When it comes to takeout, catering, and grab-and-go orders, the humble brown paper bag is a critical part of the customer experience. Choosing the right to-go brown bag isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about functionality, sustainability, and brand perception. Whether you’re a restaurant, bakery, grocery store, or convenience shop, the right bag makes all the difference.
In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about selecting the best brown bag for your operation—from sizing and strength to handles and eco-friendly options.
Why Your To-Go Brown Bag Choice Matters More Than You Think
To-go brown bags are more than just packaging—they’re part of your service. A bag that’s too small, tears easily, or can’t hold its shape reflects poorly on your business. On the other hand, the right bag:
Ensures Customer Convenience
The right brown bag keeps food secure during transport. It helps prevent spills, leaks, and temperature loss, so your customers enjoy their meals the way you intended—fresh, intact, and delicious.
Enhances Brand Image | First Impressions Count
A high-quality, well-constructed bag communicates professionalism and care. Whether you’re handing off a sandwich or a full dinner order, the bag it’s in reflects the quality of your food and your brand’s attention to detail.
Supports Sustainability Goals
Today’s consumers care deeply about environmental impact. Offering recyclable, compostable, or bags made with post-consumer recycled content shows that your business is aligned with eco-friendly values—and that matters to your customers.
Protects Your Food and Your Customers
From greasy takeout boxes to stacked containers, the right brown bag needs to hold up under pressure. A strong, tear-resistant bag ensures your orders make it safely from your counter to your customer’s hands—without disaster along the way.
How to Select the Right Brown Paper Bag
To select the right brown paper bag, there are numerous features you must consider. Certain features will be better suited for your specific business’ needs than others, so it’s important to give thought to each detail.
Features to Consider When Selecting the Right To-Go Bag
- Bag Size
- Weight Capacity
- Substrate
- Material Strength
- Features
- Sustainability Considerations
- Customization Ability
1. Bag Size
Size Matters: Picking the Right Dimensions
The size of your to-go bag may be the easiest feature to determine. The size and amount of product you are selling will directly affect which size bag you may need.
Brown bags come in a wide variety of sizes, and choosing the correct one depends on your specific application. In general, choose a size that comfortably fits your menu items without overcrowding or excessive empty space.
Here’s a quick guide:
| Bag Size | Ideal For |
|---|---|
| (5″x3″x10″) | Small snacks, pastries, cookies |
| (6″x3.5″x11″) | Sandwiches, lunch items |
| (6.25″x4″x12.5″) | Takeout boxes, meal containers |
| (7″x4.5″x13.75″) | Multiple items, large meals |
| Grocery Bags (12″x7″x17″) | Large food orders, catering |
Pro Tip: Always test your most common order types in different bag sizes before making a bulk purchase.
2. Weight Capacity
Not all brown paper bags are created equal when it comes to strength. Bags have different basis weights, typically ranging from 30 to 70 pounds, indicating how much weight they can hold.
- Lighter Weight (30–40 lb): For lightweight items like pastries or napkins
- Medium Weight (50–60 lb): For standard takeout meals
- Heavyweight (65+ lb): For larger orders, multiple containers, or heavier items like glass bottles or soups
✅ Tip: Consider reinforced bottoms or double-ply bags for heavier loads.
3. Substrate
The substrate refers to the raw material the bag is made from.
What Type of Paper is Used in Brown Paper Bags?
Before discussing further features of brown to-go bags, it’s important to understand what the bags are made out of. Paper bags are not made out of normal pieces of paper. Instead, they are made from a mixture called Kraft paper.
Kraft paper is a rough and more durable type of paper that is manufactured from wood chips. The wood chips are mixed with water, lye, and sodium sulfide in a procedure called the Kraft process and heated to a high temperature.
Once the wood chips are broken down into pulpy fibers, they are strained, separated, bleached, and washed before being allowed to dry on a flat surface. After they are done drying, the wood chips have become the rough brown paper bags we are familiar with.
While most brown bags are made from kraft paper, but not all kraft papers are the same.
- Virgin Kraft Paper: Made from new wood pulp—strong, durable, and clean-looking
- Recycled Kraft Paper: Eco-friendly option made from post-consumer materials, slightly softer but still reliable
4. Material Strength
The largest complication with brown paper bags is their strength–or lack thereof. After all, you can’t have your bags tear as your customers walk out with your product. Therefore, it’s important to choose a bag that will be able to support the weight of your product.
Brown paper bags are typically rated based on their “basis weight,” which is a measure of the paper’s thickness and density. This is usually indicated by a pound number (like 10#), with the higher the number, the stronger and heavier the bag can hold.
Another way to measure paper density is through asking about the grammage of the brown paper bag you plan on buying. The grammage is just a measure of how dense the bag is per square meter. And in some cases, manufacturers will represent grammage in density per 500 sheets.
