Short answer: 1,000 custom-printed burger boxes in Dubai cost AED 775 — that is 77.5 fils per box, full colour, die-cut, on 250 gsm food-grade ivory board. Go to 5,000 and the same box drops to AED 1,990, or 39.8 fils each. Fries trays start at AED 510 per 1,000. This guide gives you every box size we stock, the real price at each quantity tier, and the unit-cost maths a Dubai F&B operator actually needs to price a menu item.
The one number that matters: cost per cover
Packaging is a cost of goods line, not a marketing line. Before you compare suppliers, work out what your packaging adds to a single order:
A burger, fries and a drink at our published prices is roughly 0.78 + 0.51 + 0.76 = AED 2.05 per cover at 1,000-piece quantities. At 5,000-piece quantities that same cover falls to about AED 1.09. On a AED 38 combo meal, packaging moves from 5.4% of revenue to 2.9% — and that 2.5-point swing is available to you for nothing more than ordering four months of stock instead of one.
That is the single biggest lever in food packaging, and most new operators in Dubai miss it because they order to cash flow rather than to consumption. If you sell 300 burgers a week, 5,000 boxes is four months of stock, storable in about half a pallet.
The boxes, with real sizes and real prices
All boxes below are 250 gsm ivory board, full-colour printing on one side (the outside), die-cut and creased, supplied flat for assembly. The food-contact face is left unprinted. Prices are live store prices in AED, inclusive of VAT.
Burger boxes
| Box | Assembled size | 1,000 pcs | 2,000 pcs | 5,000 pcs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Burger Box | 12.9 × 12.9 × 8 cm | 775 | 1,090 | 1,990 |
| Pearl Box Burger | 10.8 × 11 × 3.8 cm | 820 | 1,280 | 2,030 |
The Simple Burger Box at 8 cm deep is the workhorse: it takes a double smash burger with a brioche bun without crushing the top. The Pearl Box at 3.8 cm is shallow — it is a sandwich, wrap, slider or pastry box, not a stacked-burger box. Buyers order the Pearl on price and then discover the lid presses the bun. Measure your tallest build with the lid off and add 1 cm.
Chicken boxes and trays
| Box | Assembled size | 1,000 pcs | 2,000 pcs | 5,000 pcs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fried Chicken Box (Takeaway) | 12 × 21.8 × 7.8 cm | 850 | 1,150 | 2,150 |
| Fried Chicken Box, Lock Bottom | 9 × 11.1 × 6.3 cm | 890 | 1,190 | 2,190 |
| Fried Chicken Tray (Indoor) | 9 × 16.5 × 5 cm | 590 | 810 | 1,390 |
The lock-bottom construction is worth the AED 40 premium per 1,000 if you are handing boxes to a delivery rider. A lock bottom holds under the weight of hot, oily chicken; a simple tuck bottom can give way when the box is carried by the sides. The lock bottom also assembles faster once staff have the knack, which matters at peak.
Fries boxes and trays
| Item | Assembled size | 1,000 pcs | 2,000 pcs | 5,000 pcs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| French Fries Tray (Indoor) | 6 × 13.5 × 5.5 cm | 510 | 670 | 1,250 |
| Cone French Fries Box | 7.8 × 7.8 × 11 cm | 590 | 810 | 1,390 |
The flat tray is for dine-in on a lined basket or a table mat. The tall cone box holds heat far better and travels upright in a delivery bag — use it for takeaway and delivery, where the tray spills.
Add the cups and you have a complete order
| Item | Configuration | Price (AED) |
|---|---|---|
| Paper Cups Double Wall 8 oz | 1,000 pcs, no lids | 760 |
| Paper Cups Double Wall 8 oz | 1,000 pcs with standard lids | 870 |
| Paper Cups Double Wall 12 oz | 1,000 pcs, no lids | 980 |
| Restaurant Opening Kit | Burger boxes + paper cups + menus + table mats | 2,299 |
Full cup range and sizes in paper cups, and the complete packaging range in boxes.
Why 250 gsm ivory board, and when to go heavier
Ivory board (also sold as FBB or folding box board) is the standard for hot fast food because it has a coated white outer that takes photographic print, an uncoated food-safe inner, and enough stiffness at 250 gsm to hold shape when the contents are hot and greasy.
