Burger Clamshell Tray
A burger clamshell is a hinged box that closes around a burger, and its whole purpose is to stop the build collapsing between the pass and the customer.
View tray & get pricing →Food tray category — 6 trays
Fast Food and Concession Trays
Fast food packaging has about four seconds to work. It is filled at speed, handed over, carried in one hand, and eaten somewhere that is not a table. Everything about the format follows from that: a shape you can fill without looking, a wall you can grip without squeezing the food, and a board that does not go translucent while the customer is still holding it.
This section covers the open trays, scoops and clamshells that do that job — hot dog trays, fry scoops, corn dog trays, burger clamshells, fish and chip trays and popcorn scoops.
Get pricing for this range
Tell us which of the fast food & concession trays you need, the size and roughly how many. We reply with a full quote, usually within one working day.
01 — The range
6 trays in this range
Grease-resistant trays, scoops and clamshells for high-volume counter service. Every one is made to order, so treat the descriptions as starting points rather than fixed specifications.
Kraft Hot Dog Tray
The hot dog tray is one of the oldest shapes in food packaging and it has barely changed, because it does not need to.
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Corn Dog Tray
Corn dogs are eaten from a stick, which sounds like it removes the need for packaging entirely.
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Fish and Chips Tray
Fish and chips is the hardest test a board tray faces.
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French Fry Scoop
The fry scoop exists because of a specific piece of ergonomics: a member of staff should be able to fill it from a fryer basket with one hand, in one mo…
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Popcorn Scoop Tray
Popcorn is sold by volume and eaten by the handful, which makes the pack unusually important: the customer’s sense of value comes almost entirely…
View tray & get pricing →Related trays elsewhere on the site
02 — In detail
Speed of service is a packaging specification
A tray that takes an extra second to open costs a busy stand real money over a shift. Pre-glued and self-erecting formats cost slightly more per unit and pay for themselves in labour at volume. Flat-packed styles are cheaper and make sense where staff assemble during quiet periods.
Shape matters too. An open scoop can be filled with one hand from a fryer basket. A clamshell needs two hands but protects a burger from collapsing. If you are choosing between the two, watch your own service line for ten minutes and count the hands involved.
Matching format to menu item
| Menu item | Format that usually works | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hot dogs and brats | Open hot dog tray | Long, narrow, shallow — supports the bun without hiding the toppings |
| Fries and loaded fries | Fry scoop | Angled front lets staff fill straight from the basket and the customer reach in |
| Burgers | Clamshell | Closes around the burger so it does not compress or slide |
| Corn dogs | Corn dog tray | Holds the stick clear of the food surface |
| Fish and chips | Deep open tray | Depth for a mixed portion, wide enough to eat from directly |
| Popcorn and snacks | Scoop | Tall back panel gives a big, cheap branding surface |
What to tell us when you ask for pricing
These five details let us quote accurately without a round of questions:
- The item being served, and its approximate portion weight.
- Whether it is eaten in-hand, at a table, or carried away.
- Whether the food is fried or sauced, so we can specify the right grease resistance.
- Your outlet count and rough weekly volume.
- Whether staff can assemble trays, or whether they need to arrive ready to fill.
Where each format earns its place
Speed of service and grease resistance decide most of this range. Watch your own counter for ten minutes and the answer usually becomes obvious.
- Choose a burger clamshell sized from your tallest build rather than a standard burger.
- Choose a kraft hot dog tray cut to your bun, with depth set by how loaded the build is.
- Choose a corn dog and stick-food tray with a channel so the stick stays grippable.
- Choose a deep fish and chips format which is the hardest test a board tray faces.
- Choose a fry scoop because it fills in one movement and gives you the best small print panel there is.
- Choose a popcorn box sized so the large reads as visibly bigger from three metres away.
03 — Questions
Fast Food & Concession Trays: common questions
Will printed ink hold up to hot, greasy food?
Print sits on the outer face and is not in contact with the food, so it is not the weak point — the board is. What ruins the look of a fast food tray is grease coming through from the inside, which is why we specify a grease-resistant food-contact surface on almost everything in this range.
How do I stop fries going soggy in the tray?
Steam is the enemy, not the board. Open formats such as scoops let steam escape, which is exactly why fries are traditionally served in them rather than in closed boxes. If you must close the pack for delivery, ask about vented constructions.
Can you make a tray that fits my existing carrier?
Yes. Send the carrier or the cup holder dimensions and we will build the tray footprint to drop into it. This is a common request from drive-through and stadium operators who do not want to change their carriers.
Is a clamshell better than an open tray for burgers?
For anything taller than about two inches or anything with a sauce, yes — the clamshell holds the build together. For a thin, flat item a tray is faster to fill and cheaper. If half your menu is each, it is often worth running both rather than compromising on one.
How much branding can I fit on a fry scoop?
More than most operators use. The tall back panel of a scoop is the single best branding surface in fast food packaging because it faces the customer while they eat. A one-colour logo across that panel is inexpensive and highly visible.
Do you supply trays for stadium and arena concessions?
Yes — see the stadium carrier tray for multi-item service, and food trays for stadium concessions for how the whole range fits a concourse operation.
Can trays be microwave safe?
Plain uncoated board with no metallic ink is generally microwave tolerant for short reheats, but performance depends on the coating and the food. We will tell you the exact construction so you can test it in your own operation before you make any claim to customers.
What quantity do I need to make custom printing worthwhile?
Lower than you would expect for one-colour work on a small format. The setup cost is fixed, so the question is simply how quickly you use the stock. A single busy stand often gets through enough in a quarter to justify a printed run.
Do you supply plain unprinted trays too?
Yes. Plain natural kraft or white board trays are available across most of this range, and many operators start there while artwork is being developed, then move to print on the second order.
Need help choosing from the fast food & concession trays?
Describe the food, the portion and the setting. We will tell you which tray in this range fits, and say so plainly if the answer is a format from somewhere else on the site.