Pizza Boxes

As a regular consumer of pizzas, you probably don’t really put much thought into the box that holds the pizza. In fact, you might think that a pizza box is just another box. Well, I’m here to tell you that there is a lot thought which goes into the design and manufacturing of pizza boxes.

If you are someone who is starting up a pizza joint and hence looking to buy pizza boxes but have no idea where to start your search, then this hub may prove useful. If you’re just a person curious about the significance of pizza boxes, I hope you’ll get an appreciation by the end of reading this.

Although there have been pizza boxes made from both plastic and paper (and even a combination of the two), paper has been and continue to be material of choice. The two main reasons are that it is cheaper and it tends to better resist build up of condensation within the box. During your search, you may encounter two main ways that the walls of pizza boxes are constructed – either 1) using a single sheet of very thick paper (called paperboard pizza boxes); or 2) sandwiching a corrugated sheet of paper between 2 outer sheets (called corrugated pizza boxes). Another term that you may come across is cardboard pizza boxes, which I’ve seen being used to refer to both paperboard and corrugated types. To be sure exactly which is used, it’s best to check the specifications for the product you are looking at.

By far the most common type of pizza box that is used today by the various pizza joints and chains is the corrugated style. It should be noted that the walls of these boxes can come in different thickness. The term that is used to describe the thickness is flutes and it can range from A-flute (thickest) to E-flute (thinnest). Actually, to be more accurate, they refer to the height of the corrugated sheet as supposed to the paper thickness.

There are practical implications in choosing between a thicker and thinner pizza box. For example, when storing unused (and unfolded) boxes, an E-flute box would use less space than a B-flute box. However, the same E-flute box would have a greater tendency to warp as a result of the condensation formed from the steam coming off a hot pizza.

The shape with which most pizza consumers are most familiar and associate with pizza boxes is square. There are other less seen shapes such as octagon (which you might have seen called an octabox). Does it matter which shape you choose? The advantage of using the more traditional square shape box is as I’ve mentioned previously, people associate it with pizza boxes so this may help to market your pizza more easily. However, if you wish to somehow differentiate your brand from a competitor, then using a more unique shape may be in your favor.

From a usage point of view, a square pizza box gives you maximum internal as well as external area space. Given that a pizza is generally round, the four corners of the box remain empty allowing you to place dips, sauces and anything else small enough to fit. Also, on the outside you have more area to print your logo, etc whether you choose to get printed pizza boxes or plain pizza boxes and do the printing separately. This additional space is lost with an octagon box. However, I have seen special octagon boxes where the corners can fold out given the option of that corner space if needed.

When you are looking for a pizza box, there are a few essential criteria to keep in mind that will have some level of impact on the overall success of your business. Probably of greatest priority is that the pizza arrives to the customer in the same (or as close as possible to) quality and condition as it was when it comes of out the oven.

To achieve this, two things need to be met – 1) the pizza should still be hot on arrival; and 2) the original form of the pizza should still be maintained. So with regards to the first point, the pizza box should be able to retain heat well.

As for the second point, customers find it annoying when they see that their pizza slices are separated and all the toppings and cheese spread in between the slices and getting stuck onto the box itself. Part of the cause is of course to do with the delivery person’s driving but the box is a factor as well. To minimize sliding and slice separation, the box should have anti-slide cover flaps.