Custom Cup Carriers

Matching Cut-Outs to Your Cup Sizes

The cut-outs must fit your cups precisely. Too loose and the cups wobble; too tight and staff struggle to push them in, or the card tears, so give us the taper of every cup, including the double wall paper cups with their thicker rim. Send us the diameter of your cups about two thirds of the way down, as that is where the carrier grips them, and tell us which sizes you sell.

Many cafés offer small, regular and large drinks with different diameters. We can design cut-outs that flex slightly to grip a range of sizes, or make separate carriers for hot cups and taller iced drink cups. If you use double-wall cups or sleeves, remember they are wider than a single-wall cup of the same capacity.

We can also add small tabs around the cut-out edges that bend to grip the cup, which helps with smaller cups in a larger opening.

Board, Strength and Spills

Cup carriers are usually made from strong folding board or thin corrugated card. Folding board is lighter and takes print well, as the board and card types guide explains; E-flute corrugated is stiffer and better for carriers that hold four large drinks and food at once.

A liquid-resistant coating on the inside helps if a lid leaks a drop or two, keeping the base firm. Food-contact grade board is available on request for compartments where unwrapped pastries sit directly on the card. Tell us what goes inside and we will suggest the right board and coating.

For hot drinks, the carrier keeps cups apart, which stops them warming each other but also means less heat loss from contact. It does not insulate the drinks, so for longer deliveries an insulated delivery bag is still the best option.

Printing Your Brand on a Carrier

A carrier has more printable area than a cup or a sleeve. Use the side panels for your logo, matched to your printed coffee cup sleeves, the handle for a short line or your social handle, and the inside of the food compartment for a small surprise, such as a thank-you message.

Kraft card with a single colour print looks natural and suits independent coffee shops. White board with full colour artwork works for chains and bakeries with bright branding. A loyalty card offer or a line about your signature drink can be printed on the carrier to encourage repeat orders, but keep it general so the carriers stay usable for months.

If you run several sites or brands from one kitchen, keep the carrier design neutral and add a sticker for each brand. One printed carrier then serves the whole operation, and you avoid holding separate stock for each name. It also means a sudden rush at one site never leaves another short of carriers.

Speed Behind the Counter

During a rush, staff need carriers ready to use in seconds. We design them to fold from flat in a few moves, with tabs that lock without glue, the same approach as our boxes with built-in handles. Some cafés pre-fold a stack at the start of the day so they are ready for the lunchtime peak.

Flat carriers store in a fraction of the space of pulp trays, which helps in small cafés where every shelf counts. Keep them near the drinks station so baristas can drop cups straight in when an order is finished.

Train new staff on the carrier at the same time as the till. Showing someone how to fold one, where the cups go and which way the handle faces takes a minute, and it stops the first busy morning from turning into a queue of half-built carriers. A small printed fold guide on the inside flap helps too.

Keep an eye on which sizes you run out of first. Ordering the next batch in the right mix of two-cup and four-cup carriers saves storage space and avoids the scramble for pulp trays when the popular size runs dry.

Measure the Cup Two Thirds of the Way Down, Where the Carrier Grips

The number that decides a cup carrier is not the rim and not the base but the diameter about two thirds of the way down the cup, because that is where the cut-out grips. Measure it on every size you sell, with a sleeve fitted if customers get one, and measure the height too so the handle clears the lid. If the carrier is to hold food as well, weigh a typical pastry or sandwich order and tell us whether it is wrapped, since unwrapped food sitting on the card calls for food-contact grade board, available on request.

Send the cup measurements, the cups per carrier, any food space and your artwork, and a custom quote follows by email within one working day, from £0.25 per carrier depending on size, board and print, with low minimums quoted per job. The free design proof shows folded and flat views so you can see where the logo lands. Production takes 4 to 7 working days after approval and free tracked UK mainland delivery takes 2 to 3 working days. Cafes with a kids' menu often add the kids meal boxes with a drink slot to the same order.