As of August 2026, a case of wholesale foodservice packaging from our catalog runs from $4.16 (500 pint liquor bags) to $99.43 (an 18 inch by 500 foot heavy-duty foil roll), and most everyday categories land between $10 and $45 per case. Per piece, that spans about half a cent for a portion cup lid up to about $1.05 for a deep full-size aluminum steam pan.
Every number in this article is a real, current case price from the Value Source catalog, all 132 SKUs across 14 categories. Nothing here is a manufacturer list price, a “starting at” teaser, or a range invented for SEO.
Why we publish pricing when nobody else does
Almost every wholesale packaging distributor gates pricing behind an account application, a sales call, or a “request pricing” form. The stated reason is that pricing is customer-specific. The practical effect is that a buyer trying to budget a program has no idea whether a case of clamshells costs $30 or $80 until a rep decides to answer.
We publish case pricing on every catalog page because the math should be checkable before the conversation starts. If our published price is not competitive, you should be able to see that in thirty seconds. If it is, the quote conversation starts from a real number instead of a fishing expedition. Volume pricing below the published case price exists, but the published price is the ceiling, not a decoy.
PET Cold Cups: current case pricing
All 19 SKUs →| Product | Pack | Case | Per unit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 oz PET Clear Cold Cup — 78mm Rim — 1000ct | 1000ct | $20.23 | $0.020 | Volume quote → |
| 8 oz PET Clear Cold Cup — 78mm Rim — 1000ct | 1000ct | $20.29 | $0.020 | Volume quote → |
| 10 oz PET Clear Cold Cup — 78mm Rim — 1000ct | 1000ct | $23.37 | $0.023 | Volume quote → |
| 9 oz PET Clear Cold Cup — 92mm Rim — 1000ct | 1000ct | $23.37 | $0.023 | Volume quote → |
Public case pricing, freight quoted separately. Volume and contract pricing on request.
Case price benchmarks by category, August 2026
All prices below are as of August 2026. The ranges are computed from the live catalog, so when our costs move, the source data behind this page moves with it; the individual catalog pages always show current pricing. Prices are per case, freight not included.
| Category | Typical case pack | Case price range | Per-unit range |
|---|---|---|---|
| PET Cold Cups | 500-1,000 | $20.23-$45.00 | $0.020-$0.063 |
| PET Cold Cup Lids | 500-1,000 | $11.07-$19.50 | $0.011-$0.030 |
| PET Clamshells | 200-500 | $35.31-$53.75 | $0.087-$0.269 |
| PP Deli Containers (with lids) | 240 | $16.56-$30.63 | $0.069-$0.128 |
| Portion Cups | 2,500 | $16.75-$31.63 | $0.0067-$0.0127 |
| Portion Cup Lids | 2,500 | $13.06-$18.88 | $0.0052-$0.0076 |
| Cutlery, bulk and wrapped | 1,000 | $5.00-$15.00 | $0.005-$0.015 |
| Cutlery Kits | 250 | $7.50-$12.88 | $0.030-$0.052 |
| Aluminum Containers | 50-500 | $18.71-$56.38 | $0.064-$1.05 |
| Aluminum Container Lids | 50-500 | $12.81-$24.60 | $0.026-$0.49 |
| Foil Rolls and Sheets | 1 roll, or 6 x 500 sheets | $52.22-$99.43 | $0.017-$0.022 per sheet; $21.78-$24.86 per roll |
| SOS Paper Bags | 500 | $14.54-$19.71 | $0.029-$0.039 |
| Twisted Handle Bags | 200-250 | $26.98-$27.48 | $0.110-$0.137 |
| Liquor Bags | 500-2,000 | $4.16-$16.33 | $0.0073-$0.0178 |
Three things to notice before you take any single cell at face value.
First, within a category the spread is driven by size and spec, not quality tiers. The PET cold cup range runs from a 9 oz cup on a 78mm rim at $20.23 per thousand up to a 20 oz cup on a 98mm rim at $45.00 per thousand. Same material, same clarity; you are paying for grams of PET.
Second, case pack matters as much as case price. A $16.33 case of pint liquor bags sounds expensive next to a $4.16 case of the same bag, until you see the first is 2,000 bags and the second is 500. Per bag they are nearly identical ($0.0082 vs $0.0083).
