A takeout bag looks like the least important thing you buy. Then a customer lifts one by the handles, the bottom lets go, and a $40 order of butter chicken is on the sidewalk. Bags are the last thing your customer touches before they decide whether you are worth ordering from again.
Here is a plain guide to what is actually on the shelf, what size you need, and what the rules in Atlantic Canada allow.
What size paper bag do you need for takeout?
Three sizes cover the large majority of foodservice orders.
Small, around 8 x 5 x 10 inches. One entree, a sandwich and a drink, a few pastries. Right for cafe counter service and single-item pickup.
Medium, around 10 x 6.75 x 12 inches. Two or three containers, or one large clamshell plus sides and cutlery. This is the workhorse for most restaurants.
Large, around 13 x 7 x 17 inches. Family orders, four or more containers, catering drops, anything stacked two high.
The middle number matters more than people expect. That is the gusset, meaning how far the bag opens at the base. A 5-inch gusset will not take a 9-inch clamshell lying flat no matter how tall the bag is. Measure your most common container, then buy a bag whose gusset clears it.
If you deliver, size up. Bags packed to the very top are the ones that tear at the handles after a block in the rain.
Twisted handle or flat handle: what is the difference?
Both are kraft paper handles glued to the bag. The difference is how the handle is formed.
Twisted handles are rolled paper cord. They stand slightly away from the bag, so a driver or a customer can hook them fast with one hand, and they carry weight better. They are the default for restaurant takeout and delivery.
Flat handles are folded paper tape lying flush against the bag. They cost less, they stack flatter in storage, and they are fine for lighter, drier orders such as bakery and retail.
If your average bag goes out with two litres of soup and a drink in it, buy twisted. If it is croissants, flat handles are fine and save you money.
Then there is the SOS bag: no handles, square bottom, the classic brown lunch bag shape. Cheapest per unit, stacks tightly, and still the right call for counter pickup where the customer walks ten feet to a table. Do not put a hot liquid order in one.
Are plastic t-shirt bags still legal in Canada?
Not as checkout bags.
The federal Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations ban the manufacture, import and sale of single-use plastic checkout bags. The rules were challenged in court, and on January 30, 2026 the Federal Court of Appeal upheld the federal listing of plastic manufactured items as toxic under CEPA, so the regulations stand.
Three of the four Atlantic provinces also had their own bans in place well before the federal rules. Nova Scotia banned single-use plastic checkout bags on October 30, 2020. Newfoundland and Labrador banned them on October 1, 2020. Prince Edward Island bans them under its Plastic Bag Reduction Act.
Those provincial bans generally still allow plastic bags for loose bulk items such as produce, nuts and bulk candy, and for packaged liquids that could leak. What you cannot do is hand one over at the till as the bag the order goes home in. Businesses may charge for paper or reusable bags, but in Nova Scotia they are not required to.
Practical translation for a restaurant: your takeout bag is paper. Plan and price accordingly.
Three things operators get wrong
Buying on unit price alone. A bag that costs two cents less but fails once a week costs you a remake, a refund and a bad review. The cheap bag is not always the cheap bag.
Stocking only one size. A single sandwich in a large bag looks careless and wastes paper. Two sizes, medium and large, cover almost every order most kitchens send out.
Ignoring the paper weight. Kraft bags are built for a load. If you routinely send out heavy orders, ask for a heavier basis weight rather than double-bagging, which doubles your cost and still puts the strain on the same handles.
Buying bags in Atlantic Canada
Bags are bulky and cheap per unit, which is a bad combination for freight. Shipping a skid of paper bags from Ontario to Moncton can cost more than the bags themselves. Buying from a supplier who already holds stock in the region is often the whole margin on this line.
At our Moncton cash-and-carry you can pick up a case, put a bag in your hand and pull on the handles before you commit to a pallet of them. For kitchens in Saint John, Fredericton and Halifax, we deliver.
Related reading and where to buy
Shop kraft bags and takeout packaging: https://www.fuljitrading.com/shop
Restaurant supplies: https://www.fuljitrading.com/industries/restaurants
Catering and events: https://www.fuljitrading.com/industries/catering
Pick up in Moncton: https://www.fuljitrading.com/moncton
More on the rules: https://www.fuljitrading.com/blog/resources-guides-1/single-use-plastics-rules-in-canada-what-foodservice-businesses-need-to-know-2