Custom Paper Food Boats

Board and Coatings for Paper Food Boats

Food boats are made from a folding board with a grease-resistant layer on the food side, which keeps oil and sauce from soaking through to the outside and spoiling the print. White board gives the brightest colours, and kraft-look board gives a natural, street-market feel that suits burger joints and smokehouses. Food-contact grade board is available on request for all our boats.

Boat corners are either folded and locked or formed under heat and pressure. Locked corners can be shipped flat and assembled on site, which saves space in a small van. Pre-formed boats arrive ready to use and nest inside each other in a tall stack, which suits busy kiosks where nobody has time to fold anything. Tell us how much storage you have and how quickly you serve, and we will recommend the right construction. Grease-resistant coatings and their limits are explained in the board and card types guide.

Designing for a Small Surface

A food boat has four small side panels and a base that is covered in food, so the artwork has to work hard in very little space. Put your logo and name on the long sides, where they face outwards when someone carries the boat. Strong colours and a simple pattern are easier to spot across a field than detailed illustrations.

You can print the inside too. A light pattern or a short message on the inner walls is visible as the portion goes down, which is a nice surprise, but keep it subtle so it does not compete with the food. Avoid placing important text right at the fold lines, because a few millimetres either way in folding can push it round a corner. One-colour print on kraft is compared with full colour in the print and finish options guide.

Events, Stadiums and Food Vans

Stadium caterers and event organisers often need very large quantities of one or two sizes, delivered ahead of a season or a festival weekend. Food vans and market traders usually need smaller runs in more sizes, ordered as their menus change. Both work well with printed boats; it is mainly a question of planning the order around your calendar.

If you trade at several events a year, a design that is not tied to any single occasion lasts longer and lets you order more at once. Event-specific artwork is possible, but it means any boats left over after the weekend may not be usable again.

Storage is often the deciding factor at big venues. A stadium kiosk may have only a single shelf for packaging, so nesting boats that come in compact sleeves are easier to manage than flat blanks that need folding. Food vans, by contrast, are usually tight on height but can slide flat packs under a counter. Tell us where the boats will live between services and we will suggest how they should be packed when they leave us. A burger that travels with the chips goes in the matching custom burger boxes for food vans.

Pairing Boats With Other Packaging

Food boats rarely work alone. Many traders pair them with printed greaseproof liners for extra grip and a cleaner look, napkins in the same colours, and a carry tray for customers buying for a group. A food boat that fits neatly inside a takeaway bag or a carry tray is easier to transport, so if you use other packaging, send us the sizes and we will make sure everything works together.

Napkins and wooden forks are worth thinking about too. If customers are likely to eat loaded fries or curry sauce on the move, a boat with a small notch in one end can hold a fork upright, and a slightly deeper wall keeps sauce from reaching fingers. These little details make the food easier to enjoy and leave fewer spills around your pitch. A combo with a divider is shown on the burger and chip boxes with dividers page.

Scoop a Real Portion Into a Sample Boat

A food boat is sized by a scoop, so the test is simple: put your regular portion of chips or fries into a plain boat of the size you are considering and look at it. The food should sit level with the top edge, heaped slightly in the middle; if it is lost at the bottom the boat is too big, and if it spills, too small. Do it for the large portion and the sharing tray as well, and note which dishes carry sauce, because those need the deeper wall.

Send the sizes or portions, your artwork and rough quantities, and a custom quote comes by email within one working day, with prices from £0.25 per printed boat and minimum quantities quoted per job. The free proof comes before anything is made; production takes 4 to 7 working days after approval and free tracked UK mainland delivery takes 2 to 3 working days, with misprinted or damaged stock reprinted or refunded if reported within 10 days. Fries sold in a cone rather than a tray use the fries cone holders for stands.