Custom Popcorn Bags

Popcorn Bags for Movies, Fairs and Fundraisers

Popcorn is cheap to make and easy to sell, which is why it shows up everywhere: the cinema lobby, the county fair, the high school basketball game, the church fall festival and the wedding with a popcorn bar. The bag is the only real packaging it gets. Custom popcorn bags turn that bag into your sign, and because people carry popcorn around for half an hour while they watch or walk, that sign gets seen a lot.

The buyers range from independent movie theaters and drive-ins to concession operators at stadiums and arenas, carnival and fair vendors, kettle corn stands at farmers markets, gourmet popcorn shops selling caramel and cheddar blends, schools and sports boosters running fundraisers, and event planners who set up popcorn stations at weddings, corporate events and birthday parties.

Microwave popcorn bags are a different product with a special construction for cooking in the bag. These bags are for serving or selling popcorn that is already popped.

Bag Sizes and Popcorn Types

Popcorn is light and bulky, so bags are sized by volume rather than weight. A small kids' bag at a school event holds a few handfuls; a large cinema bag can feed two people through a film. Fill a sample with your scoop and see where the top settles. Popcorn heaped over the rim looks generous, but too much falls out on the walk to the seat.

Butter is the main challenge. Buttered popcorn will mark plain paper, and a bag that looks spotted halfway through a movie is not your best advertising. Kraft hides oil better than white. For heavily buttered popcorn, a grease-resistant paper is the better choice. Plain, kettle and caramel corn are easier on paper. All food-contact papers meet FDA requirements.

Fundraisers are worth planning separately. A school selling popcorn at a game wants a cheap, cheerful bag in school colors with the mascot, and it may want the same bag every season. Printing a year's worth at once brings the per-bag cost down, and a flat carton of bags takes little room in a storage closet. Booster clubs often add the sponsor's logo to the back, which can cover part of the printing cost.

Classic Stripes and Modern Designs

The red-and-white striped popcorn bag is so familiar that it reads as "popcorn" from across a field, and it is still a good choice for cinemas and fairs. Add your logo in a white panel in the middle, and you have a design that feels both nostalgic and branded. Gourmet shops and wedding bars often go the other way, with white or kraft paper, a clean logo and a window.

• Stripes in one PMS (Pantone) red plus white print crisply and are economical.
• Full CMYK on white works for photo or illustrated designs, such as a movie theme.
• Gold or rose-gold foil looks festive on wedding popcorn bags.
• Print the couple's names or the event name in a clear panel for party bags.
• Keep logos away from the top edge, where hands and butter end up.

Popcorn rarely travels alone at a cinema or a game. Matching the bag with printed 16 oz paper cups for sodas gives a concession stand one look for snack and drink.

At the Popper and the Snack Counter

Keep bags in a stand or a box next to the popper, but out of reach of steam and the oil kettle. Many concession stands pre-fill bags before a rush and keep them in a warming cabinet; that works with plain and lightly buttered popcorn, but butter added later, at the counter, keeps bags cleaner. For kettle corn sold at markets, fill and fold the bags as each batch cools, then line them up on the table.

For school fundraisers, pre-fill small bags the afternoon before, fold the tops and keep them in a clean bin. At a wedding popcorn bar, set out empty bags beside the scoops and flavor shakers and let guests fill their own. If you want popcorn served in an open, sturdier container instead, look at custom printed popcorn trays for lap-friendly serving.

Ordering Popcorn Bags

1. Pick the sizes you serve and fill a test bag with your scoop.
2. Choose paper: kraft, white or a grease-resistant stock for buttered popcorn.
3. Send your logo or event details and choose stripes, a pattern or a clean design.
4. Request free samples and test them with your real popcorn.
5. Approve the proof; production takes 4 to 6 business days after approval.

Orders start at 100 bags, which is ideal for a wedding or a single school event, and custom popcorn bags in bulk cost less per bag for theaters and concession operators. Shipping is free to the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia, with rush production for event deadlines. Use our free popcorn bag quote request to get pricing.