Custom Candy Apple Boxes
Custom candy apple boxes that hold the apple upright without the coating touching a wall, from 100 units. A cradle in the base, clearance for the stick, and a window so the color shows — because a candy apple is bought entirely on how it looks.
Tall, sticky, top-heavy and on a stick
- Board
- Grease-resistant SBS or kraft, 20–24 pt; E-flute for four-packs
- Cradle
- Die-cut ring cut under the apple diameter; four-cell sheet for multipacks
- Stick
- Tall closed box, or lid slot with a paper collar
Get a price for Candy Apple Boxes
Send the size and quantity — we reply the same working day with a price, a dieline and a date. Artwork optional at this stage.
- Free dielineThe flat drawing comes with the quote, before you commit.
- Proof before pressNothing is printed until you have seen it laid on the dieline.
- Die kept for reordersTooling is paid once. Every reorder skips straight to press.
- Quoted in four marketsUS, UK, Canada and Australia, in the delivery currency.
Nothing may touch the coating
A hard candy shell or a caramel coat bonds to paperboard on contact and takes a patch of the coating with it when the box opens. So the box has to hold the apple by the bottom, not the sides, with at least a quarter inch of air between the coating and every wall.
That is done with a die-cut cradle in the base — a ring cut a little under the apple diameter, so the apple sits in it and the widest part of the fruit is held clear of the walls. The cradle is also what stops a top-heavy apple tipping when the box is carried.
| Small apple | 4 x 4 x 5 in, cradle ring 2.5 in |
|---|---|
| Standard | 4.5 x 4.5 x 6 in, cradle ring 3 in — the common size |
| Large or heavily topped | 5 x 5 x 7 in, deeper cradle, reinforced base |
| Four-pack | 9 x 9 x 6 in with a four-cell cradle sheet |
The stick, and where it goes
Sticks are longer than people remember — four to six inches above the apple — and a box sized to the fruit alone will not close. There are two answers: build the box tall enough for the stick to stand inside it, or cut a slot in the lid so the stick passes through and the lid closes around it.
The slot version is shorter, cheaper to ship, and lets the stick act as a handle, but it is an opening in the box and it is not for anything that has to stay sealed. The taller closed box is the retail-shelf answer.
A stick through a lid slot needs a small paper collar around it, or the stick rocks and the apple swings inside the box.
Grease, moisture and the floor
- A caramel or buttered coating releases oil that goes through plain board within hours; the floor needs a grease-resistant grade.
- A hard candy shell sweats in humidity and drips, and the drips pool where the apple meets the cradle.
- A greaseproof disc under the apple catches both and is what the customer lifts the apple out with.
- Uncoated kraft looks right for the category and marks fastest, so the barrier belongs under the apple rather than on the outside.
Showing the apple
Candy apples are sold on color — the red, the caramel drizzle, the nuts pressed into the top — so a window is worth more here than on almost any other food box. It goes in the front panel or wraps the front and one side, filmed so nothing sticks to it, and set back from the cradle so the coating cannot touch the film.
For a market stall or a fair where the apples are made and sold the same day, an open-topped tray with a cradle sheet is faster to load than a closed box. The windowed construction is the same one we use on our bakery boxes with a filmed window.
Candy Apple Boxes — specification
The rows that are specific to this build first, then what applies to every job we run. Anything not listed is a question, not a limit — send the brief.
This build
- Board
- Grease-resistant SBS or kraft, 20–24 pt; E-flute for four-packs
- Cradle
- Die-cut ring cut under the apple diameter; four-cell sheet for multipacks
- Stick
- Tall closed box, or lid slot with a paper collar
- Window
- Front or wrap-around, PET film, set back from the cradle
- Floor
- Greaseproof disc under the apple
- Minimum
- 100 boxes
On every job
- Print process
- Flexo in one to six colors, printed on the outer face only and before any lining goes on.
- Color
- Food-safe inks throughout. Kraft mutes color; a white board or liner is needed for anything photographic.
