A quotation for branded cups can look attractively simple until you discover that lids, origination or freight are excluded. Another supplier may quote a different usable volume under the same size label. This guide helps café owners and procurement teams turn a drinks menu into an order-ready cup specification. It complements the specialist artwork, sample approval and cost articles linked below rather than repeating them. Worked quantities are purchasing examples, not Lupipak stock specifications or commitments.
Start with the drink and the service route
List each drink’s actual serving volume, serving temperature, foam or ice allowance, holding time and journey to the customer. A counter-service coffee and an iced drink travelling with a delivery order need separate assessments. State both uses if you expect one cup to cover them.
Split consumption by size before building a range. A slower-selling size can tie up stock even when the total cup order looks reasonable. Begin with the main drink recipe, then check whether additional sizes solve a real service need. Consolidate only after confirming that portions, lids and handling still work.
Buy a dimensional specification, not just an oz label
Ask for nominal volume, brimful volume, rim outside diameter, base diameter and height. They describe different things. As a documented example, Huhtamaki lists its 350 ml cup 50001070 with a 425 ml brimful volume. Those are not Lupipak dimensions; the example shows why a size name is insufficient.
For a recipe using 250 ml of finished drink plus foam, mark the intended fill level on a candidate sample and fit the actual lid. Check the drink in normal service and transport, along with clearance under the machine, the dispenser and the carrier. Keep the approved drawing with the order rather than relying on a photograph.
Separate board, liquid barrier and wall construction
Request board grammage in g/m², caliper, barrier type and coated side or sides, plus the single- or double-wall construction. Compare these as a specification, not a single quality score. Stora Enso’s cup-board range illustrates that paperboard can have different barrier structures; ‘paper cup’ alone does not define the material.
An air gap provides insulation in some double-wall designs, but it does not justify a blanket promise about safe touch temperature. Assess grip under your service conditions and compare a sleeve where needed. Request food-contact documentation for the intended use. Before placing a recycling or composting claim on artwork, check evidence for the finished product and the collection arrangements in its destination market.
Approve the cup and lid as a pair
Record both product references. Do not accept a shared diameter description as the complete fit specification: ask the supplier to confirm the pairing, rim geometry and tolerances. If one lid is intended to serve several cup sizes, approve every combination separately.
During sampling, record ease of fitting, full seating around the rim, loosening under a normal grip and behaviour when removing the cup from its carrier. Assess the drinking opening as well. Use controlled handling that protects staff from hot spills. A fitted lid is not an automatic leakproof guarantee; agree the intended carrying conditions and acceptance criteria.
Clarify minimum order quantity per printed reference
Lupipak’s main cup page states that the minimum is confirmed according to size and construction. There is consequently no single verified MOQ to apply to every cup order. Ask for the minimum per size, wall construction and artwork, and whether quantities across designs can be combined.
A request for 12,000 cups divided equally between two sizes and three artworks becomes six references of 2,000 cups. The arithmetic does not establish that each reference meets production minimums. Have the quotation state the quantity for each reference, any agreed over- or under-delivery tolerance, the billing basis and repeat-order setup charges.
Prepare print against the approved cup template
Obtain the current production template for the selected size and construction. Preserve its cutting, overlap or seam, and rim markings; use the converter’s specified bleed and safe areas. A downloaded template for a similar cup is not a substitute. Review the logo’s position relative to the seam on an assembled mock-up.
Ask for preflight requirements covering colour definitions, fonts, image resolution at final size and file format. An on-screen preview is not a physical colour approval. Link the final file version to cup size, language, quantity and approval date. Each size needs its own checked layout, even where the brand graphics are shared.
Make sampling answer specific purchase questions
Establish what the sample represents: a plain fit model, a visual print proof or a sample using materials and production conditions representative of the order. A fit model cannot approve print colour, and a visual proof cannot approve liquid retention. Identify the properties covered by each approval.
Use the intended drink and holding period. Record moisture at the side seam and base, loss of shape, unexpected odour, lid behaviour, separation of nested cups and exterior appearance. Agree sample numbers, inspection frequency and acceptance limits with the supplier. One successful sample should not stand in for batch acceptance.
- Cup reference, material and artwork revision
- Fill volume, temperature and observation period
- Matched lid and carrying conditions
- Defects observed, photographs and written decision
Compare delivered service cost and storage needs
Line up cup, lid or sleeve, print setup, samples, cartons, pallets, freight and applicable taxes in the same comparison. Consider the cost per accepted usable serving as well as the quoted cup unit price. A cheaper construction may require an additional accessory that changes the comparison.
Request units per carton, external carton dimensions, gross weight, pallet height and unloading requirements. For illustration, 12,000 cups packed 1,000 per carton occupy 12 cartons; this is not a Lupipak packing standard. Separate production lead time, dispatch date and transit time, and specify what approval starts the production clock. If you need split deliveries, agree storage, payment and additional transport charges before ordering.
Send a brief that can become the purchase specification
Complete the fields below and move to product selection and quotation in Store. Mark unresolved details ‘to be confirmed by sample’ rather than guessing. The main-site cup page introduces the product family; Store is the destination for selecting products and progressing the enquiry.
Before release, collect the approved drawing, material structure, lid pairing, print file, quantity per reference and delivery scope into a single order record. This gives a repeat order a dependable specification instead of just a familiar logo.
- Drink, service conditions and target fill volume
- Quantity per size and artwork; monthly consumption
- Wall preference, material and documentation requirements
- Lids, sleeves and carriers required
- Logo files, colour reference and artwork revision
- Destination country, postcode, premises type and target date
- Included and excluded sampling, setup, freight and taxes