Custom Ice Lolly Bags

Sizing Custom Ice Lolly Bags to the Mould

The size of the bag depends on your mould. Measure the widest point of the frozen lolly and its length from tip to the point where the stick leaves the ice. Then add the length of stick you want inside the bag, plus room for the seal. A bag that is too tight is hard to fill and can tear; one that is too loose lets the lolly slide around and leaves wasted film.

Freeze pops, the long thin tubes of frozen juice, use a different format again: a long narrow sleeve filled with liquid and sealed at both ends before freezing. These need a stronger seal, because the liquid expands as it freezes. Our method for measuring a frozen lolly explains the expansion allowance.

• Mini lollies for children: short, narrow bags
• Classic fruit lollies: medium bags with stick inside
• Large premium lollies: wider bags for dipped or layered bars
• Freeze pops: long thin tubes sealed both ends
• Ice cream bars: wider flat bags with room for coating

Designing a Wrapper for the Freezer Cabinet

Freezer cabinets are crowded and often frosted, so designs need to work from a distance. Strong colour blocks, a large flavour name and a simple image of the main ingredient work best. Many brands give each flavour a different colour so shoppers can find their favourite at a glance.

The back of the bag carries the practical details: ingredients, allergens, storage instructions and anything else your food labelling adviser specifies. A barcode is needed if you sell through shops. If you change flavours often, a single design with a printed flavour sticker can keep costs down.

If your lollies are made with real fruit or have a striking colour, a clear window in the print lets the product show through. A window works best when the lolly itself looks appealing frozen, so test it with your own product first.

Keep small text away from the seal edges, where it can be crimped or cut off during sealing. Tubs in the same cabinet can carry the same artwork on our ice cream labels for tubs.

Who Orders Lolly Bags

Ice cream parlours and gelato makers who sell lollies alongside scooped ice cream are the biggest buyers. Juice and smoothie brands use freeze pop sleeves to sell frozen versions of their drinks. Farm shops and dairies with their own ice cream ranges order bags for lollies made from their own milk and fruit.

Event caterers and mobile ice cream vans use wrapped lollies because they are quick to serve. Cafés and soft play centres stock a small freezer of wrapped lollies for children. Healthy snack brands use them for frozen yoghurt and fruit lollies aimed at families.

Schools and nurseries sometimes order small runs of plain wrapped fruit lollies for school fairs, using a simple one-colour print with the school name.

Food Contact and Labelling

Lolly bags are in direct contact with frozen food, so the film must be suitable. Food-contact grade film is available on request, and with reverse-printed laminates the ink never touches the lolly. Tell us exactly what you are wrapping so we can specify the right material.

Labelling requirements for frozen desserts depend on your product and where you sell it. Your food labelling adviser will tell you what must appear; we will make sure it fits clearly on the bag. Parlours with a changing menu often add allergen labels for small runs to a plain bag.

Freeze a Lolly, Then Measure It

Lolly bags are sized by the frozen lolly, which is slightly larger than the mould because water expands, so freeze one, take it out and measure its widest point and its length with the stick. Add the stick length you want inside the bag and 15 mm for the seal, and that is the bag. Tell us the number of flavours, because each flavour is a different print on the same bag size, and how you seal: a hand sealer for a small parlour, a wrapping machine for a factory, which needs film on a roll. Choose clear film, printed film or printed film with a window. Artwork is one design per flavour with the ingredients and allergens on the back, sent as vector files, and the free proof shows each flavour at actual size. A custom quote comes by email within one working day, minimums are quoted per job so a small parlour can order a sensible run, and bags are made in 4–7 working days after approval with free tracked UK mainland delivery. Scoops sold from the same freezer go in our ice cream tubs for the same freezer.