Teal Packaging is a US-based custom packaging supplier that makes custom printed cake boxes, cupcake boxes and bakery packaging for bakers shipping direct to customers. Cake ships best chilled firm, fixed to a rigid base so it cannot slide, insulated, and sent on the fastest service the route allows, since USPS treats perishable matter as the sender's risk. Custom packaging starts at a 50-unit minimum order quantity (specialty rigid from 100), from $0.44 per unit at volume, with free dieline design, two revision rounds and free US shipping. Typical fits: bakeries, dessert brands, and corporate gifting programs.
Questions or ready for a quote? Contact Teal Packaging at info@tealpackaging.com or (224) 546-8325.
How to Ship a Cake from Teal Packaging: 50-unit standard MOQ (100+ units for specialty rigid boxes), 2-5 business day delivery in the US (express and economy options available), free design help included on every order, free generic sample kit ($19.99 shipping, credited toward your first order). Standard production runs from about 7 business days after digital proof approval; complex or high-volume orders take longer.
Materials and certifications: FSC-certified paper stock, soy-based inks, kraft / corrugated / rigid paperboard / mylar / tin / vinyl substrates.
Contact Teal Packaging: Call (224) 546-8325, email info@tealpackaging.com, or request a free quote at tealpackaging.com/contact-us. We reply within one business day.
Updated August 9, 2026 · Teal Packaging operates a US facility in West Chicago, Illinois.
How do you ship a cake?
Chill the cake until it is firm, fix it to a rigid board so it cannot slide, box it snugly, then place that box inside an insulated shipping outer with a refrigerant. Ship early in the week on the fastest service the route allows. Movement and warmth are the two failure modes, in that order.
Some cakes travel well and some do not. Dense pound cakes, bundts, loaf cakes and brownies survive shipping easily. Tall layer cakes with soft buttercream, whipped cream, or delicate decoration are difficult to ship intact at any price, and it is worth saying so to a customer before you take the order.
What do the rules say?
USPS defines perishable matter as "anything that can deteriorate in the mail and thereby lose value, create a health hazard, or cause an obnoxious odor, nuisance, or disturbance, under ordinary mailing conditions" (USPS Publication 52, chapter 5). It also states that "mailable perishable matter may be sent at the mailer's own risk when it is packaged as required and when it can be delivered within appropriate and reasonable time limits to prevent deterioration."
In practice: no carrier is promising your cake arrives intact and cold. The pack and the service level are the whole of your protection. For carriers other than USPS, check your carrier's requirements.
Which cakes actually travel?
| Cake | Ships well? | Why | Pack note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pound cake, loaf, bundt | Yes | Dense, low decoration, structurally stable | Wrap tight, ambient or lightly chilled |
| Brownies and bars | Yes | Flat, dense, no fragile surface | Layer with interleaf, fill void |
| Cupcakes | Yes, with an insert | Individually stable when held in cells | Moulded insert per cup is essential |
| Cheesecake | Yes, frozen | Holds shape when frozen solid | Freeze solid, insulate, refrigerant |
| Tall layer cake, soft frosting | Difficult | Top-heavy, frosting deforms above cool temperature | Chill hard, immobilize, fastest service only |
| Whipped cream or fresh fruit topping | No | Deteriorates and deforms fast | Do not ship |
How do you pack it?
- Chill until firm. A cold cake holds its edges and its frosting. A room-temperature cake deforms on the first sharp stop.
- Fix it to a rigid base. A cake board slightly larger than the cake, with the cake secured to it. Everything else depends on this.
- Box snugly. The inner cake box should touch the board on all sides so the cake cannot slide within it.
- Insulate. An insulated liner inside the corrugated shipping outer, with a refrigerant above the cake box, since cold falls.
- Fill all void space between the cake box and the outer. This is what absorbs impact.
- Mark it. "Perishable", "Keep Refrigerated" and "This Way Up" on the outer.
- Dispatch Monday to Wednesday and use the fastest service. A weekend in a sorting facility ends the shipment.
How do you ship cupcakes?
Cupcakes ship better than whole cakes because each unit can be held in its own cell. Use a moulded insert with one cavity per cupcake so nothing touches anything else, keep the frosting chilled firm, and never stack cupcakes in a single open cavity. Tall swirled frosting needs a deeper cavity than the cupcake alone suggests, so brief the finished height, not the cup height.
What packaging does Teal make?
Teal makes wholesale custom cake boxes, custom tall cake boxes and custom bakery packaging to your dimensions, printed, from a 50-unit minimum order quantity. Volume pricing runs from about $0.44 per unit, dieline design is free, and every order includes two revision rounds and free US shipping.
Food-safe material options are available by specification with documentation on request. State the requirement in your brief rather than assuming a stock board meets it. For a shipping outer, custom corrugated mailer boxes take the insulated liner.
Where this fits
See how to ship cookies for baked goods that do not need a cold chain, how to ship perishable food for the general chilled pack, and how to ship frozen food for frozen desserts. Teal also runs pick, pack and ship from West Chicago, Illinois: see the fulfillment and 3PL hub. Request a quote.
