Takeaway menus, door drops, fridge magnets and loyalty cards
Takeaway leaflets are menus that live on doormats and fridges: most shops get the best return from a double-sided A5 or DL menu on 130gsm to 170gsm gloss, dropped in the streets they deliver to. This page shows what to print, what it costs today, how to lay out the menu and when to drop it.
A takeaway menu works harder than most leaflets because people keep it: in the kitchen drawer, on the fridge or behind the bread bin. These are the jobs takeaway owners print for most.
The door-drop menu
The bread and butter of takeaway marketing: your full menu, prices, opening hours and phone number on one double-sided sheet, pushed through every door in your delivery area. Re-drop the same streets every six to eight weeks so the menu in the drawer is always yours and always current.
Opening launch drop
A new shop, a new owner or a refit is the one moment people are curious about you. A launch drop of 5,000 to 10,000 menus in the first fortnight, with a clear opening offer and a date, gives you a busy first weekend while word of mouth catches up.
Student-area drops
Halls, shared houses and terraces near a campus order late, order often and turn over every September. A small, punchy A6 or DL menu with your late hours and a student deal, dropped in freshers' week and again in January, keeps you on their list.
Delivery-zone mapping
Print a different code on the menus for each area (A, B, C or a postcode district) and ask for it when people order. After a month you know which streets pay back, and you stop wasting menus outside your delivery radius.
Counter and bag menus
A menu in every collection bag is the lowest-cost drop you will ever make: it goes straight into a home that already likes your food. Keep a stack on the counter too, so walk-in customers take one home.
Loyalty and stamp cards
A stiff A6 or credit-card-sized card with eight or ten stamp boxes brings regulars back to you instead of trying the new place round the corner. Card at 350gsm survives a wallet; thin paper does not.
Fridge magnets
A printed A4 magnetic menu costs more per piece, so give it to your best customers or put one in every order over a set value. It stays in sight for months.
Recommended leaflets for takeaways
What we would print for a takeaway, in the order most shops need it. The 'from' price is today's live price for the lowest-cost options; the example line is a real configuration takeaways often order.
The standard takeaway menu. A5 gives room for 40 to 60 dishes in two columns a side; DL slips through stiff letterboxes and suits shorter menus. Gloss makes food photos look rich and costs least per thousand on big drops.
A4 roll or Z fold to DL, 6 panels, 130gsm to 170gsm
For bigger menus. An A4 sheet folded twice gives six panels: a cover, the deals, and four panels of dishes, and it still fits a letterbox and a leaflet rack. Choose silk if you want to write order numbers on the back.
Thick enough to survive a wallet and take a rubber stamp or a pen mark without smudging. Use the front for your logo and offer, the back for the stamp boxes and terms.
The menu that stays in view. Worth it for regulars and big orders rather than cold door drops; one A4 magnet holds a full short menu or your top 20 dishes and the phone number.
Drop 2,500 menus in launch week and 2,500 three weeks later in the same streets. Give a magnet to anyone who orders twice in the first month.
Saver speed, about 7 working days for the slowest item. Prices are the live Saver prices for exactly these options. Order each item from its own page; one delivery charge covers the basket.
For keeping your menu in every drawer in the delivery area: one big run of light DL menus you drop in rotation.
What is in the Monthly door-drop pack
Item
Qty
Price
DL menusDL (99 × 210 mm), 130gsm gloss, both sides
10,000
£185.16
Print total
£185.16
UK delivery
Free
10,000 menus covers roughly 2,500 doors four times, or four areas once each. Print the area code in a corner so you can see which streets order.
Saver speed, about 5 working days for the slowest item. Prices are the live Saver prices for exactly these options. Order each item from its own page; one delivery charge covers the basket.
For a long menu (curry houses, Chinese and pizza shops with 60+ dishes): a six-panel folded menu for drops and bags, plus wipe-clean menus for the counter.
