Paper Ice Cream Cups and Tubs: Sizes and Coatings

What coating do paper ice cream cups need?

Most paper ice cream cups and tubs use cupstock with PE on both sides. The inside coating holds the melting product; the outside coating keeps condensation and frost from softening the board and protects the print. Single-sided PE is generally too vulnerable for frozen use.

Cold itself does not damage paperboard or PE. The trouble starts when temperatures change. A cup moving from a freezer at around -18 °C into a warm shop collects condensation on its outer surface within seconds. Display freezers cycle through defrost phases and customers' hands add moisture. Uncoated board absorbs that water, loses stiffness and lets the print rub off. Outer PE prevents most of this.

Coatings are compared more broadly in the paper barrier coatings guide.

How do ice cream cups cope with freezers and condensation?

They cope well, provided the outside is PE-coated and the board is heavy enough for the size. The main failure modes are softening from condensation, print scuffing in frost and freezer handling, and lids that loosen as the container contracts and flexes. All are specification issues rather than limits of paper itself.

Conditions to describe to your supplier:

• Storage temperature (commonly -18 °C or colder) and any hardening step, which runs colder still.
• Scooping or display cabinet conditions, which are warmer than storage and see more moisture.
• How long cups spend at room temperature before eating: a parlour, a beach kiosk and a delivery order are different.
• Whether tubs are stacked in chest freezers, where abrasion between packs wears print.

Print durability depends on ink system, varnish and coating. Ask for rub-resistance samples that have been through freeze and thaw, not only fresh prints.

Paper ice cream cup and tub sizes

Scoop cups are usually sold in US fluid ounces, from about 3 oz for a single small scoop to 8 oz for three scoops with toppings. Take-home tubs are sold by volume: 500 ml, 750 ml and 1 litre in Europe; the US pint (473 ml) and quart (946 ml) in the US. The sizes below are indicative.

How many scoops fit depends on scoop size and the product's overrun, so treat portion guidance as a starting point. For tubs sold prepacked, net quantity is commonly declared by volume; the container's brim capacity has to allow the declared fill plus headspace for lidding. Wide, squat cups are easier to scoop into and eat from; taller cups suit soft serve and layered desserts. Sizes for all container types are in the paper food container sizes guide.

Lids for ice cream cups and tubs

Flat paper lids are the standard for scoop cups to go and for take-home tubs; PP or PET dome lids suit soft serve, sundaes and toppings that stand above the rim. Take-home tubs sold through retail usually need some form of tamper evidence.

Options and their uses:

• Flat paper lid, PE-coated: printable, pushes in or snaps over the rim; lower plastic; good for tubs and scoop cups.
• PET or rPET dome lid: clear, shows toppings; fine at freezer temperatures but can become brittle if handled roughly when very cold.
• PP lid: tougher at low temperatures, translucent, often used on larger tubs.
• Tamper evidence: a printed label over lid and sidewall, a tear band on the lid, or a sealed film under the lid, depending on the filling process.

Lids are matched to rim diameter and curl profile. If several cup sizes share a diameter they can share a lid, which simplifies stock. Rim fit and material choice are covered in lids for paper food containers.

Filling-line considerations for take-home tubs

A tub that performs in the freezer but jams the filler is no use to a producer. Line compatibility is checked with formed samples on the actual machine before a printed order runs.

Check with your supplier and line engineer:

• Denesting: tubs must separate cleanly from the stack at line speed; stacking shoulders and taper angle matter.
• Rim consistency: lid application at speed needs a consistent rim diameter and curl.
• Stack height and case count, so outer cases fit the line and the freezer pallet pattern.
• Space for date coding or batch labelling on the sidewall or lid.
• Behaviour in hardening: rigid enough not to bulge, seals intact after the cold step.

Printing paper ice cream cups

Ice cream cups are usually printed by offset on white cupstock, which gives bright, saturated colours for flavour imagery and brand colours. Flexo suits kraft cups and simpler spot-colour designs.

Practical choices:

• Flavour ranges often share a base cup design and change only a colour band, the lid print or a label, which keeps the number of printed versions down.
• Matt finishes look premium but should be tested for rub resistance in frost; gloss finishes tend to resist scuffing better.
• Artwork must follow the curved blank template; text near the rim curl and bottom fold distorts or disappears.
• Inks and varnishes on the outside must suit food packaging and not transfer to the food-contact side in stacks or reels.

Print methods are compared in the packaging printing methods guide.

Regulatory points for ice cream cups

PE-lined paper ice cream cups used for scooped ice cream eaten on the spot or on the go fit the EU SUP Directive's description of single-use plastic food containers: not banned, but subject to consumption-reduction measures and extended producer responsibility. Multi-portion take-home tubs intended for storage are less clearly in scope; check the Commission guidelines (2021/C 216/01) for your format.

Market points for parlours and chains:

• Netherlands: since 1 January 2024, single-use plastic food containers, including PE-lined paper cups, may not be used for on-site consumption, which affects ice cream eaten in the parlour.
• Germany: single-use plastic food containers fall under the single-use plastic fund levy, and outlets filling them for takeaway must offer a reusable alternative (Mehrwegangebotspflicht), subject to the small-outlet exemption.
• England: the single-use plastics ban covers bowls, including plastic-coated paper, unless they are packaging; Defra's guidance treats bowls pre-filled or filled at the point of sale as packaging, so pre-filled tubs and scoop cups filled at the counter are exempt, though the guidance does not name ice cream cups specifically. Scotland's and Wales's bans do not list bowls or cups other than expanded polystyrene ones.
• EU PPWR, Regulation (EU) 2025/40: takeaway outlets must accept customers' own containers from 12 February 2027 and offer a reusable option from 12 February 2028 (micro-enterprises are exempt from this second duty).

These rules depend on your role and the specific use. The bowl rules are explained in more depth in paper vs plastic bowls for salad and poke.

What to send when specifying ice cream cups or tubs

• Each size, as oz or ml, and whether you mean brim or fill volume.
• Scoop service, soft serve, take-home tubs filled in store, or tubs filled on a production line.
• Freezer and display conditions; time at room temperature before eating.
• Lid type per size and any tamper-evidence requirement.
• For line-filled tubs: filling machine details and case count.
• Artwork: white or kraft, flavour variants, finish preference.

Send these through the contact page, or review the wider range on the custom printed paper food containers page.