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 →Industry guide
Food Trays for Restaurants
Restaurants have quietly become packaging businesses. A dining room that also runs delivery, collection and third-party platforms is putting its food into containers for a substantial share of its covers, and those containers determine what the customer experiences at the other end.
The gap between a restaurant that specifies its packaging and one that buys whatever the wholesaler stocks is visible in every delivery review.
Tell us what you serve
Describe the operation and roughly how many trays you get through. We come back with the formats that fit, with pricing — usually within one working day.
The delivery problem is a steam problem
Almost every complaint about delivered restaurant food comes down to one physical process: hot food in a closed container produces steam, steam condenses, and condensed water softens anything crisp. Batter, pastry, fried potato, bread and toasted items all fail the same way for the same reason.
The fixes are unglamorous and effective. Vent anything closed that contains fried food. Keep wet elements in a separate compartment. Send sauces in pots rather than over the food. Package the crisp element in an open or vented container even if the rest of the meal is sealed. None of these cost much, and together they change what arrives at the door.
Where restaurants get the most from custom packaging
The item you are known for
If one dish drives your reputation, it deserves a container designed for it rather than the nearest stock size. It is also the dish most likely to be photographed.
Third-party platform orders
The platform owns the customer relationship and the branding. Your packaging is often the only thing of yours that reaches the table.
Sharing and sides
A divided tray for a mixed sides order looks considered where three separate containers look like a supply problem.
The dining room
Board trays for bar snacks and shared plates are cheaper than crockery to replace and give you a branding surface crockery cannot.
A practical audit of your current packaging
Order your own delivery, from your own restaurant, at your busiest hour. Then check:
- Was anything that should be crisp still crisp?
- Did any sauce escape its container?
- Was the food in the same arrangement it left in?
- Was your name visible anywhere on the bag or the containers?
- Was there anything in the bag that told the customer how to order direct next time?
Most restaurants score two or three out of five on this, and every one of the failures is a packaging specification rather than a kitchen problem.
Matching format to menu
| Menu item | Format |
|---|---|
| Burgers | Clamshell sized to your tallest build |
| Fried sides and fries | Open scoop or vented carton |
| Sharing plates and bar snacks | Shallow appetiser tray |
| Rice and curry meals | Compartment tray with a sealed lid |
| Wings and hot deli items | Deli tray with a grease-resistant liner |
| Desserts | Matt dessert platter |
Trays that suit this work
Picked for the specific demands described above rather than as a general list.
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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Corrugated Deli Tray
A deli tray takes more punishment than most food packaging.
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Compartment Tray with Lid
The lidded compartment tray is the format that meal-prep businesses, bento services and premium takeaway have converged on.
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Kraft Paper Food Tray
The kraft paper food tray is the one shape that every counter ends up buying.
View tray & get pricing →Browse the wider ranges
Questions from restaurants
What is the single biggest improvement we can make to delivery packaging?
Vent anything closed that contains fried food. Steam is what softens batter and fries, and a sealed container guarantees it. Die-cut vents cost almost nothing and change what the customer actually eats.
Is custom packaging worth it for a single-site restaurant?
It depends on how fast you use stock rather than how many sites you have. A busy single site can get through enough of one format in a quarter to make a printed run cost a few cents per unit. Ask for pricing at your real usage.
How do we stop sauce leaking in delivery?
Sauce in sealed pots, not poured over the food or into an open compartment. A fitted lid will not hold liquid if the bag tips. If sauce must be in the container, that means film sealing and a compatible rim.
Should we use the same container for eat-in and delivery?
Rarely. Eat-in packaging can be open and simple because the food is eaten immediately. Delivery packaging has to manage steam, movement and time. Running two formats usually costs less than the complaints from compromising on one.
Can you size a container to our specific dish?
That is the point of ordering custom. Send us the plated dish, or photographs of it beside a ruler, and we will build the container around it rather than making the dish fit a stock size.
Do we need grease-resistant board?
For anything fried or heavily sauced, yes. Untreated board darkens within minutes and it is the first thing a customer notices when they pick the container up. It costs very little.
What should we print on delivery packaging?
Your name, and a reason to order direct next time. On a platform order, your packaging is often the only thing that reaches the customer that is yours — it is the cheapest direct-ordering advertisement you will ever run.
Do you supply restaurants outside the US?
Yes — the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia as well. Portion conventions and menu formats differ between those markets, so we size from your actual dishes rather than assuming a regional standard.
Packaging for restaurants, priced properly
Send the food, the volumes and the country you take delivery in. We reply with formats, material options and a full quote including freight.