Cardboard Trays: Sizes for Chips, Snacks and Catering
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Cardboard trays come in two main families: small open trays for hot chips, snacks and street food, and large corrugated catering trays with 80mm or 50mm sides for platters and grazing boxes. Pick the family by what you serve, then pick the size by the portion. Every size, depth and carton quantity below comes from the Packery catalogue.
What are cardboard trays used for?
Food businesses use cardboard trays in three main ways:
- Counter service and street food. Small open trays hold chips, nuggets, dumplings, loaded fries and hot dogs. You hand them over and they're eaten on the spot.
- Takeaway snacks that need some strength. Corrugated trays have a fluted middle layer, so they stay rigid with heavier or saucier food.
- Catering and grazing. Large corrugated catering trays carry sandwiches, sushi, pastries, fruit or a full grazing spread to an office or event. Lids are sold separately.
Food trucks and markets mostly use the first two. Caterers, cafés with a platter menu and function venues use the third.
Which small cardboard trays suit chips and snacks?
The plain cardboard trays are numbered 1 to 5 (No.2, No.3 and so on). The numbers make reordering easy, because staff can ask for "No.3s" without measuring. Each size comes in white or brown.
| Tray | Size (mm) | Per carton | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mini tray, white | 55 x 55 x 25 | 900 | Dipping sauce, a sample, a single sweet |
| Size 1 extra small, white | 90 x 55 x 35 | 1,000 | A kids' chips serve, a few nuggets |
| No.2 small, white | 110 x 75 x 40 | 900 | A small chips serve, spring rolls |
| No.3 medium, white | 140 x 85 x 55 | 500 | A regular chips serve, dumplings |
| No.4 large, white | 170 x 95 x 55 | 400 | Loaded fries, a large snack serve |
| No.5 extra large, white | 110 x 85 x 80 | 200 | Deep serves that need tall sides |
| Hot dog tray, white | 190 x 70 x 50 | 250 | Hot dogs, a long roll, a churro serve |
The brown versions have the same numbering. For example, the No.3 medium brown tray is 140 x 85 x 55mm, and the brown hot dog tray is 190 x 70 x 50mm. Brown suits a natural, rustic look. White gives a clean background that shows off colourful food.
When should I choose corrugated trays instead?
Choose corrugated when the food is heavy, wet or stacked high. The fluted layer resists bending, so a tray of loaded fries or a burger with chips keeps its shape while a customer walks to a table.
The corrugated serving trays run from small to extra-extra large:
- Small corrugated tray, white: 130 x 91 x 50mm, 500 per carton
- Medium corrugated tray, white: 180 x 134 x 45mm, 250 per carton
- Extra large corrugated tray, white: 252 x 179 x 58mm, 100 per carton
- Medium corrugated tray, plain brown: 180 x 134 x 45mm, 250 per carton
- XX large corrugated tray, plain brown: 300 x 225 x 40mm, 100 per carton
As a rough guide, the medium corrugated tray fits a burger with a side, and the extra large takes a share plate for two. You'll find more shapes on the takeaway trays page.
Which cardboard trays work for catering?
For catering, use the corrugated rectangle catering trays. They come in small, medium, medium plus and large, and in brown, black or white.
| Catering tray | Size (mm) | Side height | Per carton |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown small | 255 x 155 x 80 | 80mm | 50 |
| Brown medium | 360 x 255 x 80 | 80mm | 50 |
| Brown large | 560 x 255 x 80 | 80mm | 50 |
| Brown medium, low sides | 360 x 255 x 50 | 50mm | 100 |
| White medium | 360 x 255 x 80 | 80mm | 50 |
| Brown square medium | 250 x 250 x 80 | 80mm | 100 |
The 80mm sides suit stacked sandwiches, wraps and pastries. The 50mm sides suit single-layer food such as sushi, sliced fruit or a grazing board, where guests reach in from above.
To close a tray, add a lid in the matching size. The clear RPET lid, medium is 382 x 275 x 30mm and fits over the medium trays. The kraft lid with a window, medium is the same size, with a clear PET window so the food stays on show. See every size on the catering trays page and the catering tray lids page.
How many should I order?
Work from your busiest week, not an average one. Count how many serves of each size you sell. Then compare that with the carton quantity, which ranges from 50 for the large catering trays to 1,000 for the extra small size 1 tray.
Two practical tips:
1. Keep fewer sizes. Most chip shops run well on two or three sizes, such as No.2, No.3 and No.4. Fewer sizes means fewer cartons sitting in the storeroom.
2. Store cartons flat and dry. Cardboard softens in damp, so keep stock off the floor and away from the dishwasher area.
Which one should I buy?
- Chips, snacks and street food: the numbered cardboard trays. Start with the No.3 for regular serves and the No.2 for small ones.
- Heavy or saucy food: a corrugated serving tray, medium or extra large.
- Hot dogs and long rolls: the hot dog tray in white or brown.
- Office catering and platters: a corrugated catering tray with 80mm sides and a matching lid.
- Sushi, fruit or grazing spreads: the 50mm low-side catering tray.
Not sure about a size? Browse the plates and trays range and the chip cups. Each product page lists the exact dimensions and carton quantity.
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