Using a clear coffee shop packaging checklist helps café owners control their opening budget, avoid mismatched products and build a consistent brand image from the first day of business.
This guide explains what packaging a new café should prepare, how to estimate the first order quantity and what to confirm before placing an order.
The exact packaging list depends on your menu and service model, but most cafés should consider the following products:
| Category | Products to Prepare |
|---|---|
| Hot drinks | Paper cups and matching lids |
| Cold drinks | PET or PP cups and lids |
| Customer comfort | Cup sleeves and napkins |
| Multiple-drink orders | Two-cup and four-cup carriers |
| Takeaway orders | Paper bags and handled bags |
| Food and pastries | Pastry boxes, food containers and greaseproof paper |
| Retail coffee | Custom printed coffee bags |
| Branding | Stickers, labels and branded accessories |
A small coffee kiosk may only need cups, lids, sleeves, carriers and napkins. A full-service café with food, delivery and retail coffee will require a more complete packaging system.
Before ordering any packaging, review your menu and expected customer behaviour.
Consider:
Your answers determine which coffee shop opening supplies are essential.
For example, a small espresso bar may mainly use 4 oz, 8 oz and 12 oz paper cups. A café focused on iced coffee may require more 16 oz, 20 oz and 24 oz cold cups.
New cafés should avoid offering too many packaging sizes at the beginning. Every additional size increases the number of cups, lids, cartons and inventory items that must be managed.
Custom paper cups are among the most visible parts of a coffee shop brand. Customers carry them outside the store, take them to work and often include them in social media photos.
Common hot drink sizes include:
The cup sizes should match your actual menu rather than simply following another café.
Single-wall paper cups are often used together with cup sleeves.
Double-wall paper cups offer additional insulation and can create a more premium appearance. They may also reduce the need for separate sleeves, depending on the beverage temperature and cup structure.
Request physical samples before ordering and test them with the drink temperature used in your café.
Never select lids only by cup capacity.
Two cups marked as 12 oz may have different rim diameters and may not use the same lid. Before placing an order, confirm:
Using several cup sizes with the same rim diameter can reduce the number of lid specifications and simplify inventory management.
Cold drinks can represent a large part of café sales, especially when the menu includes iced lattes, cold brew, matcha, smoothies or specialty drinks.
Common cold cup sizes include:
Cold cups are commonly produced in PET or PP material. The correct choice depends on drink temperature, required clarity, local regulations and the lid or sealing method.
Available lid options may include:
Dome lids are useful for drinks with whipped cream, foam or toppings. Flat lids provide a simpler appearance and may be easier to stack and transport.
Always test the actual cup-and-lid combination before production.
Supporting items may appear less important than cups, but they directly affect customer experience.
Cup sleeves make hot drinks easier to hold and provide another area for brand printing. Make sure the sleeve fits the selected cups and does not cover important artwork.
Napkins can be plain or printed with a simple logo. For a new café, one-colour logo printing is often easier to manage than complex full-colour printing.
Drink carriers are important for customers buying multiple drinks and for delivery orders. Two-cup and four-cup carriers are the most common options.
Before ordering carriers, check that they:
Paper bags may be used for pastries, food boxes, retail coffee and combined takeaway orders.
A practical opening order may include:
Test the handle, bottom structure and carrying capacity before mass production.
Custom printed paper bags improve brand visibility. However, cafés with uncertain opening quantities can begin with stock paper bags and branded stickers.
Cafés selling croissants, cakes, cookies, sandwiches or meals should prepare suitable food packaging.
Packaging should be selected according to the actual product dimensions, not only the food weight.
For pastry and food packaging, confirm:
Custom greaseproof paper can be used for sandwiches, pastries, trays and basket liners.
A repeated logo pattern is normally more practical than one large centred logo because the branding remains visible after the paper is folded or wrapped.
Coffee shops that roast coffee or sell branded beans should include retail coffee bags in the opening plan.
Common coffee bag sizes include:
Important coffee bag features may include:
The artwork should leave enough space for product information such as coffee origin, roast level, net weight, roast date, storage instructions, barcode and company information.
A new café does not need to custom print every packaging item immediately.
| Option | Suitable For | Main Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Stock packaging with stickers | Trial openings and small quantities | Lower inventory commitment |
| Digital custom printing | Moderate quantities and multiple designs | Flexible design and lower custom MOQ |
| Mass custom printing | Stable branding and larger orders | Better unit cost and consistent appearance |
| Mixed packaging strategy | Most new cafés | Customise important products first |
A practical strategy is to custom print the most visible products, such as cups and takeaway bags, while using stickers or simple printing for low-volume items.
Once the café has reliable sales data, more products can be upgraded to full custom printing.
Estimate the first order using expected daily takeaway sales.
For example, if a café expects to sell 150 takeaway drinks per day:
| Cup Size | Sales Share | 30-Day Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| 12 oz | 60% | 2,700 cups |
| 16 oz | 25% | 1,125 cups |
| 8 oz | 15% | 675 cups |
Add an additional buffer for:
The first order should balance unit price and inventory risk.
Ordering too little may increase the unit price and shipping cost. Ordering too much may lock cash into sizes or designs that later need to be changed.
Ask your supplier to provide at least two quantity options so you can compare unit cost, total cost and inventory commitment.
A café packaging system should not look like a collection of unrelated products.
Use consistent:
Before production, request:
Digital mockups help review the overall design direction, while physical samples help check material, dimensions, construction and printing expectations.
Before placing an order, ask:
A reliable coffee shop packaging supplier should identify compatibility, design and logistics risks before production, rather than simply offer the lowest price.
Before paying the deposit, confirm:
Keep all confirmed information in one specification sheet to reduce misunderstandings between the café, designer, salesperson and production team.
AT PACK provides one-stop custom packaging solutions for coffee shops, roasters and growing café brands.
Our product range includes custom coffee bags, paper cups, cold cups, cup sleeves, drink carriers, paper bags, food containers, napkins and branded café supplies.
Instead of sourcing each product from a different supplier, café owners can coordinate packaging design, sizing, production, quality control and international shipping through one packaging partner.
Planning a new café opening? Send AT PACK your logo, menu, preferred cup sizes, estimated daily sales, target opening date and destination country. Our team can help prepare a suitable packaging list, visual mockup and quotation.
Most new coffee shops need hot cups, cold cups, matched lids, sleeves, napkins, drink carriers and takeaway bags. Cafés selling food or retail coffee may also need pastry boxes, food containers, greaseproof paper and coffee bags.
Many new cafés begin with two or three main hot cup sizes and one or two cold cup sizes. Fewer sizes can simplify lid matching and inventory management.
Custom printing is suitable when the logo, colours and product sizes have been confirmed. Cafés still testing their menu or branding can combine custom printed main products with stock packaging and stickers.
Packaging should be planned well before the opening date. The final schedule depends on artwork approval, sampling, production quantity, printing method and shipping method.
A one-stop supplier can coordinate cups, lids, bags, coffee bags, food containers and branded accessories, helping improve visual consistency and reduce communication with multiple factories.
