Custom Bottle Gift Boxes

The three parts of a bottle gift box

A rigid board shell is wrapped in printed paper, and an insert inside holds the bottle in place.

The shell is thick greyboard cut and joined at the corners, then covered in a printed or speciality paper. Unlike a folding carton, it is made up at the factory and arrives ready to use, so it keeps its shape and feels heavy in the hand.

The closure is usually a magnetic flap that wraps over the front, a book-style lid, or a separate lid that lifts off a base. Inside, the insert is cut to the profile of the bottle so it lies or stands without moving.

• Made up rigid, not folded flat
• Magnetic flap, book lid or lift-off lid
• Insert cut to the bottle profile

Choosing the insert

The insert decides how secure the bottle is and how the box looks when it opens.

EVA foam is cut cleanly to any shape and grips the bottle well, and it can be covered in fabric for a softer look. Card inserts are lighter and easier to recycle, and they suit simple shapes. Moulded pulp is strong and natural-looking but needs a mould made for the bottle.

Spirit bottles vary widely: tall and thin, short and square, with heavy bases or wide stoppers. The insert has to follow the real bottle, so send us its measurements, or an exact drawing of it, and we cut the insert to its profile.

• EVA foam: precise, grips well
• Card: lighter, easier to recycle
• Moulded pulp: strong, needs a mould

Fitting a bottle and a set

Plan the layout around the largest piece, then give every other piece its own cavity.

A gift set might hold a bottle with two glasses, a miniature or a pourer. Each one needs a cut-out of its own, with enough board between them that nothing knocks together. The box grows to fit the layout, not the other way round.

Measure the bottle with its closure on, including any wax seal or tall stopper. Glass items should sit low in the insert, so they are not the first thing to hit the lid if the box is dropped.

Bottle gift box or bottle shipper?

A bottle gift box is a keepsake for one bottle. A bottle shipper is built to carry or post several.

Bottle shippers span plain corrugated boxes with dividers to printed carry cases, and are designed to travel. A bottle gift box is a rigid, presentation-first pack, usually for a single bottle of spirits or a premium set.

The rigid box costs more per unit and takes more storage space, because it cannot be flattened. In return it has a much stronger shelf presence and is often kept and reused by whoever receives it.

Wrap, print and finish

All of the print sits on the paper that wraps the board, so the choice of paper sets the look.

Smooth coated papers take full-colour print and fine detail. Textured, matt or soft-touch papers give a premium feel but can mute colours and show fingerprints. Dark wraps look rich and show scuffs at the corners, where the paper folds over the board.

Foil, embossing and debossing work well on rigid boxes because the board underneath is firm. We keep fine text and thin lines away from the edges and corners, where the wrap is turned and can wrinkle slightly.

Rigid bottle box or printed carton?

A rigid box is the right pick for a premium bottle that will be given and kept. A printed folding carton is the right pick for larger volumes of everyday bottles.

For large volumes, or where cost per unit matters most, a printed folding carton or a tube does the same basic job for less and ships flat. We make both, so a range can keep the rigid box for its premium bottle and a carton for the rest.

Either way, the box is a presentation pack rather than a shipper. A rigid gift box will protect a bottle on a shelf and in a bag, but it is not designed for courier transit on its own and usually travels inside an outer carton.