Ice cream is packaged against freezer burn and tampering: a container that seals well keeps ice crystals from forming, and a grocer wants to see that nobody's opened it. The usual choice is a paper pint with a paper lid; a plastic tub with a tamper band seals better and shows tampering; a quart suits families; and a printed pint carries your brand once the flavors are settled. What it's called matters: "ice cream" is a standard, with a minimum milkfat and weight a gallon. In the example below, a Maine creamery prices four options: 51 cents to 77 cents a pint.
The short version
- Pack against freezer burn: a container that seals.
- Paper pints with lids are the usual choice.
- Plastic tubs with tamper bands seal better and show tampering.
- Printed pints need a big minimum order.
- "Ice cream" is a standard: at least 10% milkfat and 4.5 pounds a gallon.
- Declare milk, eggs and nuts.
- TaroStack puts the pint in each flavor's cost. More below.
The options
| Option | Seals | Shows tampering | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper pint with paper lid | Well | No | Scoop shop, to go |
| Plastic pint with tamper band | Best | Yes | Grocers |
| Paper quart with lid | Well | No | Families |
| Custom printed paper pint | Well | No | A settled line |
Pints are filled from the batch freezer and hardened at once; a soft pint that sits warm grows ice crystals. Pricing a pint is in how to price ice cream, and the business year in ice cream business plan.
The label
"Ice cream" means at least 10% milkfat, 1.6 pounds of total solids and 4.5 pounds a gallon (21 CFR 135.110); below that it's sold under another name, such as frozen dessert. The label lists ingredients in order by weight (21 CFR 101.4) and the name and place of business (21 CFR 101.5), and declares milk, eggs and nuts (21 U.S.C. 343(w)). This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: four options for a creamery
Harbor Light Creamery, the made-up scoop shop in Portland, Maine, packs about 300 pints a week, half to go and half for a grocer:
| Option | Parts | Per pint | 300 a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper pint with paper lid | Pint 38¢, lid 12¢, label | $0.56 | $168.30 |
| Plastic pint with tamper band | Tub 45¢, label | $0.51 | $152.39 |
| Paper quart with lid | Quart 56¢, lid, label | $0.77 | $230.72 |
| Custom printed paper pint | Printed pint 60¢, lid | $0.73 | $220.32 |
Paper pints stay for the shop; the grocer's pints moved to the tamper-band tub, which its buyer asked for. The printed pint waits for a settled flavor list. The license a creamery needs is in ice cream business license.
Get the calculator
Download the ice cream packaging calculator. Two sheets: components, each part of each option with its pack price, units, how many a pint uses and waste; and compare, each option's cost per pint and per week at your volume, with notes. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
A cost sheet doesn't know which batch is in which pint, or that the lids ran short on a Saturday. A grocer asking about one pint needs its batch.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each batch's lot, the packaging in its cost, and where every case went.
Each batch a lot. Each batch of ice cream records the ingredient lots it used, gets its own lot and dates, and lot labels print for the packages.
Packaging in the recipe. The pints and lids are items in each flavor's recipe, so every batch uses them up at the price you paid, and the count of what's left stays current.
Where it went. Each customer's order records the lots it got, so one recall report shows every customer a batch reached.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which batch is in a package | Written on it | The lot on its label |
| Pints and lids left | Counted when you run out | Used by every batch |
| Which shops got a batch | Invoices | One recall report |
Lots, batches, recipes and true cost are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.