Custom Printed Plastic Cups UK

Custom Printed Plastic Cups UK for Cold Drinks, Bubble Tea & Takeaway

Custom printed plastic cups give cafés, bubble tea shops, juice bars, smoothie businesses, restaurants, events and takeaway operators a practical way to serve cold drinks while keeping their branding visible. Clear drink presentation and custom logo printing work together, allowing customers to see the beverage inside the cup without losing the identity of the business serving it.

Packonic supplies printed plastic cups for UK businesses in two main formats: classic straight-wall cups and modern round-bottom U-shape cups. Both ranges are made with 50% rPET, support 1–2 Pantone colour printing and are available from a minimum order of 1,000 cups. Compatible plastic cup lids can be ordered separately to complete the takeaway drink setup.

Whether you need plastic cups with logo for iced coffee, bubble tea cups for layered drinks, smoothie cups for a juice bar or plastic cups wholesale for a multi-site operation, the right choice depends on cup shape, capacity, lid style and how the drink is actually served.

Which Custom Printed Plastic Cups Are Available?

The Packonic UK collection is built around two clear cup formats plus compatible lids. Straight-wall cups provide a familiar everyday profile, while round-bottom cups use a more distinctive U-shape designed to highlight layered drinks and toppings.

Custom Printed Straight-Wall Plastic Cups

• Available sizes: 350 ml (12 oz), 400 ml (14 oz) and 450 ml (16 oz)
• Material: 50% rPET
• Printing: 1 or 2 Pantone colours
• Print process: Dry offset printing
• Ink: UV ink
• Print area: All-around printing
• Certification: FDA compliant
• Sustainability: Recyclable
• Minimum order: 1,000 cups
• Best for: Iced coffee, juices, soft drinks, chilled beverages, cafés, takeaway businesses and events

View Custom Printed Straight-Wall Plastic Cups

Custom Printed Round-Bottom Plastic Cups

• Available sizes: 350 ml (12 oz), 475 ml (16 oz) and 530 ml (18 oz)
• Shape: Modern round-bottom / U-shape profile
• Material: 50% rPET
• Printing: 1 or 2 Pantone colours
• Print process: Dry offset printing
• Ink: UV ink
• Print area: All-around printing
• Certification: FDA compliant
• Sustainability: Recyclable
• Minimum order: 1,000 cups
• Best for: Bubble tea, smoothies, iced lattes, layered drinks, dessert drinks and drinks with visible toppings

View Custom Printed Round-Bottom Plastic Cups

Plastic Cup Lids for Takeaway Drinks

• Dome Lid With Wide Straw Slot: suitable for drinks requiring wider straws or additional topping space
• Dome Lid With Tight Straw Slot: combines dome clearance with a smaller straw opening
• Flat Lid With Straw Hole: suitable for standard cold drinks served with a straw
• Standard Lid With Sip Hole: suitable where customers drink directly through the lid
• Minimum order: 1,000 lids
• Compatibility: designed for Packonic's standard straight-wall and U-shape plastic cups

View Plastic Cup Lids

Straight-Wall or Round-Bottom Plastic Cups?

The right custom plastic cups depend on what you serve and how important drink presentation is to the customer. Both formats provide clear visibility and custom branding, but their shape and available capacities make them better suited to different menus.

Choose Straight-Wall Plastic Cups for Familiar Everyday Service

Straight-wall custom printed plastic cups use a classic profile that fits naturally into everyday cold-drink service. Available in 12 oz, 14 oz and 16 oz capacities, they are a practical choice for iced coffee, fresh juice, soft drinks, chilled sodas and other takeaway beverages.

The straight profile also provides a clean branding surface while allowing the drink itself to remain visible. For cafés, takeaway operators and events looking for versatile clear plastic cups with custom printing, this is the more traditional format.

Choose Round-Bottom Cups for Bubble Tea, Smoothies & Visual Drinks

Round-bottom plastic cups use a contemporary U-shape profile designed to make drink layers and toppings more visible. They are available in 12 oz, 16 oz and 18 oz sizes, including the larger 18 oz format for higher-volume speciality drinks.

