Custom Dumpling Boxes

Dumpling Box Styles We Offer

We manufacture custom dumpling boxes across a range of styles to suit different dumpling formats and service contexts. All styles are available in custom sizes, materials, and finishes.

Standard Dumpling Boxes

The primary format for takeaway dumplings – a rectangular or square container that holds a standard serve of six, eight, ten, or twelve dumplings. The interior needs to hold the dumplings in position without them touching each other, and the base needs to be grease resistant for pan-fried and deep-fried varieties.

Available in a range of sizes to suit different portion configurations, with secure lid closures that hold during transport. The interior configuration – whether a flat base with adequate spacing between dumplings, or individual insert positions – depends on the type of dumpling and the expected transport time.

Dim Sum Boxes

A format for dim sum and yum cha – multi-compartment or multi-layer configurations that hold different dumpling varieties together in a single presentation. Dim sum packaging needs to hold multiple types of dumplings without them mixing or touching across varieties, while presenting the variety of the selection clearly when the box is opened.

Available in grid configurations with individual compartments for each dumpling type, or in layered formats where different varieties are presented on separate levels. For dim sum restaurants offering takeaway, the dim sum box is a key brand presentation – the quality of the packaging communicates the quality of the kitchen.

Steamer Basket-Style Boxes

A format that references the traditional bamboo steamer basket used for dim sum and steamed dumplings. These boxes use the visual language of the bamboo steamer to communicate authenticity and tradition, with a circular or octagonal format that references the shape of the original steamer.

Available in paperboard constructions with steamer-style print treatments, in formats suited to steamed dumplings where the cultural reference is meaningful to the cuisine and the brand. For traditional Chinese dim sum restaurants and dumpling houses, this format communicates cultural authenticity in a way that a standard rectangular box doesn’t.

Window Dumpling Boxes

A window panel that allows the dumplings to be seen before the box is opened. For dumplings with visually distinctive shapes – pleated har gow, crescent-shaped gyoza, coin-shaped boiled dumplings – a window shows the product’s craftsmanship and communicates the quality of the filling through the visible wrapper.

Window placement for dumpling boxes typically works best as a full or partial lid window, showing the arrangement of the dumplings from above. The window should be sized to show the complete portion, not just part of it.

Dumpling Gift Sets

A premium format for frozen or fresh dumpling gifting – a selection of varieties presented in a gift-quality box. Frozen dumpling boxes and frozen dumpling gift sets have grown significantly as a gifting format in the Australian Asian food market, particularly around Chinese New Year. The packaging carries the brand logo and brand identity prominently, functioning as both a food-safe container and a culturally resonant gift item.

The packaging needs to function as both a food-safe container and a gift item – which requires food-grade materials on the interior and a premium exterior finish. Available with compartments that identify each variety, and with finishing options suited to the gifting occasion.

Choosing the Right Dumpling Box Configuration

The configuration decisions for dumpling packaging depend primarily on the cooking method, the dumpling type, and the expected time between packaging and consumption.

Steamed, pan-fried, and deep-fried dumplings have different packaging requirements. Steamed dumplings – har gow, siu mai, xiao long bao – have delicate, moist wrappers that are susceptible to drying out or sticking if the packaging environment isn’t right. They need a sealed container that retains enough humidity to keep the wrapper from cracking, but not so sealed that excess condensation makes the wrapper wet and tears it. Pan-fried dumplings – gyoza, potstickers – have a crispy base on one side and a steamed upper surface on the other. The crispy base is the defining texture of the product, and it will soften quickly in a steam-filled sealed container. Deep-fried dumplings need grease-resistant packaging and ventilation to prevent the fried exterior from becoming soggy. Each cooking method has a different optimal packaging specification.

Dumpling spacing prevents sticking. The wrapper of a cooked dumpling – particularly a steamed or boiled variety – becomes tacky when hot and humid, and dumplings in contact with each other will stick together. Once stuck, they can’t be separated without tearing the wrapper, which ruins the presentation and potentially the structural integrity of the dumpling. The interior configuration of the box needs to ensure adequate spacing between individual dumplings so that they don’t contact each other during transport. For standard rectangular boxes without individual compartments, this means the box dimensions need to be generous enough that the dumplings don’t touch even if the box is tilted or jostled.

Dipping sauce accommodation. Most dumplings are served with a dipping sauce – soy sauce, black vinegar, chilli oil, or a combination. The sauce needs to be included with the packaging in a way that doesn’t leak onto the dumplings or into the box during transport. A separate sealed sauce container placed inside the box is the standard approach. The box configuration needs to accommodate the sauce container in a stable position – a sauce container that tips and leaks during delivery is one of the most common failure points in dumpling delivery packaging.

Xiao long bao requires specialised packaging. Xiao long bao – Shanghai soup dumplings – are one of the most packaging-sensitive products in the entire dumpling category. The thin wrapper contains a liquid soup filling that will burst if the dumpling is compressed or tilted significantly. The packaging for xiao long bao needs to hold each dumpling completely upright and completely stable – any movement that causes the dumpling to tilt may cause the thin wrapper to press against the interior of the box and compromise the integrity of the soup filling. Individual compartments or a lotus leaf liner that cups each dumpling are standard approaches for packaging xiao long bao.

