A kraft carrier bag with twisted paper cord handles, threaded through punched holes and backed with a paper reinforcement patch. This is the handled format that reads as retail rather than takeaway.
Why twisted handles cost more and sell better
The cord is a rolled paper strip twisted into a round profile, then hand- or machine-threaded through reinforced holes. That is two extra operations over a flat glued strip, which is why the unit price sits higher. What you buy for it is presence: the bag stands up on a counter, the handles stay open for loading, and it photographs as a brand object.
The load question
Twisted handles concentrate load at two points, so the reinforcement patch is doing real work. On a 100 gsm bag with a proper patch, a full shop of clothing or cosmetics is not a problem. On thin paper or a small patch, the hole elongates and the handle pulls through — which is the failure most buyers have seen and blame on the handle rather than the paper grade. If your bag carries dense items, spec the heavier grade.
Where this format fits
Boutique and fashion retail, hotel and spa, premium food retail, press kits, and any handover where the bag is kept rather than thrown away at the door. Grocery at volume usually goes to flat handles for cost; the two formats sit on one specification sheet below, so you can split by account.
Comfort over a long carry
A round cord distributes weight into a narrow band, which is why it is more comfortable than a flat strip on a long walk but less comfortable than a wide strip on a heavy, short carry. For a mall or a market, twisted wins. For a supermarket run, flat wins. It is worth choosing by how far the customer carries the bag, not by how it looks in a photo.
Paper, printing and one restriction
Natural brown or white kraft from 50 to 140 gsm, printed up to six colours. Handled bags are not laminated — if you need a coated surface, the SOS range is where that option lives. Keeping this format uncoated is also what lets the whole bag go into one paper stream.
Custom range
| Item | Custom range |
|---|---|
| Face width | 80–550 mm |
| Side gusset | 60–280 mm |
| Height | 150–660 mm |
| Paper | Natural (brown) kraft or white kraft |
| Paper weight | 50–140 gsm |
| Style | Flat handle / Twisted handle / Die cut handle |
| Printing | Custom, up to 6 colours |
| Lamination | Not available |
| MOQ | 100,000 pcs per item (same size and same print) |
See the full paper bag range, check dimensions against the packaging size guide, or read packaging for coffee shops if the bag sits alongside a drinks programme.
Want a handle sample in hand before you commit? Send the size, paper weight and volume and we will ship flat, twisted and die cut samples of the same bag for comparison.