Kebab wrap paper is usually greaseproof paper, a paper-foil laminate or PE-coated paper, cut to a sheet sized for the roll or loaf and flexo printed on the outer face. It has three jobs: hold hot, fatty and saucy food without strike-through, close quickly at service speed, and carry the brand on a surface customers hold in their hand. Pick the wrong grade and a printed logo is spotted with fat by the time the customer reaches the pavement; use plain white sheets and the shop pays for paper that carries no brand at all. Below are the grades, sheet sizes and printing choices for döner in pide, dürüm rolls and shawarma wraps. The wider range of printed wraps is covered on the custom printed greaseproof paper hub.
In Germany the product is called Dönerpapier or Dürümpapier, in the UK kebab paper or doner wrap paper, and in the US usually shawarma or gyro wrap paper. The specification questions are the same in every market.
Which kebab products use a wrap sheet instead of a bag?
Dürüm rolls, shawarma wraps and many UK-style pitta kebabs are wrapped in a sheet, because a rolled product needs a sheet pulled tight around it. Döner in pide bread is more often served in a half-open bag, although some shops wrap the loaf in paper first. Boxed portions use a box, not a wrap.
| Product | Usual wrap format | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Dürüm / yufka wrap | Rectangular sheet, rolled and tucked at the base, or folded into a cone | The sheet holds the roll tight and keeps the filling from unwinding |
| Shawarma / gyro wrap | Rectangular sheet, rolled; sometimes a sheet inside a printed sleeve | Same logic as dürüm, usually with a slightly thinner roll |
| Pitta kebab (UK) | Square or rectangular sheet, folded around the pitta | Holds the pitta shut; the top is peeled back to eat |
| Döner in pide | Sheet wrap inside a printed bag, or a half-open bag alone | The paper carries the barrier, the bag carries the brand |
| Lahmacun | Sheet rolled or folded in half | Thin and flat; fat load is lower than meat in bread |
| Kebab and chips portions | Box or tray | See custom printed takeaway boxes |
When the kebab is eaten from a bag, the specification of the bag is the owner page: kebab and döner bags: specification guide. The two products often work as a pair, with the wrap sheet holding the food and the bag holding the brand and the sauce overflow.
What grades of kebab wrap paper are used?
Kebab wrap is normally made from greaseproof paper, from a paper-and-aluminium-foil laminate, or from paper with a polyethylene (PE) coating. Greaseproof is the lightest and most recyclable choice, foil laminates hold heat best, and PE-coated paper handles the wettest fillings. Which one fits depends on sauce load, holding time and delivery.
| Grade | Construction | Strengths | Limitations | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greaseproof paper | Dense sheet made from highly refined (beaten) pulp, typically around 30-50 gsm | Resists fat through the sheet; no plastic or metal layer; prints well | Weakens when saturated with wet sauce; fat shows first at the folds | Dürüm and pitta kebabs eaten soon after wrapping |
| Grease-resistant coated paper | Paper with a non-fluorinated barrier coating | Higher resistance to oil than plain paper at similar weight | Coating type affects recycling claims; needs test data | Fatty fillings with moderate holding time |
| Foil-laminated paper | Paper bonded to thin aluminium foil, sometimes with a food-side coating | Keeps heat in; very good liquid and fat barrier | Harder to recycle as paper; printed face must cope with foil bonding | Döner and shawarma held warm for delivery or longer queues |
| PE-coated paper | Paper with a thin polyethylene layer on the food side | Holds sauce and condensation; strong when wet | Plastic layer affects recyclability and may bring SUP rules into play | Sauce-heavy recipes and delivery |
| Wax-coated deli paper | Paper with a paraffin or wax coating | Low cost; moisture barrier | Not suited to hot food; wax can soften and transfer | Cold items only; not a main grade for hot kebab |
Grammage varies by mill and by sheet size. How these materials differ chemically, and why "greaseproof", "parchment" and "baking paper" are not interchangeable, is explained in greaseproof vs parchment vs wax paper.
Which grade for which kebab?
- Dürüm or pitta kebab, eaten within minutes, light sauce: greaseproof is usually enough.
- Meat with a heavy garlic or chilli sauce, or a bag as the outer layer: add barrier weight or a coated grade, and test the folds.
- Delivery with a 20-30 minute journey: foil lamination or a second layer, because steam inside the wrap is as much a problem as grease.
- A sustainability claim on the sheet: check the material first. A claim on a coated or laminated sheet needs evidence; see the recycling guide linked below.
How hot meat and steam affect the wrap
Hot döner meat releases fat and steam. Greaseproof paper blocks fat but lets some vapour through, so bread stays crisper but the food cools faster. A foil laminate holds heat and steam in, which keeps the kebab warm but can leave the bread softer. Neither is wrong; the right trade-off follows from how long the kebab sits before it is eaten.
Fat resistance is measured with the KIT test, which rates paper on a 1-12 scale using a series of castor oil, toluene and heptane mixtures of increasing aggressiveness; higher numbers mean greater resistance. A high KIT value says nothing about steam or wet sauce, so a wrap supplier should be asked about performance with the actual product, not only a lab number. KIT test and grease resistance ratings explained covers how to read the value and how to run a simple fold test with your own recipe.
Folds are the weak point. A sheet can pass a flat-sheet test and still leak at a tucked corner, where fibres are crushed and fat travels along the crease. When testing samples, wrap real product at service speed, hold it for the usual time, then unwrap and inspect the folds and the seam.
What size should a kebab wrap sheet be?
A rolled kebab needs a sheet roughly as long as the roll plus an end allowance, and as wide as the roll's circumference plus an overlap. For a typical dürüm roll that gives sheets in the region of 25 x 30 cm to 35 x 40 cm. Always verify with trial sheets on the real product.