The rounded silhouette works especially well for printed bubble tea cups, smoothies, iced lattes, layered drinks and dessert-style beverages where colour, ingredients, foam or toppings form part of the presentation.

If the drink itself is visually important to the sale, the combination of a clear U-shape cup and restrained branding can keep the contents prominent while still making the business immediately recognisable.

Which Plastic Cup Size Should You Choose?

Choosing capacity should start with the actual menu rather than trying to use one cup for every drink. Packonic's two plastic cup ranges provide different capacities for different serving styles.

12 oz / 350 ml Plastic Cups

The 12 oz plastic cup is available in both straight-wall and round-bottom formats. It is suitable for smaller iced coffees, juices, soft drinks, smoothies and other cold takeaway beverages where a compact portion is required.

14 oz / 400 ml Plastic Cups

The 14 oz plastic cup is available in the straight-wall range and provides an intermediate capacity between 12 oz and 16 oz. It is useful for businesses whose standard serving size sits between the more common cup formats.

16 oz Plastic Cups

The 16 oz plastic cup is available in both formats. The straight-wall version holds 450 ml, while the round-bottom version holds 475 ml. This makes 16 oz a versatile larger format for iced coffee, juices, smoothies, bubble tea and other cold drinks.

18 oz / 530 ml Round-Bottom Plastic Cups

The 18 oz plastic cup is available in the round-bottom range and provides the largest capacity in this collection. It is particularly relevant for larger bubble teas, smoothies, speciality iced drinks and beverages that include multiple ingredients or toppings.

Custom Printed Bubble Tea Cups

Bubble tea places unusual demands on drink packaging because the cup often needs to display not only the drink itself but also tapioca pearls, fruit pieces, jellies, milk layers and other toppings. For this reason, clear bubble tea cups are particularly well suited to branded plastic packaging.

The round-bottom U-shape range is designed for this type of presentation and is available up to 18 oz / 530 ml. Businesses can use 1–2 Pantone colour branding without covering the visual characteristics that make the drink appealing.

When selecting a lid, bubble tea operators can choose between dome and flat styles with different straw openings. This allows the packaging setup to reflect the straw size, toppings and drinking style used on the menu.

Printed Plastic Cups for Smoothies & Juice Bars

Printed smoothie cups and printed juice cups work particularly well in transparent material because colour is often part of the product itself. Fresh juice, fruit smoothies and blended cold drinks can remain clearly visible while a logo or brand design identifies the business.

Straight-wall cups suit familiar everyday portions, while round-bottom cups provide a more distinctive profile for premium smoothies and layered fruit drinks. The choice should reflect both the amount being served and the visual style of the brand.

For businesses offering several drinks or sizes, keeping the same logo treatment across multiple cup formats can also create a consistent appearance throughout the menu.

Custom Plastic Cups for Iced Coffee & Cold Drinks

Iced coffee has become an important part of takeaway drink service, and cold drink cups need to perform differently from hot paper cups. A transparent plastic cup allows customers to see milk layers, cold foam, ice and other visual elements while still providing a visible surface for branding.

Both straight-wall and round-bottom cups can be used for iced coffee. The straight format provides a familiar café presentation, while the U-shape option gives layered iced lattes and speciality drinks a more distinctive appearance.

For businesses serving drinks on the move, matching lids can be ordered separately to create a complete takeaway plastic cups setup.

Clear Plastic Cups with Logo

Clear plastic cups are particularly useful when the appearance of the drink influences the purchase. Instead of hiding the product inside opaque packaging, clear cups allow the colour, ingredients and layers to remain part of the customer experience.

Adding branding creates plastic cups with logo that combine product visibility with business recognition. The cup therefore performs two roles at once: presenting the beverage and identifying the business that produced it.

This is particularly relevant for bubble tea, smoothies, juices, iced coffee, soft drinks and visually layered beverages where completely covering the cup would reduce the impact of the drink itself.

How Are Packonic Plastic Cups Printed?