- Tolerance
- Cutting plus or minus 1 mm, and fit confirmed by filling a plain sample from your own kitchen or line.
- Tooling
- A cutting die per size, kept. Molded pulp needs a tool per shape, which is a longer lead and a larger one-off.
- Food contact
- Every board food-contact grade, with grease resistance built into the sheet and never a PFAS treatment.
- Sustainability
- Aqueous linings and unlined boards repulp with ordinary paper. PE-lined cups need cup collection, and we say which you have.
- Artwork
- Vector PDF or AI, 3 mm bleed, 4 mm safe area, fonts outlined. We check every file and send a proof before press.
- Dieline
- Supplied free with the quote, before you commit. Yours whether or not you order.
- Sample
- A plain unprinted sample at the finished size on request, for fit and construction.
- Reorders
- Skip the tooling and go straight to press at a lower unit price.
- Lead time
- Quoted with the price against your fill date rather than promised before we have seen the spec.
- Markets
- United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia — priced in the delivery currency, freight included.
Boards and films we build candy apple boxes on
Food packaging is chosen for what the food does to it: grease, steam, heat and time. Every board here is food-contact grade, and none of them uses a PFAS treatment for grease resistance.
Food-grade virgin board
Bleached board made for direct food contact. Clean, bright, no recycled fiber and no mineral-oil risk from recovered paper.
14–24ptGrease-resistant board
Resistance built into the sheet rather than sprayed on. Holds fries, pastry and butter without darkening. PFAS-free.
16–24ptPE-lined cupstock
Board with a polyethylene film for hot and cold liquid. Microwave-safe for reheating; recycled only where cup collection exists.
260–350gsmAqueous-lined cupstock
A water-based lining instead of PE. Repulpable in ordinary paper recycling in more places, and compostable; a slightly shorter hold time.
260–320gsmGreaseproof and glassine
Dense, calendered paper that resists fat through the fiber. Wraps, liners and interleaves; breathable, so pastry stays crisp.
30–55gsmFood-grade corrugated
E and B flute with a food-contact liner, vented where steam has to leave. Pizza, catering and anything hot and heavy.
E and B fluteMolded pulp and bagasse
Fiber pressed into a shape. Holds heat, resists grease with no lining, composts, and takes only an embossed or one-color mark.
Molded to shapeRecycled board
Post-consumer fiber. Used for outers, sleeves and anything that does not touch food directly — not for direct contact.
Non-contact onlyNot sure which? Say what goes in it and where it is sold — the material follows from that. Our notes on recycled, recyclable and compostable cover which claims each stock can honestly carry.
- 01
Send what you have
A dimension, a photograph beside a ruler, or the product itself. No technical drawing needed — that part is ours.
- 02
We quote and draw
A price, a dieline and a date come back together. If a different build would suit the product better, that is in the reply too.
- 03
Approve the dieline
The flat drawing is yours to check: which panel is the front, where the folds fall, how deep the cavity really is.
- 04
Artwork on the dieline
You place your design on the flat we sent, or we place it for you, and you see a proof before anything goes to press.
- 05
A sample if you want one
A plain unprinted sample at the finished size shows fit and construction — the things a drawing cannot.
- 06
Cut, printed, shipped
The die is cut once and kept, so every reorder skips the tooling and goes straight to press at a lower unit price.
Format
Vector PDF or AI where possible. Raster artwork at 300dpi at final size, in CMYK.
Bleed
3 mm past every trim line, so a fraction of drift on the cutter never leaves a white edge.
Safe area
Keep type and anything important 4 mm inside the cut and away from every fold.
Color
Convert to CMYK before sending. Uncoated stock prints lighter; a spot color is the only exact match.
Fonts
Outline them or supply the files. A missing font substitutes silently and the proof will not match.
Barcodes
On a light, matte, unvarnished patch with the quiet zone clear — a code on gloss fails the scanner.