- 250 gsm — the standard for burgers, chicken, fries and wraps. Handles hot food for the 20–30 minutes a delivery takes.
- 300–350 gsm — worth specifying for heavy platters, shared meal boxes and anything over about 600 g of contents.
- PE or PLA coating — an inner barrier layer for very greasy or wet items. It stops grease strike-through, which is the stain that appears on a plain box after 15 minutes and makes food look worse than it is. Ask for it if you sell anything deep-fried and sauced.
- Corrugated — a different product entirely, for large shipping and platter boxes rather than single servings.
Artwork rules for food boxes
- Design on the flat dieline. A burger box is one flat sheet — 53.4 × 22.8 cm open on the Simple Burger Box. Half the panels end up upside down or hidden once folded, and the only way to see that is to work on the dieline and fold a paper mock-up before approving.
- Put your logo on the lid, not the side. The lid is what the customer photographs and what appears in a delivery-app unboxing. Sides are almost never seen.
- Nothing prints on the inside. Standard food-box specification is full colour on the outside only; the food-contact face stays unprinted. Plan your design accordingly.
- Avoid heavy solid ink over creases. A deep, fully saturated colour across a fold line can crack when the box is assembled. Keep solids off the crease or accept a hairline.
- Test your colour on brown, not on white. If you choose an unbleached kraft-look board, every colour you print shifts warm. Ask for a printed sample on the actual stock before committing to 5,000.
How to order
- Measure your product — tallest build, widest footprint, with lid off. Add 1 cm of headroom.
- Pick the quantity honestly. Divide your weekly covers into 1,000, 2,000 and 5,000 to see how many weeks each buys. Then order the largest tier your storage and cash flow allow.
- Send artwork or a brief to WhatsApp +971 52 210 0909, or call 0522100909. No artwork? Our designers build the box from your logo.
- Approve the flat proof and the 3D mock-up. This is the last stop before plates. Check the trade name spelling, the phone number and any Arabic text.
- Production and delivery. Food box runs are typically 5–7 working days. Free delivery in Dubai and Sharjah, next-day to Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum order for printed burger boxes?
One thousand pieces per design. Food boxes are gravure and offset jobs with a cutting die per shape, so below 1,000 the setup dominates and the per-unit cost stops making sense. If you are testing a concept and need fewer, use plain stock boxes with a printed sticker on the lid — far cheaper for a soft launch, and easy to change.
How much cheaper is 5,000 than 1,000?
On the Simple Burger Box, 1,000 pieces cost AED 775 (77.5 fils each) and 5,000 cost AED 1,990 (39.8 fils each) — a 49% reduction in unit cost for 2.6 times the cash. The break-even on tying up that extra AED 1,215 is fast: at 300 burgers a week you recover it in roughly eight weeks of trading and then bank the saving for the rest of the run.
Can I print different designs on the same run?
Different designs need different plates, so each design is priced as its own run and hits its own 1,000-piece minimum. What costs nothing extra is varying text within one design at the artwork stage before plates are made. If you operate several brands from one cloud kitchen, it is usually cheaper to run one neutral box design and differentiate with lid stickers.
Are these boxes food-safe and suitable for hot food?
Yes. They are produced on food-grade ivory board with food-safe inks, printed on the outer face only, and are the standard specification used across fast-food operators in the UAE for hot burgers, fried chicken and fries. For very greasy or saucy items, ask for an inner barrier coating.
How long do the boxes take, and can you rush an opening?
Standard production is 5–7 working days from artwork approval. If you are opening on a fixed date, tell us the date first — we plan backwards from it and will tell you honestly whether it is achievable rather than discovering the problem at the proofing stage. Book packaging at least three weeks before an opening.
Should I buy boxes and cups from one order?
It saves you coordination and one delivery, and it is the only way to guarantee your brand colour actually matches across board and cup stock, which are two very different substrates. Our Restaurant Opening Kit at AED 2,299 bundles boxes, cups, menus and table mats for exactly this reason.
Ready to order?
Send the dimensions of your burger, or a photo of it next to a ruler, and the number of covers you do a week. We will come back with the right box, the right quantity tier and a firm price. WhatsApp +971 52 210 0909 or call 0522100909. Browse all food packaging boxes and printed paper cups, or read our wider guides to restaurant packaging and menus and table mats.