Both Packonic plastic cup formats support 1 or 2 Pantone colour printing. The cups use dry offset printing with UV ink and support all-around printing, giving businesses a practical format for logos, brand names and other high-visibility artwork.

This type of printing works particularly well when a brand wants a clear, recognisable design while still leaving enough transparent space for the drink itself to remain visible.

For the strongest result, important logo elements should remain clear, readable and appropriately sized for the selected cup. Artwork can be prepared before ordering and reviewed prior to final production.

50% rPET Custom Plastic Cups

Packonic's straight-wall and round-bottom cups are made with 50% rPET and are specified as recyclable. rPET refers to recycled polyethylene terephthalate incorporated into the cup material.

This material specification gives businesses a clear basis for comparing cup options instead of relying on broad sustainability language without technical detail.

Both current cup ranges are also listed as FDA compliant on their individual product specifications.

Plastic Cup Lids: Flat, Dome, Straw or Sip?

The correct lid depends on what is inside the cup and how the customer will drink it. Plastic cup lids are sold separately from the cups, allowing businesses to choose the lid style that matches their menu rather than receiving one standard configuration.

Dome Lids for Toppings & Foam

Dome lids provide additional vertical space above the rim of the cup. They are useful for smoothies, whipped toppings, foam and other drinks where ingredients extend above the normal fill line.

Packonic offers both a dome lid with wide straw slot and a dome lid with tight straw slot, so businesses can select the opening according to the drink and straw being used.

Flat Lids for Standard Cold Drinks

A flat lid with straw hole provides a lower-profile option for juices, iced coffees, soft drinks and other cold beverages that do not require additional topping space.

Sip Lids for Direct Drinking

A standard lid with sip hole allows customers to drink directly through the lid, providing an alternative where a straw is not required.

The lid range is designed for Packonic's standard and U-shape plastic cups and uses clear material so the appearance of the drink remains visible.

Personalised Plastic Cups for Events, Festivals & Hospitality

Personalised plastic cups are not limited to everyday café service. They can also be used for corporate events, festivals, conferences, hospitality venues, product launches, catering, food markets and promotional campaigns.

In crowded environments, event plastic cups and printed festival cups allow branding to move around the venue with customers rather than remaining fixed to signage or service counters.

The same printed cup format can also be used consistently across multiple serving points, helping event and hospitality operators maintain a more unified visual presentation.

Disposable Plastic Cups for Fast Takeaway Service

In busy food and beverage operations, disposable plastic cups need to be easy to handle, consistent and suitable for fast service. This is particularly important for cafés, bubble tea shops, restaurants, takeaway counters and events where large numbers of drinks may be served during busy periods.

Using printed disposable plastic cups allows businesses to combine this operational role with brand presentation rather than relying on an unbranded stock cup.

Plastic Cups Wholesale for UK Businesses

For businesses purchasing plastic cups wholesale, price is only one part of the decision. Cup capacity, printing consistency, lid compatibility, order quantity and the type of drink being served all affect whether a format works operationally.

Both Packonic custom plastic cup ranges start from 1,000 cups and offer larger quantity options for higher-volume requirements. This makes the collection relevant to independent businesses as well as restaurant groups, hospitality operators, caterers, events and multi-site brands.

Businesses looking for custom plastic cups wholesale or printed plastic cups wholesale can therefore choose the cup format first and scale the quantity according to expected usage.

Custom Plastic Cup Minimum Order Quantities

The current minimum order quantities are:

• Custom printed straight-wall plastic cups: from 1,000 cups
• Custom printed round-bottom plastic cups: from 1,000 cups
• Plastic cup lids: from 1,000 lids

For higher-volume buyers, both cup ranges also offer larger quantity tiers, allowing the same printed format to be used for regular commercial service.

Plastic Cup Printing & UK Delivery Times

The current straight-wall and round-bottom plastic cup products show approximately 21–28 business days for free standard delivery.

Plastic cup lids currently show approximately 21–28 business days for standard delivery and 14–18 business days for express delivery.

Businesses planning openings, menu launches, festivals, events or promotional campaigns should allow enough time for artwork preparation, approval, production and shipping.

