Two samples arrive and they look identical: same print, same scalloped edge, same weight in the hand. The difference is 15 g/m² of PE on the food side. That film decides whether buttered popcorn marks the board, and it decides which test reports your retailer will accept.
The Same Bucket, With or Without a Film
Both versions start from 280 g/m² food-grade board, die-cut with the same scalloped edge and glued at the same seam. The coated version adds 15 g/m² of PE on the food-contact side only; the outside stays printable kraft. Five sizes carry the range:
Size - external dimensions, pieces per carton, carton size, gross weight:
46 oz - 80 × 120 × 140 mm, 500 pcs, carton 34.5 × 26.7 × 35.5 cm, 8.5 kg
85 oz - 95 × 145 × 175 mm, 500 pcs, carton 42 × 31 × 37.5 cm, 13.45 kg
130 oz - 95 × 155 × 210 mm, 300 pcs, carton 50 × 34 × 24 cm, 10.95 kg
170 oz - 120 × 176 × 215 mm, 200 pcs, carton 37.5 × 26.5 × 34 cm, 10.25 kg
210 oz - 122 × 186 × 255 mm, 200 pcs, carton 37.5 × 28.5 × 34 cm, 11.6 kg
Capacity Is Sold by the Ounce, Freight Is Sold by the Carton
Freight is charged on carton volume, not on servings. Divide carton volume by pieces, then by the stated ounces, and the range sorts itself out: the 46 oz bucket occupies 1.42 cm³ of carton per ounce it carries, the 210 oz bucket 0.86 - 39% less. The 210 oz carton is only 11% larger than the 46 oz carton, yet it carries more than four times the capacity.
That is the quiet argument against small buckets for high-volume sites, and it is why we hold both a 170 oz and a 210 oz: the 210 oz moves more popcorn per cubic metre, while the 170 oz is easier to hand out and to stack behind a counter.
What the Film Buys You
Buttered or caramel popcorn, hot fills, or a bucket that sits in a hand for twenty minutes: this is where the film earns its place. PE blocks grease and moisture, so the board does not wick, the base does not soften and the print does not bloom. An uncoated bucket is food-safe, but it is not grease-proof; butter marks the wall quickly.
So the choice is rarely about quality. It is about the menu. Dry popcorn eaten on the spot does not need a film. Butter, caramel, cheese powder or a delivery order does.
What We Can Prove, for Each Version
Here the two versions genuinely diverge, and the paperwork explains why suppliers describe them differently. Both dossiers are SGS reports from July 2022, issued on samples made for a Danish customer.
Uncoated - SHHL2206024571CW, 29 July 2022. EDQM sensory (odour and taste) PASS; EN 1104:2018 transfer of antimicrobial agents PASS, Bacillus subtilis and Aspergillus niger absent; US TPCH PFAS content PASS; French Décret 2007-766 with DGCCRF MCDA n°4 (V02 – 01/01/2019) pentachlorophenol PASS; Dutch Commodity Act on Packaging, Annex A Chapter II, formaldehyde specific migration PASS.
Coated - SHAHG2209892501, 20 July 2022. Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 and amendment (EU) 2020/1245, overall migration PASS at <3.0 mg/dm² in 3% acetic acid and 3.9 mg/dm² in 50% ethanol (70 °C, 2 h, limit 10 mg/dm²); sensory examination PASS; specific migration of heavy metals PASS, every element not detected.
Read the uncoated report carefully and you will see what it cannot contain: no migration test on a plastic layer, because there is no plastic layer. Send it to a buyer who asked for 10/2011 and you will be asked again. Read the coated report and you find the mirror image: it carries the migration data, but none of the paper-specific tests the uncoated dossier holds.
One more thing, honestly: both documents are 2022. Most retail programmes now want tests within 24 months, and some want the report to name your SKU. Tell us the market and the retailer, and we will re-test the bucket you actually order rather than forward a four-year-old file.
Which One Should You Order
Dry, unbuttered, served and eaten on site: uncoated, and choose a larger size instead.
Buttered, caramel, hot, or sold through a chain with a compliance review: coated, and ask for the 10/2011 report with your order.
Mixed menu: coat the 130 oz and 170 oz, keep the 46 oz and 85 oz plain for kids' and combo sets - same print, same dieline family, one artwork approval.
Under Directive (EU) 2019/904, bio-based and biodegradable plastics are managed as plastics, and single-use plastic straws are listed in Annex Part B. Whether a coated paper bucket counts as a single-use plastic product, and which obligation follows, depends on its construction, the market and the way it is used; the final classification is the buyer's call.
Send us the portion in grams, the size you have in mind, whether butter is on the menu, and the market you sell into. We will come back with one size, one coating and the matching report.
contact us