What is in the Full menu pack
Item
Qty
Price
Folded menusA4 roll-folded to DL, 170gsm silk, both sides
The folded menu also works as the menu in every collection bag. Keep 50 back for the counter and window.
Saver speed, about 8 working days for the slowest item. Prices are the live Saver prices for exactly these options. Order each item from its own page; one delivery charge covers the basket.
Four layouts we drew for invented takeaways. They show how the best-performing menus are put together: the offer and phone number on the front, the dishes on the back, and nothing a hungry person has to hunt for.
These are sample designs we made to show layout and wording. The business names, numbers and addresses are invented.
Sample design
GGolden WokCantonese and Peking takeaway
Open 7 days, 4.30pm till late
Hot food at your door
Free delivery within 3 miles on orders over £15
Free prawn crackersOn every order over £20. Just mention this menu.
0161 496 0213
goldenwok.example
Sample design. Golden Wok is an invented business.
Front
Starters
Salt and pepper chicken6.20
Crispy seaweed4.10
Spring rolls (4)4.40
Mains
Chicken chow mein7.80
Sweet and sour pork7.90
Beef in black bean8.40
Kung po king prawn9.60
Set meal for 2
Five dishes and rice24.50
Allergies? Please tell us before you order
Sample prices only. Ask staff about allergens in any dish.
Back
Sample: Golden Wok Takeaway
A5 flyer, both sides, 170gsm gloss
Front: logo, hours, one offer and the phone number big enough to read from the doormat. Nothing else.
Back: menu in sections with prices right-aligned on dotted leaders so the eye runs straight across.
The allergen line sits on a coloured strip at the bottom of the menu side, where people look before they ring.
Headlines and lines we have seen work on takeaway menus. Swap in your own dishes, prices and areas; keep each one short enough to read from a doormat.
Headlines
Hot food at your door tonight
Too tired to cook? We are open till midnight
New on the street: try us this weekend
Family feast for four, delivered
The menu your fridge has been waiting for
Same kitchen, new owners, fresh menu
Body text
Everything on this menu is cooked to order in our kitchen on [street]. Ring us, order online or walk in: collection is ready in about 15 minutes and we deliver within [x] miles from 5pm until late. Tell us about any allergies when you order and we will talk you through every dish.
We are [name], the new takeaway on [street], and we would like you to try us. Order anything from this menu before [date] and mention this leaflet for [your offer]. Keep the menu somewhere handy: we drop a fresh one every few weeks with new dishes and seasonal deals.
Calls to action
Ring 0161 496 0000 or order online
Mention this menu when you order
Scan the code to order in 30 seconds
Keep this menu on your fridge
Put the phone number on both sides. People flip the menu over to order and hate turning it back.
If you mention a deal, give its end date or days, and state any minimum order or delivery charge next to it.
When, where and how many
A takeaway menu pays back by repetition: the same menu landing on the same doormat every six to eight weeks changes habits; one drop rarely does.
Dark evenings, payday weekends and the start of the student year lift orders; January is busy but price-sensitive, so lead with value.
When to drop
Aim for menus to land on a Wednesday or Thursday, so they are in the house when the weekend decision is made. Skip the week after Christmas, when doormats are full and fridges are too.
Launch drops work best in the fortnight before opening and the first week after, with a dated offer.
How many
Count the doors in your delivery radius first, then print enough to cover the core streets at least twice in a quarter. Widen out once you see which areas order.
Where
Door to door in your delivery zone, in every collection and delivery bag, on the counter, and through letting agents or student unions near campuses if they allow it.
Keep to private letterboxes. Some councils restrict handing out leaflets in the street and some areas need a permit, so check with your council before you stand outside a station.
What response to expect
Door-drop response varies a lot by area, offer and season. As a planning range, expect orders from a few menus in every thousand on a cold drop, rising towards one in a hundred where you are already known or the offer is strong. Track it with an area code or a code word and judge each street on its own numbers.
Paper, size and finish for takeaways
Gloss makes food look good and keeps the cost down on big drops; heavier stock earns its place only where the menu needs to last.
