Custom Food Tubes for Snacks, Teas and Dry Foods

Liners, Barriers and Freshness

What goes inside the tube decides what goes on the inside wall. Loose tea, ground coffee and spices are sensitive to air and moisture, so a foil or barrier-film liner and a sealed membrane keep the aroma locked in. Crisps and other oily snacks need a grease-resistant liner so oil does not soak into the board. Sweets, dried fruit and oats are more forgiving and can often use a plain paper liner, sometimes with an inner bag.

Tell us the product, how long it needs to keep and whether it goes in loose or in a bag, and we will recommend a liner and closure. Food-contact grade liners are available on request for products that go into the tube loose. Plain brown tubes for products sold in a bag are covered under kraft paper tubes without print.

Sizing Custom Food Tubes

Tubes are sized by inner diameter and height. Start with the weight or volume you want to sell, then work out the internal volume needed, allowing for settling and a little headspace. A tall, slim tube looks elegant and suits tea and spices; a short, wide tube suits hot chocolate, biscuits and sweets that customers scoop or reach into. For crisps sold in a stack, the diameter needs to fit the crisp with a little clearance.

If you are not sure, send us a sample of the product and the weight per pack. We can suggest two or three diameter and height combinations and show how each would look in the proof.

Think about how the product comes out of the tube. Tea and spices are usually spooned out, so the mouth should be wide enough for a measuring spoon. Crisps and biscuits are reached for by hand, which needs an even wider opening. Powders such as hot chocolate are often scooped, and a short, wide tube makes the last few servings easier to reach. Our guide to measuring a product for packaging covers loose fills by volume.

Printing Around the Curve

Tubes are printed on a flat label paper that is wrapped round the body, so the full 360 degrees is available. A strong front with the brand and product name, a side panel for ingredients, nutrition and allergens, and a back panel for a story or serving suggestion is a typical layout. Because the tube rotates, think about how the design reads as it turns: a continuous illustration or pattern works beautifully.

Matt, gloss and soft-touch finishes are all available, along with foil and embossing on the label. The lid can be printed too, either with a logo or with a contrasting colour for each flavour, which helps shoppers find their favourite in a row of tubes.

Plan the barcode position carefully. On a curved surface, a barcode printed horizontally around the tube can be hard for some scanners to read; printing it vertically, with the bars running up and down the tube, keeps it flat enough to scan reliably at a till. Barcode and type contrast on a curved wrap are discussed in the print and finish options guide.

Food Brands That Use Tubes

Our food tubes go to loose-leaf tea brands, hot chocolate and drinking chocolate makers, artisan crisp and popcorn brands, spice and seasoning companies, sweet shops and confectioners, oat and granola brands, coffee roasters selling ground coffee and gift companies building food hampers. Delis and farm shops use them for own-label products that need to look premium on a small shelf.

Hamper companies in particular like tubes because they mix well with other shapes in a basket and do not crush under heavier items. A set of small tubes in matching designs, each holding a different tea or spice, makes a gift in its own right. Gift sets of several small tubes are often sleeved in a printed sleeve box for gift sets.

Decide Loose Fill or Bagged Before the Liner

The first decision for a food tube is whether the product goes in loose or inside a bag, because that sets the liner, the closure and the price. Loose tea or spices in direct contact need a foil or greaseproof liner and a tight lid; crisps or sweets already sealed in a bag need only a plain tube that fits the bag. Fill a plain tube or an old tin with your target weight, measure the height the product reaches, and tell us the diameter you want and how the customer gets the product out, by scoop, by hand or by pouring.

A custom quote comes by email within one working day with low minimums priced per job, and we show options so you can balance cost and finish. The free proof covers the flat wrap label and the lid artwork. Production takes 4 to 7 working days after approval, tubes are delivered assembled on free tracked UK mainland delivery in 2 to 3 working days, and any that arrive dented or misprinted are reprinted or refunded if reported within 10 days. Powders that are scooped suit the wider powder paper tubes with wide openings.