Printed Paper Soup Cups for Lunchtime Trade

Kitchens that sell soup to go

Soup tubs suit any kitchen that ladles a hot meal into a container for someone to carry back to a desk. Delis, sandwich bars and market stalls make up most of our soup cup orders.

A printed tub tells the office worker where lunch came from when a colleague asks. That matters for small kitchens that rely on word of mouth around one business park.

Soup is also a winter mainstay for food vans at football grounds and farmers' markets. A branded tub travels further than a menu board ever will.

• Sandwich shops with a daily soup
• Market and street food stalls
• Workplace canteens with a takeaway counter
• Hospital and university cafés
• Caterers delivering lunch to meetings

Sizes and what fits in them

Soup is sold by appetite, so most kitchens offer a small and a large. A third size is useful when you also sell stews, chilli or porridge.

Ladles help here. If your ladle holds 4oz, an 8oz tub takes two ladles and a 16oz tub takes four, which keeps portions fair across the team.

Write the ladle count on a card above the pot for new staff. It saves a lot of overfilled tubs and lids that will not close.

Kraft or white soup tubs

Kraft board has a plain brown look that suits bakeries, farm kitchens and vegetarian cafés. Dark inks such as black, forest green and deep red stand out well on it.

White board shows bright colours and photographs more faithfully. Choose it if your branding uses pale shades that would vanish on brown.

The photos above show both, including a kraft tub with a single black logo on one side.

Whichever board you choose, the inside of the tub stays plain. Only the outer wall and the lid carry print.

Single or double wall for hot food

Freshly ladled soup is hotter than most coffee, and it stays hot for longer. A single wall tub works when customers carry it by the lid or in a bag.

Double wall adds a second skin of board with air between the layers. It is the better pick for stalls where people hold the tub while they wait for bread or a spoon.

Read our guide to choosing single or double wall cups if you are deciding between the two.

Double wall tubs also hold their shape better when a heavy stew sits in them for a while. That helps if lunches are packed before the delivery driver arrives.

Lids that suit soup

Soup tubs use a flat paper lid that presses inside the rim. Some lids carry a small vent hole so steam can escape on the walk back to the office.

Every tub size needs its own lid, so we quote each pair together. Lids can be printed with your logo or left plain to match any tub in the range.

For more on choosing tops and holders, see our printed paper cup lid options.

Designing a soup tub

A soup tub is seen from above and from the side, often in a paper bag. Put your name high on the wall so it shows over the edge of the bag.

Printing runs in full colour CMYK or Pantone on one side, two sides or all the way round. A wrap works well for a pattern, while a single side keeps the look clean.

Leave a plain panel if staff write the soup flavour by hand. A small printed box labelled for the flavour saves them guessing where to write.

Think about the bag as well as the tub. If you already use printed bags, a simple one-colour tub avoids two loud designs fighting each other.

Ordering soup cups step by step

Pricing for soup tubs starts from £0.25 per cup and is confirmed in a written quote. You can begin on the soup cup quote request page.

Most soup kitchens reorder before the cold months, when lunch trade rises. Booking your proof a few weeks early keeps that first chilly week covered.

1. List the tub sizes you need and whether each one is single or double wall.
2. Say how many lids you want for each size, printed or plain.
3. Upload your artwork in AI, PDF, EPS, SVG, PNG or JPG, or ask our team to lay it out at no charge.
4. Review the digital proof and request edits until you are happy.
5. After approval, production takes 4 to 6 working days, and tracked delivery adds 2 to 3 working days.

Running a soup counter with paper tubs

Busy counters keep tubs and lids side by side in the same rack. Staff fill, lid and bag in one movement, which keeps the lunch queue short.

Wipe the rim before pressing the lid down. A drip of soup on the edge stops the lid seating properly.

At the end of service, count what is left of each size. It shows which tub sells best and stops you reordering the slow one.

• Stack tubs mouth down so dust stays out
• Keep each lid size in its own labelled tray
• Press the lid around the full rim, not just the front
• Bag tubs upright with the lid facing up

Common soup cup mistakes

Ordering one large size for everything is a frequent mistake. Customers who want a cup of soup with a sandwich feel short-changed by a half-empty 20oz tub.

Another is skipping double wall on a stall where people stand and eat. A hot tub in bare hands puts them off coming back.

If you also sell cold dishes, our wider paper bowl cups may suit salads better than a deep soup tub.

• Too few sizes for a varied menu
• Single wall on a stand-and-eat stall
• Lids ordered for the wrong rim
• Logo printed low where the bag hides it

Recycling questions from customers

Customers often ask where to put an empty soup tub. If that matters to your trade, ask us about recyclable linings when you request the quote.

Collection rules differ from council to council in the UK. Our guide to how recyclable paper cups work covers what to tell people.

Getting soup tubs to your kitchen

We send soup tubs free anywhere in the UK. Each order is tracked from our door to yours.

Spot a misprint or a damaged carton? Send photos within 10 days of delivery and we reprint or refund those tubs.