20+ Creative Takeout Cup Designs for Inspiration

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, businesses of all types have had to adapt to stay in the black. This is particularly true for restaurants, bars, and coffee shops, all of whom have been affected by shutdown orders. As a result, establishments are relying on takeout orders more than ever before.

In this new era, having branded disposables for takeout is incredibly important. Whether your customers post pics of their takeout on social media or simply show their family and friends what they got, having branded bags, cups, bowls, and more can help ensure that your name is out in the community – especially during the pandemic. 

If you’re interested in custom disposables for your business, Budget Branders can help. To get you started, take a look at these creative takeout cup designs – then reach out to request a quote.

Chipotle may be known for its massive burritos, but its drink cups have also garnered attention. Its cups are known for featuring the Chipotle logo on one side, and an original illustration and short stories on the other. If you are playing to a customer base that appreciates literature, these literary cups might be a great idea.

Tossed, a London-based chain that focuses on healthy eating, has developed a signature look for its disposable products. Each cup, bag, and package contains funny one-liners like “Hot Stuff Coming Through” or “I’ve Got the Hots for You” in white text on a bold pink background.

Joe Coffee takes its branding seriously. Its takeaway coffee cups – which can be filled with beans to take home and make yourself, or hot coffee — feature the name of the shop in big, bold letters spanning the entire cup. It makes for hard-to-miss branding!

Another great example of a bold takeout cup design comes from Pablo & Rusty’s Coffee Roasters, an Australian-based chain. Their cups feature the brand initials – P&R – in the brand colors, navy and white. The initials are sized to fit the entire cup, making a graphic statement that looks clean and attracts attention.

One way to make your takeout cups stand out from the pack? Feature illustrations, like Caribou Coffee does on its coffee cups. These cups include the brand’s logo, along with pen and ink drawings to add visual interest.

Brooklyn Fare, a restaurant based in Brooklyn, uses designs that are both fun and functional. Its takeout cups feature bold colors, with descriptive text like “It’s a small, not a tall” in white lettering. Each cup also includes the store’s website address.

Mega coffee chain Starbucks is known for their holiday cups, which often cause controversy. While changing your cups for each season may not be in your budget as a smaller restaurant or coffee shop, you could feature special cups for things that are important in your community, like an apple-picking festival.

Alfred in the Alley’s coffee cup sleeves that feature illustrations of hands gripping the cup, an open mouth, and a graphic that highlights love for Los Angeles.

The Pelicano House, whose coffee cups feature a different stage of a baby pelican hatching from its shell, based on the cup size.

Jaho Artisan Coffee’s cups feature a realistic looking tear in the side of the cup, which highlights the Seattle brand’s name.

The Kookaburra in St. Augustine Florida offers a bold red coffee cup with hand-drawn designs featuring dotted lines reminiscent of aboriginal drawings.

The Workers Coffee in Tokyo has large type on the side of its cups that say “Coffee is my girlfriend” or Coffee is my boyfriend.”

One of the best and most enduring designs for takeaway cups is to feature the name of the restaurant or shop in a simple, memorable way. For example, 7-Eleven’s drink cups feature the name of the convenience store written vertically along the side of the cup. Similarly, Whataburger’s takeout cups have the brand’s signature orange stripes and “W” logo. 

Another popular burger chain, Shake Shack, puts its logo – an outline of a hamburger in green – on all of its cups, maintaining consistency in its branding. When Dunkin’ Donuts rebranded to become “Dunkin’,” it also changed its cups to feature its bright orange name written vertically down the side of the cup. Chik-Fil-A is another example of a simple cup design, with its stylized chicken logo covering one side of the cup, and its name and website on the opposite side.

If you ever drank Snapple beverages, you probably remember trying to collect the different bottle lids, each of which contained a fun fact on the underside. Some brands take this approach with their takeaway cups, such as In-N-Out Burger’s soda cups, which contain a subtle Bible verse on the cup in discreet places. While a religious message on your cups may not be the right choice for your business, you could add a unique element – like on Snapple’s lids – to keep customers coming back for more.

One of the challenges that many coffee shops and restaurants face is making sure that customers get the right order. An Australian coffee shop, The Tuckshop, figured out a way to tackle this issue through their takeaway cup design. Their cups feature a space to write the customer’s name and drink order, noting that the drink was “made with love” by The Tuckshop. Clever!

Sometimes, less is more when it comes to packaging – particularly when what you are selling is visually appealing. Juice bars, like Nėkter, use clear plastic cups with white lettering to allow others to see the bright smoothies and fruit bowls inside. Clear cups may also allow restaurants to highlight their takeout cocktails, as demonstrated by Dante in New York.

As a small business, we know exactly how challenging these times are for entrepreneurs. That is why we are committed to working with companies like yours to boost your success. To learn more or for a quote request, press the live chat button, give us a call at 1-888-373-4880, or fill out our online contact form.