Beyond just the weight rating, how the bag is constructed makes a difference:
- Single vs. Double Ply: Extra layers add durability for heavy-duty use
- Reinforced Bottoms or Side Gussets: Help bags maintain shape and handle more weight
- Tear Resistance: Important for greasy containers, glass bottles, or bulkier items
5. Additional Features
Handle Options
- Handleless Bags: Simple and cost-effective, great for lighter items.
- Bags with Handles: Offer convenience for customers carrying heavier or bulkier items.
Bags with handles are usually made from twine, thin rope, or flat pieces of paper. Manufacturers simply take a piece of cordage, fold the paper over it, and glue the whole thing into place.
The convenience of a paper bag with handles makes it convenient for most businesses, from retail shopping, carrying gifts, and packaging food.
Gusseted Paper Bags
Gusseted paper bags simply means that the bag has four sides instead of two. It’s a feature that reinforces the bottom or sides of the bag to provide additional strength and support.
Sometimes extra paper is used as reinforcement, which makes these bags easily identifiable due to their added thickness. The added strength from the gusset allows the bag to have a greater carrying volume, and if the gusset is placed on the bottom of the bag–known as a box bottom–it will be able to sit upright on its own on a flat surface.
This makes a to-go bag with a gusset feature favorable for food product packaging, gardening, craft, and hardware items.
The Classic “S.O.S” Bag
Marked as the classic brown paper bag , this feature is most recognized as the bag that schoolchildren would take their lunch to school in. The larger version is normally found at grocery stores due to its large volume.
Bags with this feature are very plain and not the most durable, but they offer a cheap and workable solution for businesses that either don’t need or can’t afford more heavy-duty bags.
Pinch-Bottom Bags
A bag featuring a pinch-bottom can stand on its own when filled. They come in small and large sizes, with each size being used for different products.
- Small size: Used for food packaging, especially in bakeries to package dry food items like this popcorn bag. In these situations, the bag will also most likely be treated with a material that resists grease and moisture.
Bakery bags can also come with windows so that the customer can see the product and make a judgement based on its looks. Other bakery bags have tape options for security delivery purposes which may be desirable for businesses shipping their baked goods.
- Large size: Used for products that are bought in bulk, like animal feed, construction material, and various powders, nuts, and grains. If you are looking to transport an especially heavy material or bulk items, a large pinch-bottom bag is your best option.
However, there are pinch bottom bags that do not have a gusset, meaning that there are only two sides to the bag. For example, if you purchased a greeting/holiday card there is no need for a gusset, meaning that the bag would only have two sides (more like a front and a back). These types of bags are called “card bags”, but they also used to be called millinery bags as well.
6. Sustainability Considerations
More consumers are looking for sustainable packaging. Your choice of to-go bag can reflect your business’s environmental commitment. Brown paper bags are biodegradable, recyclable, and reusable, meaning that they naturally break down over time, which reduces waste and pollution.
Look for bags that are:
- 100% Recyclable
- Made from Recycled Content
- Commercially Compostable
- Certified by FSC® or SFI® for responsible sourcing
However, its important to note that brown to-go bags are not the perfect green solution either. There are still negative environmental impacts that brown bags create that need to be considered:
- Fossil Fuel Impact
Paper bags made from recycled fiber still require more fossil fuels to produce and manufacture than plastic bags.
- Double-Bagging
If to-go bags get wet, they lose strength and can tear. To avoid torn bags, many people “double-bag.” Double-bagging increases the amount of paper bags you will need to purchase, and it increases the amount of paper waste.
- Extra Charge
In some areas, bans will require the businesses to charge (typically $0.10) to the consumer for the use of paper bags.
- Weight
Paper bags are heavier than single-use plastic bags, and their heavier weight increases transportation costs, gas emissions, and waste disposal weight.
Pro Tip: To be accepted under most local legislation, paper bags must contain at least 40% post consumer recycled content and can not contain any old growth fiber.
7. Customization Ability
Brown paper bags can be more than functional—they can be branded billboards. Custom printing lets you:
- Add your logo, website, or social media handles
- Promote seasonal offers or QR codes to digital menus
- Reinforce your brand identity with colors, slogans, or values
Final Thoughts
Selecting the right to-go brown bag is about more than just function–it’s a reflection of your business’s quality, efficiency, and values. By considering size, strength, sustainability, and customization, you can ensure your customers have a seamless experience, boosting both satisfaction and loyalty.
For something so simple, brown paper bags still maintain the ability to greatly affect your business and provide for your business’ needs.
Whether you’re located in the United States, Puerto Rico, or the Caribbean, Imperial Dade can help you select the right brown to-go bag or an alternative for your business based on your budget, needs, and goals.
If you are not sure about which brown bag is the right option for you or how an improper brown bag may affect your operation let an Imperial Dade specialist help. Moving away from single-use plastic bags is important for the environment, and important for your business.