By Monique, Founder of PackQueen · Food Packaging · 8 min read
3 Things You'll Take Away From This Article
➡ A custom food tray is one of the most commercially powerful packaging upgrades available to Australian food businesses. It transforms a generic presentation surface into a branded experience — and in a market where food presentation drives purchase decisions and Instagram content, that difference is measurable.
➡ Custom food trays solve a problem that most businesses don't realise they have. A food business using a plain white tray is asking the food itself to do all the work. A custom tray provides the frame, the brand context, and the quality signal that multiplies the impact of what's on it.
➡ Custom food trays are now accessible at volumes and price points that suit businesses of all sizes. The perception that custom printing requires large minimums and long lead times is outdated. PackQueen works with food businesses from small cafés to large catering operations.
Hi, I'm Monique — Let's Talk About the Tray Hiding in Plain Sight
I'm the founder of PackQueen. There's a business in almost every Australian suburb that's doing something I find quietly frustrating to witness: exceptional food, mediocre tray. The café with the beautiful toasted sandwich presented on a plain white tray. The caterer whose gorgeous grazing selections arrive in a generic kraft board that could have come from any supplier in the country.
The tray is not neutral. It's always communicating something. The question is whether it's communicating what you want it to — quality, brand identity, care, professionalism — or whether it's communicating its absence.
🍽️ Your food tray is never blank. It's either communicating your brand — or communicating that you haven't thought about your brand. There's no neutral option.
Who Uses Custom Food Trays — and Why It Works for Each of Them
Cafés and Coffee Shops
- The brand moment: a custom tray with a brand mark brings the café's identity to the table in a way that a plain white board never does
- The photography trigger: branded trays appear in customer food photos, turning every Instagram post into free marketing content
- The perceived quality signal: a café that has thought through every detail of the table experience — including the tray — communicates premium intent before the first bite
Caterers and Event Food Businesses
- The brand at the event: a custom tray with a clear brand identity makes attribution easy — guests associate quality food with the brand name they can see
- The corporate gifting opportunity: corporate catering clients are often evaluating multiple caterers — a presentation that includes custom branded trays signals professionalism that generic trays do not
- The repeat business signal: event clients who remember the catering brand are more likely to re-engage for future events
Food Retailers and Deli Counters
- Counter display: a branded tray visible in the deli case communicates brand identity to every customer who passes — whether they purchase or not
- Carry experience: a customer leaving with a branded tray is a mobile advertisement for the retailer in the immediate surrounding area
- Perceived quality: premium deli counters use packaging as a quality signal — a custom printed tray communicates that the retailer's standards extend to every element of the purchase experience
Custom Food Tray Options: A Practical Guide
| Format | Print Options | Best Application | Key Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Board tray (flat) | Single colour to full CMYK | Café serving, market display, retail counter | Flat profile, easy to stack and store |
| Board tray with rim | Single colour to full CMYK | Grazing, events, food gifting | Rim contains food, looks more finished |
| Board tray with window lid | Logo/colour on base; window on lid | Retail grab-and-go, gift food, display | Product visible, protected, gift-ready |
| Rigid box tray (deep) | Full CMYK, specialty finishes | Premium gifting, hampers, high-end catering | Maximum premium signal; reusable |
| Kraft tray (natural) | One or two colour | Artisan, eco-aligned food businesses | Natural finish; aligns with sustainability messaging |
Material and Finish Considerations
- White coated board: clean, neutral, lets print colours pop. The most versatile choice for café and retail applications.
- Kraft board: natural, eco-aligned, warm. The strongest choice for artisan, sustainable or farm-to-table brand positioning.
- Matte laminated board: premium feel, elegant, photographs beautifully. The best choice for high-end gifting, premium catering and photography-prominent contexts.
- Foil-blocked elements: gold or silver foil applied to logos or borders adds luxury detail at moderate additional cost — highly effective for premium gifting and corporate catering.
Food Safety Considerations for Custom Printed Trays
- Food-safe inks: all inks used in printing must be food-safe — at PackQueen, food-safe printing is standard for all food tray products
- Food-safe coatings: if the tray surface will be in direct contact with food, a food-safe coating or liner is required to prevent grease penetration
- Compliance documentation: for catering businesses supplying corporate clients or retail channels, food-safe packaging compliance documentation may be required — PackQueen can provide this on request
✅ Never assume a custom printed tray is food-safe without confirming this specification. At PackQueen, all our food tray products are printed with food-safe inks and include appropriate coatings for food contact. Confirm this standard with any supplier before placing an order.
Getting Your Design Right: What Works on a Custom Food Tray
Keep It Clean
A food tray is a backdrop for food — not a canvas for a brand story. The most effective custom food tray designs are restrained: a logo, a brand colour, perhaps a simple pattern or texture. The food is the hero. The tray is the frame. Overly complex designs compete with the food visually and read as busy in photography.
Consider the Food Colour
A matte black tray makes colourful food pop dramatically — striking and photographs exceptionally well. A white tray creates a neutral base that works for any food type. A kraft tray adds warmth that suits natural, artisan food aesthetics. Before finalising your tray colour, place a representative food item on a piece of coloured paper in your intended tray colour and photograph it — the photography test reveals whether your combination will perform in social media content.
Logo Placement
- Corner placement: logo in one corner (typically bottom right) — visible but not competing with the food. The most common and most effective placement.
- Repeat pattern: a small logo repeated as a pattern across the tray base — visible around the edges of the food presentation, creating an all-over brand impression.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What's the difference between a food-safe custom tray and a standard custom tray?
A food-safe custom tray is manufactured using food-safe inks, coatings and materials that comply with Australian food contact regulations. This includes food-safe inks that won't leach harmful compounds into food, food-safe surface coatings that prevent grease degrading the board, and compliance documentation confirming the materials meet the relevant Australian Standard (AS 4736). A standard custom tray may look identical — the difference is in the specification of materials and inks used in production. Always ask your supplier explicitly and request documentation. All PackQueen food tray products are manufactured to food-safe specifications.
2. Can I get custom food trays in small quantities for a new business?
Yes — and this is one of the most common conversations we have with food businesses at the start of their custom packaging journey. For very small quantities, an interim approach often works well: a quality stock tray in a colour that suits your brand, combined with a custom printed paper band or a quality branded sticker. This gives you brand presence at a lower minimum commitment while you establish your volume and move toward a full custom print run. Get in touch and we'll help you work out the right approach for where your business is right now.
3. How do I brief my design for a custom food tray?
A good custom food tray brief covers four elements:
- Brand assets: your logo in vector format, your brand colours in Pantone or CMYK, and any brand guidelines you have
- Tray specifications: the size(s) you need, the material preference (white, kraft, other), and any specific finish requirements
- Design direction: what you want on the tray — logo placement, colour coverage, any pattern or texture elements, any text (tagline, website, social handle)
- Food context: photos or descriptions of the food that will be served on the tray — this helps ensure the tray colour and design will complement rather than compete with your food presentation
Get in touch with the PackQueen team with these four elements and we'll work through the design options with you.
Ready to upgrade your packaging? Browse our range of custom food trays or get in touch with the PackQueen team — we're here to help you find the perfect solution for your business.
Monique | Founder, PackQueen
packqueen.com.au · Custom Food Trays for Australian Caterers, Cafés and Food Retailers