Dumpling-Specific Considerations

A few properties of dumplings that create specific packaging requirements.

The crispy base of pan-fried dumplings softens in steam. The defining quality of a gyoza or potsticker is the contrast between the crispy, golden base and the tender, steamed upper surface. That contrast is the result of a specific cooking process, and it’s destroyed relatively quickly by steam in a sealed container. A gyoza that arrives with a soft base has lost its most distinctive quality. Ventilation – either through perforations in the lid, an intentionally vented closure, or a partially open format – allows the steam produced by the hot dumplings to escape without the product cooling too rapidly. For pan-fried dumplings, ventilation is not optional if the crispy base is important to the product.

Wrapper sticking to packaging surfaces. Dumpling wrappers stick not only to other dumplings but also to the interior surfaces of the box itself – particularly when the wrapper is hot and the surface of the box has any texture. A smooth, food-safe interior lining or coating on the base of the box reduces the contact area between the wrapper and the box surface, and minimises the sticking that occurs when a dumpling sits on the same spot for an extended period. For deliveries with longer transit times, this is a practical consideration that affects the product quality the customer receives.

Oil migration from fried dumplings. Deep-fried dumplings and heavily pan-fried gyoza have a significant oil content on their exterior surface. This oil migrates into standard paperboard rapidly – within fifteen to twenty minutes, the base of the box will show through-staining from oil absorption, which weakens the base and compromises food safety and freshness. Moisture resistant and grease-resistant materials or linings on the base and lower walls maintain food quality and structural integrity for any fried dumpling product, particularly if there’s a significant delivery time.

Dim sum variety identification. For dim sum takeaway boxes containing multiple varieties, identifying each variety clearly is a practical requirement – a customer who opens a box of four different dumplings and can’t tell which is which has a diminished experience. Identification can be through labelled compartments in the box, a variety card placed on top of the selection, or printed identifiers on the interior of the box. For dim sum restaurants with a diverse takeaway menu, the variety identification system is worth thinking through as part of the packaging design.

Frozen dumpling gifting around Chinese New Year. Dumplings have a specific cultural significance in Chinese New Year tradition – making and eating dumplings together is a family celebration activity, and gifting premium frozen dumplings is a culturally resonant gesture for the occasion. Frozen dumpling gift boxes designed for Chinese New Year – with appropriate cultural design elements and premium construction – are a meaningful product for Chinese Australian consumers and an opportunity for dumpling brands to position their product as a culturally authentic gift.

Print & Finishing for Dumpling Boxes

Dumpling packaging spans from everyday takeaway to premium dim sum to cultural gifting, and the print and finishing approach needs to match the specific context.

Traditional Chinese dumpling house packaging references the cultural heritage of the cuisine – red and gold colour combinations, traditional motifs, calligraphic typography, or cultural imagery that communicates authenticity. Gloss lamination gives colours maximum vibrancy; matte lamination or a matte finish reads as more restrained and premium. Spot UV on key design elements – the logo, a pattern, or a cultural motif – adds a tactile distinction that works particularly well on darker base stocks. Eco friendly kraft options are available for businesses with sustainability commitments.

Modern Japanese gyoza packaging tends toward a cleaner, more contemporary aesthetic – white or natural stock, minimal print, Japanese typography, and design elements that reference the precision of Japanese food culture without being overly decorative. For gyoza bars and Japanese restaurants, the packaging design should be consistent with the overall aesthetic of the brand.

Dim sum restaurant packaging needs to communicate the premium nature of the dining experience in a takeaway context. A well-designed dim sum box with quality print and a considered finish communicates that the restaurant takes its food seriously in every format – not just at the table.

For frozen dumpling gift boxes, the packaging needs to function as a genuine gift item – premium construction, cultural design elements appropriate to the occasion, and a finish that reflects the quality of the product inside. Chinese New Year gift packaging in particular benefits from culturally specific design elements that communicate the significance of the occasion.

All boxes are printed using full colour printing in CMYK. Files should be supplied as Adobe Illustrator (.ai) or high-resolution print-ready PDF, with fonts outlined and graphics embedded. Free design assistance is included – we’ll produce a free 3D mockup for your approval before production begins, and handle minor artwork adjustments at no extra charge. Free dieline templates are available if you’re building your artwork from scratch.

Materials & Specifications

We manufacture dumpling boxes in a full range of cardboard and paperboard materials, with grease-resistant options for fried dumplings and food-safe interior linings for sticky wrapper applications. Eco friendly and recyclable options are available across the range. All materials are food grade and food safe.

• Single copper paper
• White kraft
• Brown kraft
• Black kraft
• Gold foil paper
• Silver foil paper
• Corrugated board

Minimum order quantity is 1,000 units. Air freight runs approximately 3 – 4 weeks from production sign-off; sea freight is approximately 8 weeks. We supply dumpling restaurants and Asian food businesses across Australia including Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. For more detail on the full order process, artwork requirements, and lead times, get in touch and we’ll walk you through it.