Custom Printed Foil Gift Bags for Bottles, Hampers and Favours

What is a foil gift bag?

A foil gift bag is a metallised film bag with a mirror shine. The silver and gold bottle bags in the photos are the classic shape: a flat bag with a bottom seal, tall enough to gather above the bottle and tie with a bow.

The film is metallised PET laminated to PE. It is thin, crisp and reflective, and it holds a pleat when gathered, which is what gives the fan shape at the top.

The pink pouch in the photos is the second style. It has a zipper, a hang hole and a gusset, and it holds sweets or treats as a ready-made gift.

Who buys printed foil gift bags?

Gifting is seasonal, so orders arrive in waves before Easter, Valentine's, Mother's Day, Father's Day and the wedding season. The businesses behind them are varied.

Loose sweets that need to be seen through the bag suit the clear film on our clear sweet bags and confectionery bags page instead.

• Wine merchants and bottle shops gift wrapping at the till
• Distilleries and breweries selling gift packs online
• Hamper companies lining baskets and wrapping jars
• Chocolatiers and bakeries bagging boxed treats
• Florists adding a wrapped bottle to a bouquet
• Corporate gifting firms branding a bag with a client logo

What size foil bag fits a wine bottle?

A standard 750 ml wine bottle is about 80 mm across and 300 to 330 mm tall. The bag needs to be wider than half the bottle's circumference and tall enough to gather 100 mm above the neck.

That gives a flat bag of about 160 × 450 mm. Sparkling wine bottles are fatter and need 180 mm. Spirits in square bottles need a bag with a gusset.

Send us the bottle or the box size and we set the bag from it. Our size guide for UK pouches and bags helps with the zipper style.

Does a gift bag need a barrier film?

For a bottle or a candle, no. The metallised film is there for the shine, and a thin laminate gathers more neatly than a heavy one.

For chocolates, biscuits or sweets put straight into the bag, yes. A PET / foil / PE laminate keeps the contents fresh and keeps light off chocolate, which blooms in a shop window.

Food-contact, high-barrier and compostable film options are available on request and confirmed on your quote. Our guide to barrier laminates for pouches explains the layers.

Gathered necks, zippers and hang holes

The bottle bag has no closure of its own. It is gathered by hand and tied with ribbon, a pull bow or a twist tie, which you source separately. Keep 100 mm of bag above the gift for a full fan.

The zipper pouch style closes itself. A press-to-close zipper sits under the top seal with a tear notch, and a hang hole above lets the pouch sit on a peg by the till.

A clear panel on the zipper pouch is an option when the treats inside are the gift. Shapes are shown on our stand up pouches with window panels page.

Printing on a mirror finish

Print on metallised film behaves differently from print on white. Any colour laid straight on the silver takes on a metallic sheen. A white under-print beneath the artwork gives solid, flat colour where you want it.

Most gift bags carry a small logo, a repeat pattern or nothing at all. A one colour logo in black or white on gold is the usual request and the cheapest.

Coloured metallised film, like the green bag in the photos, comes from a tinted layer over the silver. Our designers mock it up free on the proof. The guide to preparing pouch artwork explains white under-print.

How do you wrap a bottle in a foil bag?

Gift wrapping at a till has to be quick. This sequence takes under a minute once staff have done it a few times.

1. Open the bag fully and stand the bottle inside, label facing the front.
2. Pull the film up and smooth the two faces against the bottle.
3. Gather the film just above the neck with both hands.
4. Twist once, then tie the ribbon or pull bow around the twist.
5. Fan the film above the tie so the pleats open out.

Lining hampers and wrapping jars

A large open bag lines a hamper basket the same way. Open it inside the basket, fold the edge over the rim while you pack, then pull it up and gather at the top.

Jars and candles need a shorter bag. Stand the jar in, gather above the lid and tie. A 200 × 300 mm bag suits most 90 mm lids with enough film left to fan.

Boxed chocolates go in flat. Slide the box in, fold the open end under and seal it with a sticker carrying your logo.

Mistakes that spoil a gift bag

A bag too short for the bottle. Without 100 mm to gather, the bow sits on the cork and the top looks mean.

A heavy foil laminate for a bottle bag. It creases rather than pleats and does not fan.

Full colour artwork with no white under-print. Pastel colours vanish into the silver and the design reads as a smudge.

Chocolates straight into a thin metallised bag in a warm shop. The thin bag is for looks; use the thicker foil laminate for food gifts.

Can foil gift bags be ordered plain?

Yes. Plain gold and silver bags are the bulk of what we send out to bottle shops, who add their own ribbon and tag.

Plain bags are quoted the same way as printed ones, per order, with the size and the film colour set on the quote. A mix of plain gold and printed silver can go on one quote.

Brands that want a gold look with a logo on a resealable pouch can see our gold mylar bags with a zipper.

How to order foil gift bags

Tell us the bottle or gift size, the film colour, plain or printed, and the quantity by email or WhatsApp. Quantities are quoted per order, from £0.25 per unit, confirmed on the written quote.

Printed bags get a free design proof first. Production takes 4–6 business days after approval, then free tracked delivery to any UK address in 2–3 business days.

Misprints or damage reported within 10 days with photos are reprinted or refunded. Start with a quote for foil gift bags.