Third, the aluminum ranges are wide because the category spans a 7 inch round pan through a full-size deep steam table pan. A per-unit range of $0.064 to $1.05 is not noise; it is four different jobs living in one category.
How per-unit math works, with three real SKUs
Per-unit cost is the case price divided by the pieces in the case. That single division is the whole trick, and it is the number that belongs in your menu costing, not the case price. Three worked examples from the catalog:
9 x 6 x 3 PET hinged clamshell (SKU USPET-9X6). 250 per case at $35.31. $35.31 divided by 250 is $0.141 per container. That is the container cost on every takeout entree that goes out the door in it.
16 oz PET cold cup, 92mm rim (SKU 622659). 1,000 per case at $33.39, so $0.033 per cup. The cup is only half the picture: the matching 92mm flat lid (SKU 622674) is $11.72 per 1,000, or $0.0117 each. Dressed cup: $0.033 plus $0.012, about $0.045 per drink. Lids routinely add 30-40% to the cost of the cup they sit on, which is why we price them side by side. If you are matching rims across brands, the rim size guide covers what fits what.
2 oz clear portion cup (SKU PC200CLR). 2,500 per case at $16.75, so $0.0067 per cup. The 2 oz lid (SKU LDPC1525) is $13.06 per 2,500, or $0.0052 each. A dressed sauce cup is $0.0119, call it 1.2 cents. At that price the labor to fill it costs more than the packaging.
PET Clamshells: current case pricing
All 10 SKUs →| Product | Pack | Case | Per unit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 x 6 x 3 PET Clamshell — 1 Compartment — 250ct | 250ct | $35.31 | $0.141 | Volume quote → |
| 8 x 8 x 3 PET Clamshell — 1 Compartment — 200ct | 200ct | $37.38 | $0.187 | Volume quote → |
| 9 x 6 x 3 PET Taco Clamshell — 200ct | 200ct | $39.73 | $0.199 | Volume quote → |
| 6 x 6 x 3 PET Clamshell — 1 Compartment — 500ct | 500ct | $43.25 | $0.086 | Volume quote → |
Public case pricing, freight quoted separately. Volume and contract pricing on request.
What is moving 2026 prices
We will not pretend to forecast resin. But three cost drivers are documented and worth knowing when a supplier explains a price change.
Tariffs. Section 301 tariffs on Chinese-origin goods remain in effect in 2026, and most plastic foodservice packaging from China carries a 25% duty on top of base rates. The full breakdown by list and product family is in our Section 301 tariff guide. On the aluminum side, foil and disposable container imports from China are covered by antidumping and countervailing duty orders, with administrative reviews and a circumvention case still moving through Commerce in 2026. We track that docket in the aluminum AD/CVD case watch, because the outcomes flow directly into pan and foil pricing.
Resin. PET, PP, and PS pricing tracks petrochemical feedstocks. When resin moves, cup and clamshell pricing follows with a lag of one to two contract cycles. We do not publish resin forecasts; we adjust the catalog when our costs actually change, in either direction.
Freight. Inbound ocean and domestic truckload rates are baked into every case price before you ever see it, and outbound LTL is the difference between a good case price and a good delivered price. Packaging is light and bulky, so it ships by cube, not weight, and freight is a larger share of landed cost than most buyers expect.
Regulation also reshuffles demand inside the table. Foam bans and expanding state plastic legislation keep pushing volume toward PET, paper, and aluminum, which is part of why those categories anchor our catalog.
From case price to delivered cost
The table above is the starting point, not the landed number. Two adjustments get you the rest of the way.
Freight by lane. A pallet of clamshells from our Southeast warehouses to Atlanta prices differently than the same pallet to Miami. The homepage freight calculator gives a ZIP-to-ZIP estimate; a quote request gets you the actual delivered price for your pallet count.
Volume. The published case price is what one case costs. Pallet and truckload buyers should expect better, and mixed-pallet orders across categories are normal here; distributors rarely buy one SKU at a time.
Use the catalog, not the screenshot
Benchmarks age. The catalog does not: it is the same data this article was computed from, updated as our costs move, with case and per-unit pricing on all 132 SKUs. If you are comparing us against a gated competitor quote, pull the category page, put the two numbers side by side, and make them explain the difference.