Custom Food Packaging

Pie Boxes

Made-to-order pie Boxes 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

Pie Boxes shown as a finished custom-printed pack

No obligation

Start a quote

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 pie boxes have to cope with

Pie Boxes hold a pie with a crust that must not be touched and a filling that may still be hot. That is the starting point for the specification, because base strength under a dense load is the difference from a cake box. Same footprint, very different weight per square inch.

In service they are used for bakeries and farm shops, where the pie is carried home flat and often still warm.

Where pie boxes are actually used

Pie Boxes are specified for bakeries and farm shops, where the pie is carried home flat and often still warm. Base strength under a dense load is the difference from a cake box. Same footprint, very different weight per square inch.

Bakeries and farm shops, where the pie is carried home flat and often still warm
Shelf display in specialty retail
Subscription and gift sets
E-commerce inner packaging

The substrate for pie boxes

A heavier base than an equivalent cake box: a filled pie is far denser per square inch.

The options we would consider for this format are below; base strength under a dense load is the difference from a cake box. Same footprint, very different weight per square inch.

12pt SBS paperboard
14pt SBS paperboard
16pt SBS paperboard
18pt kraft board
recycled CCNB board

Printing pie boxes

Print is secondary to structure on this format. Most pie boxes we quote are one or two colours on kraft.

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 pie boxes

Print is secondary to structure on this format. Most pie boxes we quote are one or two colours on kraft.

The finishes below are quoted line by line. Each is an additional pass, so dropping one is a real saving rather than a rounding difference.

Gloss lamination
Matte lamination
Soft-touch lamination
Spot UV
Foil stamping
Embossing
Debossing
Aqueous coating

Sizing pie boxes

Typically 8, 9 or 10 in square with 3 to 4 in of height.

Send the contents rather than a box size. Pie boxes are ordered like cake boxes, but a filled pie is considerably denser and needs more base support for the same footprint.

Holding pie boxes before service

The base sags under a heavy filling as the box is lifted, cracking the crust across the middle.

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.

What we need from your files

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 pie boxes

Pie boxes are ordered like cake boxes, but a filled pie is considerably denser and needs more base support for the same footprint.

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.

Sampling before you order

Ask for an unprinted sample if the question is fit, or a printed prototype if the question is colour. They answer different things.

Sample costs are normally credited against the production order.

Reference

Pie Boxes at a specification level

Product	Pie 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

In practice

Where this holds up on a line

The dimensions that matter

Typically 8, 9 or 10 in square with 3 to 4 in of height.

The failure we design out

The base sags under a heavy filling as the box is lifted, cracking the crust across the middle.

Where it has to work

Specified for bakeries and farm shops, where the pie is carried home flat and often still warm.

What decides the job

Base strength under a dense load is the difference from a cake box. Same footprint, very different weight per square inch.

This format sits in our custom food packaging range, alongside 33 other made-to-order formats.

Answers

Pie Boxes: service and food safety

Specification, minimums and lead times for pie boxes.

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 pie 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 pie 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.

Can you match packaging we already use?

Send the current specification or a physical sample and we will quote to match it rather than proposing an alternative you would then have to re-approve internally. Tell us the coating on the pack you are matching too. Grease and moisture resistance are not visible in a sample and they change which stocks we can quote.

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 pie boxes 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. 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 pie 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 pie 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.

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