Corrugated Drink Carrier
A drink carrier is a mechanical problem before it is a packaging one.
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Custom Food Trays in Seattle
Seattle produces more drink carrier enquiries than any other city we supply, and they are the most fit-sensitive product we make. A carrier is a mechanical component: if the hole is not cut to the right point on the cup taper, it does not hold the cup, and no amount of good design fixes that.
Alongside that, a substantial seafood and market trade generates a steady requirement for absorbent fibre trays and moisture-resistant board.
- 6
- trays shortlisted for this market
- 1 day
- typical quote turnaround
- Freight
- quoted to your address, not ex-works
- Made to order
- no stock sizes to work around
Quotes delivered to Seattle
Tell us the tray, the quantity and where it is going. Freight is quoted to your address rather than added later.
Carriers are cut to the cup, not to a size
Hot cups and cold cups taper differently, and within each there are meaningful differences between suppliers. A hole cut for a 12 oz hot cup will not hold a 16 oz cold cup securely, and a carrier that grips at the wrong point on the taper lets a cup sit too high and tip.
The only reliable method is to send us one of each cup you serve. We cut to them, and we will tell you if two of your sizes are close enough to share a hole diameter — which sometimes lets you run one carrier instead of two.
What a carrier has to survive
The loaded weight
Four large cold drinks with ice is close to three kilos hanging from a single handle. We specify against your worst case.
Rain
Untreated fluted board loses strength quickly when wet, and that failure happens with a full load in a customer’s hand.
Handle tearing
The most common failure in cheap carriers, and it comes from cutting the aperture into a single thickness of board without reinforcement.
Being set down
A base too narrow for the cup height makes a loaded carrier top-heavy on an uneven surface.
Seafood and market formats
- Absorbent fibre trays with ribbed bases for fish counters and retail packs.
- Formed recesses for oysters and half shells, sized to your shell range.
- Moisture-resistant board throughout, because the climate and the product both demand it.
- Flat-packed formats for market stallholders with no storage at the pitch.
Trays we supply to Seattle
Chosen against the requirements described above, not as a general catalogue listing.
Moulded Pulp Meat Tray
The whole argument for a fibre meat tray is what happens to the liquid.
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Oyster Serving Tray
Oysters on the half shell have one packaging requirement above all others: they must stay level.
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Kraft Paper Food Tray
The kraft paper food tray is the one shape that every counter ends up buying.
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Corrugated Food Tray
Corrugated trays exist for one reason: a loaded tray that has to be picked up from the middle without folding in half.
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White Paper Food Tray
The white paper food tray is the same shape as the kraft version with a different surface underneath.
View tray & get pricing →Supplying Seattle: common questions
Will a carrier fit all my cup sizes?
Only the ones it is cut for. Send one of each cup you serve — hot and cold cups taper differently. We will tell you if two sizes are close enough to share a hole, which sometimes lets you run one carrier instead of two.
How much weight can a carrier handle take?
It depends on the specification. Four large cold drinks with ice is close to three kilos hanging from one handle, so we grade the board and reinforce the aperture against your worst case rather than an average.
Do carriers hold up in the rain?
Only if specified for it. Untreated fluted board loses strength quickly when wet, and a carrier failing with a full load in somebody’s hand is the worst possible place for it to happen. Ask for a moisture-tolerant board.
Why do seafood counters use fibre trays?
A ribbed fibre base lifts the product clear of released liquid and the material absorbs it, so the customer sees a drier, fresher-looking product on the counter.
What suits a market stall with no storage?
Flat-packed formats and as few lines as your menu allows, with a board specified for an unheated, damp environment.
Does the damp climate affect stored packaging?
Yes. Board is hygroscopic, so stock in an unheated or unconditioned space loses stiffness before it is ever used. Keep it in cartons in the driest space available and rotate it.
Other countries we supply
Get a quote delivered to Seattle
Send the specification, the quantity and the delivery address. We come back with unit price, tooling if any, freight and a real production date.