Because production schedules can change, the delivery estimate displayed on the selected product page at the time of ordering should always be used for time-sensitive projects.

How to Order Custom Printed Plastic Cups

Ordering custom printed plastic cups UK businesses can use for everyday cold-drink service starts with the menu rather than the artwork.

1. Choose the cup shape: Straight-wall or round-bottom U-shape.
2. Select the capacity: Choose the size that matches the drinks you actually serve.
3. Choose the printing: Select 1-colour or 2-colour Pantone printing.
4. Select the quantity: Starting from 1,000 cups.
5. Prepare the artwork: Design online or upload your own artwork where available.
6. Select the lids: Choose a compatible dome, flat, straw or sip lid separately if required.
7. Review the design: Check the final artwork before production begins.

The cup and lid combination should be confirmed before the final artwork is prepared. This helps prevent the visual design being completed before the practical drink-service requirements have been decided.

Which Plastic Cup Setup Is Best for Your Business?

For cafés serving iced coffee, juices, chilled sodas and everyday cold drinks, the classic straight-wall range provides a familiar format in 12 oz, 14 oz and 16 oz sizes.

For bubble tea shops, smoothie businesses and brands where layered drinks or toppings are central to the product, round-bottom U-shape cups provide a more distinctive format with 12 oz, 16 oz and 18 oz capacities.

Businesses using whipped toppings or drinks that need additional space above the rim can consider dome lids. Standard cold drinks can use flat straw lids, while sip-hole lids provide an option for direct drinking.

The best setup is therefore not simply the cup with the largest capacity. It is the combination of cup shape, size, lid style and branding that matches the way the drink is actually prepared, presented and consumed.

How to Build a Complete Branded Cold Drink Packaging System

A practical branded cold drink packaging system should be planned in a clear order rather than treating cups and lids as separate purchases.

1. Start with the menu: Identify the cold drinks you actually sell, including iced coffee, juice, smoothies, bubble tea and speciality drinks.
2. Group drinks by capacity: Determine which menu items can use the same 12 oz, 14 oz, 16 oz or 18 oz format.
3. Choose the cup profile: Use straight-wall cups for familiar everyday service or round-bottom cups where visual presentation and toppings are more important.
4. Confirm the lid style: Match flat, dome, straw or sip formats to how each drink is consumed and transported.
5. Plan the branding: Decide how much transparent area should remain visible and where the 1–2 colour logo treatment should sit.
6. Estimate order volume: Base quantities on actual sales, seasonal demand and available storage rather than ordering every size equally.
7. Plan multi-drink orders: Add cup carriers where customers frequently order several drinks together.
8. Standardise successful combinations: Keep cup sizes, lid types and artwork specifications consistent once the system works effectively.

This approach creates a cold-drink packaging system built around real menu and service requirements rather than selecting every packaging component independently.

Which Coffee & Drink Packaging Category Should I Choose?

If you already know which beverage packaging format your business needs, move into the relevant specialist category for detailed product specifications and purchasing information:

• For iced coffee, smoothies, bubble tea, juices and other cold beverages: Custom Printed Plastic Cups
• For hot coffee, tea, hot chocolate and other takeaway hot drinks: Custom Printed Paper Cups
• For transporting multiple takeaway drinks: Custom Printed Coffee Cup Carriers

If you are still planning the full beverage packaging system, use the Coffee & Drink Packaging collection to compare the wider range before deciding which specialist products are actually required by your menu and service model.

Order Custom Printed Plastic Cups in the UK

Whether you run a café, bubble tea shop, smoothie bar, juice business, restaurant, takeaway, food truck, event or hospitality operation, Packonic's range allows you to build a branded cold-drink packaging setup around the drinks you actually sell.

Choose classic branded plastic cups for familiar everyday service or round-bottom custom clear plastic cups for bubble tea and visually distinctive drinks, then match them with the lid style that suits your menu.

From printed plastic cups UK businesses use for iced coffee and juice to larger bubble tea cups, smoothie cups and wholesale cold-drink packaging, the objective is the same: combine clear product presentation, practical service and visible branding in one consistent takeaway system.