"How much will custom packaging actually cost us?" is usually the first question a café, bakery or retail owner asks — and the honest answer is that it depends on a few clear, predictable factors. This guide breaks down exactly what drives the price, with real GBP ranges from our own range, so you can budget before requesting a quote.
What Determines the Price of Custom Packaging?
Quantity ordered
This is the single biggest factor. Custom packaging has setup costs — artwork proofing, plate or print setup, machine changeovers — that get spread across your order. Order 1,000 units and you pay a higher price per unit than if you order 5,000, because that setup cost is divided across more items. This is why price lists almost always show a cost-per-unit that drops as volume increases.
Number of print colours
A single-colour print is cheaper than two or three colours, because each additional colour typically means an additional pass or set-up step in the printing process. If budget is tight, a bold single-colour logo often looks just as sharp as a multi-colour design and costs noticeably less.
Material and product type
A simple sticker costs far less than a printed paper bag, which costs less again than a cake box, simply because of the materials and manufacturing steps involved. Matching the product to the job — you don't need a printed cake box for a sandwich — keeps your overall spend sensible.
Typical Price Ranges Across Popular Products
To give you a realistic starting point, here's what small business orders typically look like on our range (all prices in GBP, excluding VAT):
- Custom stickers: from around £85 for 1,000 round stickers, rising to roughly £137 for 5,000 — one of the cheapest ways to start branding your packaging.
- Cup lids: from around £30 for 1,000 units.
- Printed paper cups: from around £120–£180 for 1,000 units depending on style, scaling up with volume and print detail.
- Greaseproof paper: from around £207 for 4,000 small sheets.
- Paper grab bags and twisted handle bags: larger-format bags are priced per 10,000+ units, typically from around £1,600–£1,800 for the first tier, reflecting the bigger material and construction involved.
- Cake boxes: from around £3,800 for a 10,000-unit run.
- Branded aprons: from around £17–£35 per apron depending on style, usually ordered in much smaller quantities than printed packaging.
How to Reduce Your Per-Unit Cost
A few practical levers, in order of impact: order a larger quantity if you have the storage space and cash flow to support it; stick to one print colour if your logo allows it; batch multiple packaging items (cups, lids, bags, stickers) into a single order round to streamline artwork approval; and avoid frequent small reorders, which repeatedly incur the same setup overhead.
Getting an Accurate Quote
Because pricing depends on your specific combination of product, size, quantity and colours, the ranges above are a starting point rather than a final number. The most reliable way to budget accurately is to pick the products you need and check the live pricing tiers directly, since they update with current material costs.
Start Budgeting With Real Numbers
Browse our full product range to see live pricing across stickers, cups, lids, bags, boxes and aprons, and build a packaging budget that matches your actual order volume.