Job
Size
Paper
Finish
Why
Big door drops
DL or A5
130gsm gloss
None
Lightest stock and the lowest cost per thousand, easy to carry and push through stiff letterboxes in bulk.
Main menu
A5
170gsm gloss
None
Feels like a proper menu and does not crease in the drawer, but is still light enough for door drops.
Long menu (60+ dishes)
A4 folded to DL
170gsm silk
Roll or Z fold
Six panels without going to a booklet; silk is easier to write on and reads well under kitchen lights.
Loyalty and voucher cards
A6
350gsm silk card
None (so it takes a stamp)
Stiff enough for a wallet; lamination would stop the stamp ink drying.
Counter and window menu
A4 or A3
Waterproof synthetic
Wipe-clean
Survives grease, steam and wet hands, and does not curl in a sunny window.
Keep body text at 8pt or larger and prices bold, and print the dishes dark on a light panel even if the cover is dark, so they read under a dim hallway light.
Before you print: rules for takeaways
Food businesses have a few marketing rules that apply to menus. These are the ones printers see missed most often.
Allergen information for delivery and phone orders
For food sold at a distance (phone, app or online orders), the Food Standards Agency says allergen information for the 14 regulated allergens must be available before the order is completed and when the food is delivered. A menu does not have to list every allergen, but it should tell people how to get the information, for example: tell us about allergies when you order and ask us about any dish.
The PPDS rules (Natasha's Law) cover food packed on the premises before it is ordered, such as pre-wrapped sandwiches, not food made to order. If you also sell pre-packed items from a fridge, those need full ingredient labels.
Calorie labelling if you have 250+ staff
In England, businesses with 250 or more employees must show calories on menus and labels for food prepared for immediate consumption. Group and franchise operators should check whether that covers their printed menus.
Under the CAP Code and consumer protection law, the headline price must be one people can actually pay. If there is a delivery charge, minimum order, time limit or size restriction, say so clearly next to the offer, and do not call delivery free if it is only free above a spend.
If you show your food hygiene rating, it must be your current one. Words such as halal, vegan, gluten-free or homemade must be true for every dish they are used on; gluten-free has a legal meaning (20 parts per million or less).
This is a printer's checklist, not legal advice. Check the current guidance with the Food Standards Agency, your local authority food team or trading standards before you print.
Questions about leaflets for takeaways
What size is best for a takeaway menu?
A5 (148 × 210 mm) printed on both sides fits most menus of 40 to 60 dishes and is the size most takeaways use. DL (99 × 210 mm) is cheaper per thousand and better for short menus or a deal flyer. For a long menu, an A4 sheet folded to DL gives six panels and still fits a letterbox.
How many takeaway menus should I order?
Enough to reach your core streets at least twice in three months. Many shops order 5,000 to 10,000 at a time because the price per menu drops sharply with quantity; the quantity table on the product page shows the break points.
What paper weight should a takeaway menu be?
130gsm gloss for large door drops, 170gsm gloss for a main menu that feels sturdier, and 350gsm card for loyalty cards.
Should my menu be gloss or silk?
Gloss makes food photos look bright and rich and is the usual choice. Silk has a softer sheen, reads better under strong light and is easier to write on, which suits folded menus that go in bags.
Do I have to list allergens on my takeaway menu?
You must make allergen information available before the order is completed and at delivery. A menu can do this by telling customers to mention allergies when ordering and to ask about any dish, as long as staff can give accurate information. Check the Food Standards Agency guidance for your set-up.
How often should I drop menus?
Every six to eight weeks in the same streets is a common rhythm. Menus get thrown away or buried, and a fresh one with a new deal keeps you top of the pile.
Can you design my takeaway menu?
Yes. Send your dishes, prices and logo through our Artwork and Design Service and we will typeset them, or build the menu in the free online designer on the flyer page. Every upload is checked automatically; File check (£4.99) adds a person looking over it.
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