A cake that arrives with a dented side or a smeared top costs you the sale and the customer. The right cake box is a few millimetres bigger than the cake, strong enough to carry on a car seat and clean enough to hand to a customer. South African bakeries, coffee shops and home bakers buy window boxes, cupcake boxes, cake boards and dessert tubs from board converters and bakery wholesalers. Send us what you bake and how many a week, and suppliers near you quote directly, free.
Cake box sizes and styles
Boxes are named by the cake they hold. Common sizes are 8 inch (about 250 x 250 mm), 10 inch (300 x 300 mm) and 12 inch (350 x 350 mm) square, with heights of 100 to 150 mm for sponge cakes and 250 mm or more for tall cake boxes with tiers, drip cakes or sculpted work. Add 25 to 50 mm to the cake width so icing does not touch the sides. Choose a window box if you want the cake to sell itself from the counter. Choose a plain box for pick-up orders so you can write the name on a sticker.
For wider food packaging rules, see food packaging.
Cupcakes, biscuits and snack boxes
Cupcake boxes come in 1, 2, 4, 6, 12 and 24 hole versions, with card inserts that hold each cake upright so the icing is not crushed. Check the hole size against your cupcake case: standard cases are about 50 mm across, jumbo muffin cases need larger holes. Small snack, cookie and brownie boxes in kraft or white board with a clear window work for cookies, brownies and truffles, and often fold flat from one piece. For dessert cups and mousse, a clear plastic container with a lid is a better fit.
Cake boards, drums and grease
The cake sits on a cake board, and the board decides how easily you can lift it. Thin boards, 2 to 3 mm, suit a light sponge. A cake drum is 12 mm thick and carries fruit cake and tiered cakes without bending. Silver foil covered boards look good under fondant, and can be wiped clean. Grease from butter icing soaks into plain board, so choose grease resistant boards, add a greaseproof sheet or order boxes with a lined base. A non-slip mat under the cake board stops sliding in transit, especially on a bumpy road in a bakkie.
Printing, stock and home bakers
Plain white boxes are held by most bakery suppliers and sold from a pack of 10 or 25, which suits home bakers and small orders. A printed box with your logo is made to order, often from 500 to 2,000 and in two to four weeks, and works as advertising each time it is carried. Food contact board should come with a food-grade statement from the supplier, and if you sell from home, ask your municipality what they need for a food premises. See custom printed boxes for how printing is done and how artwork is prepared.
What to include in your request
- Cake or cupcake size in mm
- Height including toppers
- Window or plain, white or kraft
- Quantity per week or month
- Delivery address and date needed
Cake Boxes for different businesses
- Online shops and ecommerce: sturdy boxes and inserts for cookies and brownies posted by courier
- Restaurants, takeaways and food producers: window boxes, cupcake boxes and cake boards for daily counter sales and orders
- Shops and retail stores: plain and window boxes for cakes sold from shop counters and deli displays
- Factories and manufacturers: folding cartons and dessert boxes filled in batches on a production line
- Warehouses, distributors and exporters: stackable boxes and dividers for cakes delivered by van to shops and offices
- Households and offices moving: small boxes to carry party cakes and treats safely on the road
- Farms, packhouses and nurseries: boxes for farm stall rusks, tarts and baked goods sold at markets
- Cosmetics, candles and health products: small window boxes for bath bombs, soaps and edible gift sets
Frequently asked questions
What size cake box should I get?
Do I need a cake board as well as a box?
Can I buy cake boxes in small quantities?
How do I stop boxes getting greasy?
Cake Boxes by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg