Custom Branded Product Trays

How to Size a Product Tray

Work from the shelf backwards. Measure the shelf depth and the height between shelves, then decide how many products wide and deep the tray should hold. Multiply your product dimensions by those numbers and add a few millimetres of clearance on each side so packs slide in and out easily. Wall height is usually between a quarter and a third of the product height; much taller and the product hides, much lower and it tips.

If your trays go into an outer shipping carton, the tray footprint should fit that carton neatly too. We can check both dimensions together and suggest a layout, so a delivery case opens to reveal ready-filled trays.

A quick test helps: tape a mock tray from spare card to your exact sizes and stand your products in it on a real shelf before you approve the proof.

Card or Corrugated?

Light products such as sachets, bars and small cartons sit happily in a folding board tray. It prints crisply and folds flat for storage; see our board and card types explained for the difference between boxboard and flute. Heavier products like jars, bottles and cans need corrugated board, which keeps the base flat and the walls upright even when the tray is fully loaded and lifted from one side. E-flute keeps the walls slim and smooth for print, while B-flute adds more strength for heavy glass.

Trays used in chilled cabinets or on market stalls benefit from a water-resistant coating on the outside. Food-contact grade board is available on request if loose produce or unwrapped baked goods will sit directly on the tray.

Designing the Print for a Tray

A tray is seen from the front and slightly above, so the front lip and the top edge of the side walls carry the brand. Keep the logo large and simple on the front, with one short line about the range. The inside walls and base are mostly hidden once the tray is full, but they show as stock sells, so a pattern or a colour there keeps the tray looking smart as it empties.

Full colour printing works on white board or white-lined corrugated. Kraft board with one or two spot colours gives a natural, craft look that suits farm shops and delis. Matt lamination cuts glare under shop lighting, which helps a printed message read clearly from a distance.

Remember that trays are often photographed by store teams and buyers for planograms. A clean front panel with your brand name in large type makes the range easy to identify in those photos and in head office reports.

Keeping Trays Upright When Fully Loaded

The most common complaint about cheap trays is that they sag. A long tray holding a row of heavy bottles bends in the middle when picked up, the walls splay outwards and the products lean, which is where a PDQ tray with a reinforced base earns its keep. Three details prevent that. A double-thickness front wall, folded back on itself, keeps the front edge stiff. Glued corners rather than tab-locked ones stop the walls spreading. And a base that wraps up into the walls, instead of a separate panel, spreads the load across the whole tray.

For very long trays we may suggest a centre divider. It does more than separate products: it acts as a spine and stops the tray folding when lifted from both ends. These details add very little to the unit cost but make a big difference to how the tray behaves on a busy shelf, where staff and shoppers handle it far more roughly than you might expect.

Ask the Buyer for the Shelf Depth Before You Send Artwork

Trays fail on the shelf more often than in the post, usually over a number nobody asked for. Before you brief artwork, ask the store or wholesaler for the shelf depth, the maximum tray height they accept and whether they want a perforated front that tears away or the barcode on a particular side. Then count the units per row and the rows deep, and weigh a full row, because glass jars need corrugated board where sachets sit happily in folding boxboard. Two tray sizes printed from the same artwork usually cover stores with different shelf depths.

Send the product sizes, units per tray and quantity along with any retailer guidance, and a custom quote arrives by email within one working day with low minimums quoted per job, which helps while a new listing is being tested. A free design proof shows the tray flat with the front profile and any perforation marked. Production takes 4 to 7 working days after approval and free tracked delivery reaches UK mainland addresses in 2 to 3 working days. Where a tray is not enough on its own, a product display box with a header can be printed to match.