Not set up that way? Send it anyway — fixing a file is a short conversation, and we check every one before press. Our guide to preparing print files covers each point.
Food finishes are limited by what may touch food, and that is the point.
Food-safe inks
Printed on the outer face only. Every food pack we make uses them, laminated or not.
Uncoated kraft
No coating at all. Breathable, so pastry stays crisp, and it takes one or two colors.
Aqueous varnish
Scuff resistance without a plastic film, so the pack still repulps.
Molded emboss
A logo pressed into pulp or bagasse. No ink, nothing to rub off, and it survives grease.
Grease-resistant face
Not a finish you can see. It is in the sheet, it is PFAS-free, and it is why the print stays clean.
Matte lamination
Available on outers and sleeves that never touch food — a cake box lid, a carrier, a gift sleeve.
Not sure which suits the shelf it sells from? Say where the product is sold and we suggest one — our notes on specialty finishes show them on real boxes.
Sizing food packaging around a portion, hot: candy apple boxes
Food is sized by serving, not by dimensions, and it is served hot, heaped and in a hurry. Send us the portion — or better, the box you use now with the food in it — and we size to how it is actually filled.
- Portion, heaped
- Fries, popcorn and salad are served above the rim. A box sized to a level fill looks mean and spills in a bag.
- Lid clearance
- Enough that a loaded burger or a topped cake does not touch the lid. This is the single most common complaint about a food box.
- Venting
- Hot food steams. Vents in the lid keep pastry and fries crisp; a sealed box is right only for cold food.
- Grease path
- Where the fat sits decides the board. Say if the food is fried, buttered or sauced, and whether it is held for minutes or an hour.
- Stacking in a bag
- Delivery boxes are stacked five high on a bike. The lid has to hold the box above it off the food below.
- Sample fill
- A plain box filled from your kitchen settles the size in one try, and we send one before the run.
Not sure your numbers are right? Send the product dimensions rather than the box dimensions and we work the box out — the full method is in our guide to measuring for a box.
Interactive · five steps · no sign-up
Build your Candy Apple Boxes in 3D
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a board and a finish. The preview on the left redraws as you go, and the spec lands with us exactly as you set it.
Frequently asked questions
Got a question about candy apple boxes? The answers below cover what we get asked most. If yours is not here, send it with a brief, message us on WhatsApp, or call +1 503-461-4788 — we reply the same working day.
Will the coating stick to the box?
Not if nothing touches it. The apple sits in a base cradle with a quarter inch of air to every wall, which is the whole design.
What size box do I need?
About 4.5 x 4.5 x 6 in for a standard apple, with a 3 in cradle ring. Send us an apple and we cut the ring to it.
How do you handle the stick?
Either a box tall enough for the stick to stand inside, or a slot in the lid with a paper collar so the stick passes through and acts as a handle.
Will grease come through?
Not on a grease-resistant board with a greaseproof disc under the apple. Caramel and butter coatings go through plain board within hours.
Can I have a window?
Yes, and it is worth more here than on most food boxes — the color is the product. Filmed, and set back so the coating cannot reach it.
Does the apple tip over?
Not in a cradle. A candy apple is top-heavy, and the ring in the base is what stops it swinging when the box is carried.
Can I do a four-pack?
Yes, a 9 x 9 x 6 in box with a four-cell cradle sheet, in E-flute for the weight.
What about humidity?
A hard shell sweats and drips, and the drips pool at the cradle. The greaseproof disc catches them and is also what the customer lifts the apple out with.
Kraft or printed?
Kraft suits the category and marks fastest, so keep the barrier under the apple. White board takes full color if the brand needs it.
Is there a faster option for a stall?
An open tray with a cradle sheet. It loads much faster than a closed box when apples are made and sold the same day.
Does it ship flat?
Yes, box and cradle are die-cut and fold flat. The cradle drops in when the box is set up.
What is the minimum order?
100 boxes. The box and cradle share a die and it is reused on every reorder.
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