Ice Cream Shop Packaging, Built to Fit Freezer Cases
Rapamar manufactures ice cream shop packaging in our Tennessee facility. From single pint retail cups to 3 gallon bulk tubs, we do it all. Every size is built to fit how an actual scoop shop runs, not just what looks good on a shelf.
This page is a sizing guide as much as a product page. Tell us how many flavors you carry and how deep your dipping cabinet is, and we will tell you which container fits before you order a single case.
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Ice Cream Shop Packaging in USA
Ice cream shop packaging is the corrugated cardboard boxes and tubs a scoop shop uses to store, display, and sell frozen product. It is sized for a real dipping cabinet and coated to survive it. We manufacture every size at our own Tennessee facility and ship manufacturer direct to all 50 states.
Which Container Fits Your Shop
Read this the way you would read a menu board. Find the row closest to how you run.
Fig. 1 - Where each size actually sits in a dipping cabinet
From One Freezer Case to a Growing Ice Cream Shop
Most shops do not buy the same way twice. What changes is not the packaging quality, it is the quantity and the ordering rhythm. Here is how that usually goes.
One or two flavors to start, ordering by the case with a low minimum so cash does not sit in inventory. Pint and quart cups plus a 1 gallon tub or two covers most opening menus.
8 to 12 flavors in rotation, restocking weekly instead of monthly. This is where the 1 gallon and 1.5 gallon octagon formats do most of the work, ordered by the case at volume pricing.
Back-of-house bulk storage becomes worth it. 2.5 and 3 gallon tubs reduce how often you restock the case, and case counts start crossing into the 6 plus and 11 plus discount tiers.
Ordering moves to pallet quantities across locations, with specs kept on file so reorders do not require re-explaining your setup every time. See our wholesale distributor packaging for that stage.
Why Shops Move Off Plastic Tubs
Plastic holds up in a freezer, but it comes with tradeoffs most shops do not notice until they are already paying for them.
Plastic Tubs
- ×Higher cost per unit at low volume, since plastic tooling favors large runs
- ×Heavier to ship, which raises freight cost on every order
- ×Does not stack flat when empty, so storage between deliveries eats floor space
- ×Not recyclable in most municipal programs once food contaminated
Rapamar Corrugated
- ✓Low minimum order quantity, so a single shop is not paying a plastic-tooling premium
- ✓Lighter cases mean lower freight cost shipped to all 50 states
- ✓Food safe moisture barrier coating built for freezer conditions, without the plastic tradeoffs
- ✓Corrugated cardboard, an earth friendlier alternative to plastic tubs and metal containers
Best Selling Ice Cream Containers
Manufactured in Tennessee, No Middlemen
Most ice cream shop packaging online is sold by a broker who never touches the product. Rapamar runs its own plant in Tennessee, which is why a single shop can get the same pricing floor and sample process as a distributor buying pallets.
- Sample first. A physical sample ships before any production run, so you can test the fit in your own case.
- Specs on file. Once you order, your sizing stays with us, so reorders do not start from scratch.
- One point of contact. No broker markup and no handoff between the person you talk to and the plant that builds it.
Packaging by Shop Type
| Shop type | Typical container | More detail |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional scoop shop | 1 gallon rectangle or 1.5 gallon octagon | Standard dipping cabinet fit for daily service |
| Gelato bar | 1.5 gallon octagon, display style | See gelato shop packaging |
| Frozen yogurt shop | 1 gallon and 2.5 gallon wholesale volume | See frozen yogurt packaging |
| Production or co-packing | 2.5 and 3 gallon bulk, pallet pricing | See frozen dessert manufacturer packaging |
| Dairy counter or creamery | 1 gallon and custom sizes | See dairy producer packaging |
| Something else entirely | Custom die line to your dimensions | See custom cardboard boxes |
Ice Cream Shop Packaging FAQ
What size container fits a standard dipping cabinet?
What is the minimum order for a single ice cream shop?
Do I need a liner inside the container?
Do you sell lids separately from the tubs?
Can I get a sample before ordering a full case?
What if none of the standard sizes fit my shop?
Do you ship to shops outside the continental USA?
Tell Us About Your Shop
Flavors, cabinet size, and how often you restock. We will recommend a size, quote pricing, and send a sample before you commit to a case.