Thanksgiving Food Boxes.

Pie boxes start at 24pt board or heavier so the base doesn't sag when the box is carried by its edges. Casseroles and side dishes add grease and heat, so those boxes get a PE-coated interior or a grease-proof liner too.

For whole meals we move up to corrugated, which carries real weight without the bottom bowing between your hands.

Lock tabs hold the lid shut without tape, and a handle cut-out in the top lets one hand carry the box. The tabs push into slots on the front panel, so the lid can't spring open when the box tilts on a car seat.

Handle tear-out is the usual failure on a heavy food carry. We size the cut-out and choose the board together so the handle holds under a loaded box.

Vent holes and film windows aren't offered on this line. We specify a PE-coated board instead, which holds its stiffness better when warm food causes condensation inside, and the grease-proof liner keeps oil away from the print.

If showing the pie matters to you, a large printed photograph or illustration on the lid does that job and keeps the box fully closed.

Most customers go with natural kraft and one or two warm colours, or white coated board with a full CMYK autumn print. Kraft carries a harvest feel with very little ink, while white board gives brighter photography.

Plain type thanking the customer tends to fit this holiday better than heavy decoration. We can set it on the lid or a side panel alongside your logo.

The standard pie box is 10 × 10 × 3 in, and a whole-meal box runs to about 16 × 12 × 6 in. Meal boxes are sized to common catering pan footprints so foil trays sit flat without sliding.

Measure the widest point of the pan including its rim, then add the height of any lid or cover. Smaller treat formats are cut to order.

Our minimum on these food boxes is 500. Most bakeries order pie boxes and meal boxes as separate lines, and larger programmes such as food-bank drives can run up to 100,000.

Since demand sits in a single week, we'd suggest ordering the full season's count in one run. Topping up in November leaves very little slack if anything goes wrong.

Your boxes are produced in 7 to 10 business days after design approval, or in 5 to 7 if you book a rush. A sample can be turned around in 5 to 7 business days, and the sample charge is credited to the production run.

Test that sample with a full pie carried one-handed out to a car, because that is the load these boxes see on the day.

Yes, the line offers a compostable sugarcane option as well as recyclable kraft and board. Uncoated kraft is the easiest to recycle, while PE-coated board needs a facility that accepts coated paper.

Grease-soaked board is often turned away at recycling, which is one reason customers pick compostable sugarcane for pies and sides. Check local rules for the stream your customers use.