A simple method for a rolled product:
- Measure the finished roll: length (L) and diameter (D)
- Sheet width ≈ π × D + overlap of about 3-5 cm
- Sheet length ≈ L + two end folds of about 3-5 cm each, or less if the base is tucked and the top left open
- Cut trial sheets in two or three sizes around the result, and choose the smallest sheet that stays closed
Worked example: a dürüm roll 22 cm long and 6 cm across gives a width of about 19 cm plus 4 cm overlap, so roughly 23 cm, and a length of 22 cm plus about 6 cm for the end folds, so roughly 28 cm. A 25 x 30 cm sheet is a sensible starting point for trials.
| Product | Typical sheet size (metric) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dürüm / yufka wrap | about 25 x 30 cm to 30 x 35 cm | Longer sheets suit a base tuck; shorter suits a fully open top |
| Shawarma / gyro wrap | about 25 x 30 cm to 30 x 40 cm | Match the diameter of the flatbread used |
| Pitta kebab | about 25 x 25 cm to 30 x 30 cm | Square sheets fold diagonally around the pitta |
| Döner in pide, wrapped before bagging | about 30 x 35 cm to 35 x 40 cm | The sheet is normally folded under the loaf, then bagged |
| Mixed menu of rolls and sandwiches | one shared size, often around 30 x 35 cm | Fewer sizes mean longer print runs |
These are common market formats, not a fixed catalogue. If the menu includes burgers, sandwiches and kebabs, sizing logic and the sheet-weight arithmetic are in burger wrap and basket liner sizes and apply equally to kebab sheets, including how many grams one sheet weighs at a given grammage.
How is kebab wrap paper printed?
Printed kebab wrap paper is normally flexo printed with water-based inks suited to food packaging, in an all-over repeat pattern or a placed logo on the outer face. The ink must stay on the non-food side, the colours must survive fat contact at the folds, and the design must still read once the sheet is rolled and folded.
Points that matter for kebab sheets:
- All-over repeat versus placed logo. A repeating pattern or logo field means any cut of the sheet shows the brand wherever the roll folds. A single placed logo looks cleaner on a flat sheet but needs registration and ends up half-hidden on a rolled kebab.
- Fold planning. The visible face of a rolled dürüm is mostly the long middle of the sheet. Put the strongest brand element in the zone that stays visible after folding, and test it on a physical sample rather than a flat PDF.
- Colour coverage and grease. Large solid dark areas can show fat spots less than light areas, but heavy ink coverage can crack at folds. Keep critical text away from crease lines.
- Ink and food contact. Printing is on the outside, away from the food, but migration and set-off can still occur through or around the sheet. Ask for food-contact documentation that covers the inks and any coating. Germany's Printing Ink Ordinance (Druckfarbenverordnung) applies from 1 January 2027 after an extended transition, and it affects inks used on food-contact materials.
- Spot colours. A single brand colour is often printed as a spot colour for consistency across sheets and sites. See Pantone vs CMYK for packaging.
The full discussion of inks, coverage and ink transfer on greaseproof paper is in printing on greaseproof paper; the general print methods are compared in packaging printing methods.
Is kebab wrap paper PFAS-free and recyclable?
Grease-resistant paper has historically been made grease-resistant with fluorinated chemicals, which is why PFAS now needs to be ruled out in the specification. In the EU, Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (the PPWR) limits PFAS in food-contact packaging from 12 August 2026. In the US, FDA announced in 2024 that PFAS grease-proofing agents were no longer being sold for food contact, and several states ban PFAS in food packaging.
Ask for a written statement that the paper has no intentionally added PFAS, supported by test data from the supplier or a laboratory. The rules and thresholds are summarised in the PFAS-free food packaging guide.
Recyclability depends on grade. A plain greaseproof sheet is paper and, if clean, can enter the paper stream in many collection systems, but a sheet soaked in sauce is food-soiled and is usually treated as residual waste in practice. Foil laminates and PE-coated sheets are harder to recycle as paper, and the PE layer can bring the sheet into single-use plastics rules in some markets. Wording on the sheet needs care: from 27 September 2026, Directive (EU) 2024/825 bans generic claims such as "eco-friendly" unless recognised excellent environmental performance can be shown. Details for each material are in is greaseproof paper recyclable or compostable?.
How do kebab chains standardise wrap paper across sites?
Chains usually reduce the range to one or two wrap sheet sizes, one grade for the standard menu, and a heavier grade only for the sauce-heavy items. One printed design on several sheet sizes is cheaper to manage than a different design per product.
- List every wrapped item with its roll or loaf dimensions and the usual holding time
- Group items whose sheet sizes are within 2-3 cm of each other and use the larger size
- Keep one print design and vary the colour or a corner mark by product, not the size
- Decide who holds the master artwork and how franchisees reorder
Operational detail for multi-site buying is on packaging for restaurant chains and franchises. Order quantities depend on size, material and print setup, and are covered in packaging MOQs.
What to send for a kebab wrap paper quotation
A comparable quotation needs the same product, the same grade and the same print from each supplier. Send:
- Products to be wrapped, with finished roll or loaf dimensions and a photo of the fold you use
- Sauce load and typical holding time, and whether the wrap goes into a bag afterwards
- Target sheet size or the existing sheet you want to match, and format (cut sheets, interfolded packs or rolls)
- Preferred grade, or the performance target if the grade is open
- Artwork or brand colours, and whether the design is all-over or placed
- Markets of sale (for example Germany, Netherlands, UK), so that food-contact documents and PFAS evidence match
- Annual volume and delivery sites
Final specifications are confirmed at quotation and technical review. The packaging RFQ guide has the longer checklist. To request samples or a quotation for printed wraps, contact 9 Packaging, or return to the custom printed greaseproof paper hub.