Cold & dessert cups

Cold cups, dessert cups and portion cups — with the lids that fit them

Cold service is where paper cups fail quietly: condensation softens the board, a 1mm lid mismatch leaks in the delivery bag, and a “compostable” claim meets a lid that is none of those things. This range is specified as a cup-and-lid pair for that reason.

Specifications Ask about a claim

Formats: 4
Dimensioned sizes: 6
Barrier options: 3
Certification: flustix FPPC025

Why cold cups are specified differently from hot cups

A hot cup holds its shape because the contents are static. A cold cup takes condensate on the outside, is carried at an angle, and is often filled to the rim with ice. That is why cold formats start at 12oz — smaller bodies deform under the fill weight — and why the outer treatment matters as much as the inner barrier.

The second difference is the lid. On a hot cup a lid is a lid. On a cold cup the lid is part of the seal: a domed rPET lid, a flat paper lid and a PP sip lid all fit a 90mm rim, and all three put the pack in a different waste stream and a different regulatory category.

Formats and dimensions

Every size below is a tooled size held in this range. Dimensions are nominal — confirm tolerances before artwork or lid tooling is committed.

Cold drink paper cups

Heavier board and a condensation-resistant outer treatment for iced drinks, smoothies and shakes, 12oz to 22oz.

Water-based dispersion Plastic-free claim supportable — covered by flustix FPPC025 on the water-based range.
PLA (compostable bioplastic) Compostable under EN 13432 in industrial conditions. PLA is a bioplastic, so it is not plastic-free.
PE (conventional) Conventional polyethylene barrier. Not part of any plastic-free claim.

Mingkai paper packaging cold drink paper cups — product view

Mingkai paper packaging cold drink paper cups — detail

Dimensioned on request — this format is quoted from your drawing or sample rather than from a fixed size table.

Sizes follow the single wall range; cold-cup tooling starts at 12oz because smaller bodies deform under fill weight.

Used for Iced coffee · Smoothies · Bubble tea · Soft drinks

Ice cream cups

Shallow, wide-mouth cups for scoops, gelato and frozen yoghurt — freezer-tolerant board with a rolled rim that takes a paper or PET lid.

Water-based dispersion Plastic-free claim supportable — covered by flustix FPPC025 on the water-based range.
PLA (compostable bioplastic) Compostable under EN 13432 in industrial conditions. PLA is a bioplastic, so it is not plastic-free.
PE (conventional) Conventional polyethylene barrier. Not part of any plastic-free claim.

Mingkai paper packaging ice cream cups — product view

Mingkai paper packaging ice cream cups — detail

Size	Top Ø (mm)	Bottom Ø (mm)	Height (mm)	Packing (pcs × bags)
4oz	76	62	48	50 × 20
6oz	92	80	48	50 × 20

Used for Gelato · Frozen yoghurt · Dessert

Sauce and portion cups

Small-format cups for dips, dressings and condiments, 1.5oz to 4oz, with matching flat or domed lids.

Water-based dispersion Plastic-free claim supportable — covered by flustix FPPC025 on the water-based range.
PLA (compostable bioplastic) Compostable under EN 13432 in industrial conditions. PLA is a bioplastic, so it is not plastic-free.
PE (conventional) Conventional polyethylene barrier. Not part of any plastic-free claim.

Mingkai paper packaging sauce and portion cups — product view

Mingkai paper packaging sauce and portion cups — detail

Size	Top Ø (mm)	Bottom Ø (mm)	Height (mm)	Packing (pcs × bags)
1.5oz	61.5	50	40	100 × 20
2oz	61.5	47.5	48	100 × 20
3oz	61.5	45.4	58	100 × 20
4oz	61.5	45	65	100 × 20

Lids are quoted separately — flat lid for cold fill, domed lid where the portion is filled hot.

Used for Ketchup · Dips · Dressing · Sampling

Soufflé cups

Fluted paper portion cups for sauces, nuts and small sides; the pleated wall lets them nest tightly and open under fill.

PE (conventional) Conventional polyethylene barrier. Not part of any plastic-free claim.

Mingkai paper packaging soufflé cups — product view

Mingkai paper packaging soufflé cups — detail

Dimensioned on request — this format is quoted from your drawing or sample rather than from a fixed size table.

Dimensioned on request; the fluted format is quoted by volume rather than top diameter.

Used for Sauces · Nuts · Small sides

What the lid does to your claim

The cup and the lid are assessed as one packaging item. Here is where that lands.

A paper cup with a plastic lid is not plastic-free

The claim attaches to the packaging item as placed on the market. If the lid is PP or rPET, the item contains plastic regardless of the coating on the cup — so the honest statement is about the cup body, not the pack.

A window, a film or a dome changes the material category

Multi-material items are assessed on the whole. This affects recyclability grading and EPR fees, and it is the most common gap between what a supplier advertises and what the importer can defend.

Ice cream and dessert cups are food-contact items first

Migration testing against EU 10/2011 for plastic layers and GB 4806.8 for paper applies to the finished article. Reports must name the article and the test conditions, not just the material.

Three mistakes in cold-cup specifications

Ordering lids separately from cups. The rim tolerance is what fails, and it only shows up after filling.
Assuming a compostable cup makes a compostable pack — the lid usually decides otherwise.
Using a hot-cup board for iced drinks. Condensation needs a different outer treatment or the print scuffs in the bag.

Where this format is used

Coffee chains

Iced latte and cold brew formats from 12oz to 22oz with domed or flat lids.

Dessert and gelato

Shallow cups from 4oz with rolled rims that take paper or PET lids.

QSR condiments

1.5oz to 4oz portion cups with flat or domed lids for dips and dressings.

Events and sampling

Soufflé cups and small portions where the unit cost decides the format.

Questions buyers ask about this range

Can I get a plastic-free cold cup?

The cup body can be water-based coated, which supports a plastic-free statement for the body. If the lid is PP or rPET, the assembled pack is not plastic-free — we will tell you which wording survives an audit.

Do sauce cups need a different coating?

Yes. Acidic and oily sauces attack a light PE film differently from a water-based dispersion. Tell us the pH and the fat content and we will specify, rather than shipping the default.

Are the lids quoted with the cups?

Always. A cup-only quotation is not a usable number because the rim has to match the lid, and mismatches are the main cause of leakage claims.

Soup cups

Tall formats from 8oz to 32oz with vented lids.

Bowls

Salad, grain and dessert bowls from 500ml to 1300ml.

which products the licence covers

The certified range is named in the licence, not implied by the website.

Food-contact documentation

Migration reports, composition statements, declarations.

Printing and customisation live on our sister site

Artwork, print, die-line changes and volume pricing are handled by kysonpack.com, which runs the same production base. This site stays on materials, certification and documentation — so the answer you get here is about what can be evidenced, not what can be printed.

Printing & customisation → All product formats

Send us the claim you need to defend

Product form, target market, intended claim. Three lines are enough for us to tell you which documents exist and which have to be obtained.

We check whether a certificate or report exists for that exact product.

You get the document list, including the gaps.

If a claim cannot be evidenced, we say so before price is discussed.