A wrapped cover costs between €0.09 and €0.19 depending on what goes inside — pouch included. Price is not what decides: the way you serve is. As soon as cutlery sits loose in a tray and customers pick their own, it has been handled several times before use. The pouch removes that gesture. And it settles a delivery detail everyone has met: cutlery rattling around the bottom of the bag.
Why wrap, and when it makes no sense
The cutlery pouch earns its place in three precise situations, and nowhere else.
| Situation | Pouch ? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Takeaway and delivery | Yes | The cutlery travels. Without a pouch it scrapes the bottom of the bag, and the customer does not know what was touched before them. |
| Self-service, open cutlery trays | Yes | The clearest case: an open tray gets rummaged. Each customer handles several pieces to take their own. |
| Events, buffets, stalls | Yes | High throughput and no washing. The pouch also makes the end-of-service count immediate. |
| Classic table service | No | Your team lays up on a clean table. Wrapping adds cost and waste without solving anything. |
So it is not a question of image but of how many hands touch the cutlery before the customer's. If the answer is « one, yours, at lay-up », the pouch serves no purpose.
🤲 One hand before the customer
An open cutlery tray gets rummaged: each customer handles several pieces to take their own. The pouch removes that gesture, with no need to explain it.
🧮 The count does itself
At an event, the pouches left over give the number of covers served with no stocktake. That is real time saved at the end.
🎨 Personalisation comes after
Printing your logo makes sense once the volume is there. Below that, the extra cost per unit outweighs the image benefit.
What goes inside
A pouch is filled according to the dish, not to habit. Three compositions cover almost everything:
- Spoon only — soups, desserts, poke bowls. The cheapest and most common composition in takeaway.
- Fork + knife — hot dishes, composed salads. A wooden knife holds for a portion; for meat that needs cutting, use PP, which is stiffer.
- Full set + napkin — the 3-in-1 format, already assembled. Dearer per unit, but you pay neither the filling time nor the composition mistakes.
If you serve finger food or chip-shop fare, the napkin alone is often not enough: our article on chip shop packaging covers the container, and the napkin and how to fold it completes the front-of-house side.
Kraft cutlery pouch (GLD-102)
The most neutral format: kraft suits a natural positioning without imposing a colour. It is also the medium that takes printing best.
- Box of 500 pieces — €39.80
- €0.080 per pouch
- Black, grey and lime available in 600s
- Filled to your own composition
What a wrapped cover costs
Catalogue prices as of 14 October 2026, per unit. The cost of a wrapped cover is the pouch plus what goes in it.
| Component | Reference | Pack size | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft pouch | GLD-102 | 500 pieces — €39.80 | €0.080 |
| Black, grey or lime pouch | GLD-100 / 103 / 101 | 600 pieces — €39.80 | €0.066 |
| Wooden spoon | ST-D09 | 1,000 pieces — €25.20 | €0.025 |
| Wooden knife | ST-D08 | 1,000 pieces — €18.90 | €0.019 |
| Reusable PP fork | GLD-1001 | 1,000 pieces — €25.00 | €0.025 |
| Reusable PP spoon | GLD-1002 | 1,000 pieces — €30.00 | €0.030 |
| Wood set + napkin, 3-in-1 | ST-D11 | 250 pieces — €25.80 | €0.103 |
| Finger wipe | GLD-516 | 700 pieces — €89.00 | €0.127 |
In practice: a pouch with a wooden spoon comes to €0.091. The same with fork and knife, €0.110. And the pre-assembled 3-in-1 set, €0.103 — barely more than a manual composition, without the filling time. That is often the calculation that decides.
Wooden cutlery set + napkin, 3-in-1 (ST-D11)
Pre-assembled: cutlery and napkin in a single pouch. You pay neither the filling time nor the composition mistakes mid-service.
- Box of 250 pieces — €25.80
- €0.103 the complete set
- Barely more than a manual composition
- Wooden cutlery, compostable
When personalisation starts to pay
The printed pouch is the cheapest advertising medium a business has: the customer holds it throughout the meal. But printing is paid on a minimum order, not per unit.
The practical rule: compare the extra cost per unit with what you already spend on communication. At 200 covers a day, the same logo passes in front of 4,000 customers a month — at that rate the question is no longer whether it pays, but which medium to choose. At twenty covers, the money sits better elsewhere.
The full calculation is in our file onpersonalised restaurant packaging, and two other media deserve comparing first: the printed paper napkin and the printed paper bag, which leaves the premises and is seen in the street.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a cover wrapped in a pouch cost ?
Between €0.09 and €0.19 depending on the composition. A pouch with a wooden spoon comes to €0.091, one with fork and knife to €0.110, and the pre-assembled 3-in-1 set to €0.103. The pouch alone costs €0.066 to €0.080 depending on colour and pack size.
Is a cutlery pouch compulsory ?
No, no Belgian rule requires it. It is a service choice: it earns its place in takeaway, self-service and events, because the cutlery is handled there before reaching the customer. In classic table service, where your team lays up on a clean table, it adds nothing.
Wooden or plastic cutlery ?
Wood is fine for a standard portion and composts. PP is stiffer: use it as soon as meat has to be cut or a dense dish tackled, where a wooden knife bends. Both fit the same pouch.
Which pouch format should I choose ?
GL's pouches share the same format whatever the colour: kraft in 500s, black, grey and lime in 600s. Kraft suits a natural or artisanal positioning, dark colours a more urban service. The choice is aesthetic, not technical.
From what volume is personalisation worth it ?
It depends less on volume than on what you already spend on communication. At 200 covers a day, your logo passes in front of 4,000 customers a month: the cost per contact becomes negligible against any other medium. Below a few dozen covers a day, the money sits better elsewhere.
Build your pouches
Kraft and coloured pouches, wooden and PP cutlery, delivered to Belgium, Luxembourg, France, the Netherlands and Germany.
See the kraft pouchesSee the 3-in-1 set