and adding them late usually forces a reflow. We block the area on the dieline before you commit design time.
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 ice cream packaging, 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.
Will these survive cold storage?
With the right adhesive, yes. Standard carton glue becomes brittle in sustained cold and a seam that is sound at room temperature can crack when handled cold. A cold-tolerant adhesive costs very little and prevents it.
Do ice cream packaging 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.
Where do you deliver?
All 50 US states, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, on the same timeline everywhere: 3 to 5 business days of production after artwork approval, then 5 to 7 business days in transit. Every run is made to order and shipped directly to your address rather than pulled from stock, so you receive current production rather than whatever has been sitting in a warehouse. Freight is costed separately by weight, volume and destination. If stock is going into a kitchen or a service counter rather than a warehouse, tell us — case sizes that a single person can lift and store matter more there than pallet efficiency.
Can I order ice cream packaging in a custom size?
Every run is cut to your dimensions — there are no stock sizes here. Send the product measurements rather than a box size and we will build the folding carton around them, then send a dieline template you can design onto.
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. That includes the ink formulation, which is what keeps a brand colour consistent between runs rather than drifting a shade each time.
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.
Next step
Get Ice Cream Packaging quoted with the finish
Send the fill size and the volumes you run. We reply with a full specification and a written price, usually within one business day.