Food and Drink Tuck Boxes for Tea, Coffee, Chocolate and Mugs

What does the food and drink range include?

Five cartons: tea boxes, coffee pod boxes, chocolate bar boxes, mug boxes and tumbler boxes. They suit tea blenders, coffee roasters, chocolatiers, cafés, gift shops and anyone selling branded drinkware.

These are outer cartons. Loose tea, pods and chocolate normally sit in their own inner bag, sachet or foil wrap, and the printed tuck box goes around that. The box carries your brand, the product name and the details shoppers read.

Most of our food and drink customers sell through farm shops, delis, markets and their own websites. A printed carton lets a small producer sit on the same shelf as a much larger brand.

The five food tuck boxes compared

Each box has a usual closure, chosen for the way the product is packed and opened. A different closure can be quoted on any food or drink carton.

Why do the closures differ across the range?

Tea boxes and tumbler boxes use a reverse tuck end, with the top tucking in from the back and the bottom from the front. It is quick to pack and simple to reopen, which suits a tea box that is used daily.

Coffee pod boxes usually have a tuck top: a hinged lid on the long side, so the pods are lifted out from above. A chocolate bar box is often a straight tuck end, a flat sleeve-like carton with both tucks on the same side.

Mug boxes use a 1-2-3 bottom, also called a snap lock. Its four base flaps fold in a set order and lock together, giving a closed base under a ceramic mug. See our mug boxes with a 1-2-3 bottom for how it folds.

Every closure here can be swapped. A tea brand that packs hundreds of boxes a day may prefer a crash lock base, which forms itself when the carton is opened.

Tea boxes for bags and loose tea

A box of 20 pyramid bags and a box of loose leaf in a pouch need quite different sizes. Measure the bags laid in rows, or the filled pouch, then add 2 mm all round.

Square tea bags pack flatter than pyramids, and string-and-tag bags need a little extra height for the tags. Pack a sample box by hand before you measure, because the way the bags settle changes the size.

Tea brands often use a cube or a tall rectangle with a tea-coloured palette, a foil name and the steeping guide on one side. Our tea boxes for bags and loose tea page shows several shapes.

• Print the brewing time and water temperature on a side panel.
• Keep the blend name on the front and the top.
• Add a thumb notch on the top tuck so the box opens easily.
• Leave the base clear for a best before sticker.

How many coffee pods fit in a tuck top box?

Ten pods in two rows of five is a common pack. Pods are about 37 mm across, so a box for ten is roughly 190 × 80 × 40 mm inside, depending on how they sit.

Pods can stand upright or lie on their side. Upright rows make a shallower, wider box; lying flat makes a longer, narrower one that fits a kitchen drawer. Decide which way your customers will store them before you measure.

The hinged lid lets the customer see the full row of pods when opened. That is why the inside of the lid is often printed with a tasting note. Read more on coffee pod boxes with hinged lids.

Chocolate bar boxes

A chocolate bar box is a slim carton about the width of the bar and only a little deeper than it. The wrapped bar slides in from one end, and both tucks sit on the back.

Wrapped bars vary more than you might think. A 70 g bar in foil and a paper band can be 2 to 3 mm thicker than the bare tablet, so measure one that is fully wrapped.

Bean-to-bar makers often use textured board with a foil name, or kraft board with a single spot colour. A window can show the foil wrap inside. See chocolate bar boxes for wrapped bars for common sizes.

Several flavours can share one dieline, with a colour band or name changed for each.

Boxes for mugs, cups and tumblers

A mug box is cut around the body and handle. Measure the mug from the far side of the handle to the opposite edge, then add 3 mm on each side. A standard 11 oz mug usually needs about 125 × 90 × 100 mm inside.

Tumblers and drink bottles are taller and narrower, and they usually take a reverse tuck carton with an insert at the base. Cafés selling branded reusable cups often order mug and tumbler boxes together. Our tumbler boxes for drink bottles page covers the taller shapes.

A card insert at the base of a tumbler box stops the lid pressing against the top tuck. For mugs, a simple card divider can keep a gift item, such as a tea sample, away from the glaze.

Board, print and finishes for food cartons

The standard board is 350gsm white SBS. Kraft or another board can be quoted on request, and kraft suits coffee and tea brands after a natural look.

Food cartons can take any of our finishes as options, from matt, gloss or soft touch lamination to spot UV, foil, embossing and debossing. Gold foil on a dark matt carton is common for chocolate and speciality tea.

Spot UV on a coffee bean pattern, or a debossed tea leaf on the lid, gives the shopper something to notice when they pick up the box.

The printed carton is outer packaging. Any wording about the food or drink inside is yours to supply, and our designers place it on the dieline exactly as you send it.

Mistakes to avoid with food and drink boxes

Most first-order problems come down to measuring the wrong thing. These are the ones we see most.

• Measuring a tea pouch empty rather than filled and sealed.
• Sizing a mug box without the handle.
• Putting the best before area on a printed panel with no clear space.
• Choosing a chocolate box depth for the bare bar, not the wrapped one.
• Ordering a coffee pod box before checking how the pods sit, upright or flat.

Each of these is easy to fix before printing. Send a filled sample, or a photo with a ruler beside the product, and we check the sizes on the proof before anything is cut.

Packing, delivery and gift sets

All cartons arrive flat and glued on the side seam. Mug boxes come with the side seam glued and the base ready to fold in three moves.

Gift sets, such as a mug with a box of tea, take a wider carton with a card divider. Send both items and we draw the layout on the proof.

Seasonal editions, such as a Mother's Day tea box or a Valentine's chocolate sleeve, can share a dieline with your everyday carton. Only the artwork changes, which keeps the reorder simple.

Production takes 4–6 business days once you approve the proof. Free tracked delivery to UK addresses takes 2–3 business days, and anything misprinted or damaged that you report within 10 days with photos is reprinted or refunded.

How do I order food tuck boxes?

1. Choose the box from the table above.
2. Measure the product as you sell it, filled and wrapped, in millimetres.
3. Tell us the quantity and any window, insert, board or finish.
4. Get a written food box price, from £0.25 per unit.
5. Check and approve the free proof of your food carton.
6. We print and deliver your flat cartons free across the UK.

Pricing a whole range? Get a written price for food boxes and list each product.