Aspen Products

What Aspen Products does

Aspen Products, Inc. is a privately held, family-owned manufacturer of private label disposable tabletop and food-service paper products, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. The company produces paper plates, cups, bowls, and lunch bags sold under multiple sub-brands including Easy Ware, Easy Ware Ultra, Easy Way, Aspen, Super Strong, Lunch Bags, and Hot Cups. The company was founded in 1977 by Bill Biggins and currently employs 101-250 people.

Aspen operates three manufacturing facilities located in Kansas City (Missouri), Richmond (Virginia), and Macon (Georgia), giving it a multi-regional production footprint across the United States. Its products are positioned as private label offerings for grocery, discount, club, and food service/institutional distribution channels, with the company self-describing as one of the largest providers of private label tabletop products in North America. There is no indication of branded retail products; the entire portfolio is oriented toward retailer-owned and distributor-owned labels.

The business model is B2B manufacturing: Aspen produces finished paper goods at scale and sells them in volume to large channel partners, who in turn merchandise them under their own private label programs. The company does not appear to operate direct-to-consumer channels. Revenue mechanics are driven by unit volume across the product portfolio, with the breadth of the SKU range (plates, cups, bowls, lunch bags) and multi-facility footprint supporting supply reliability for large retail and institutional buyers.

Name

Aspen Products

Legal name

Aspen Products, Inc.

Website

https://aspenpro.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Aspen Products is a family-owned, Kansas City-based manufacturer of private label paper plates, cups, bowls, and lunch bags, supplying grocery, discount, club, and food service distributors across North America from three U.S. facilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disposable Paper Tableware Manufacturing

NAICS

Other Paperboard Container Manufacturing (322219)

SIC

Papers & Allied Products (2600)

akta.pro primary industry

Napkins, Tableware & Foodservice Disposables (Plates, Cups, Cutlery) (CRADALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Paper Tableware (Plates, Cups, Bowls) (CRAJAFAE), Disposable Tableware (Plates, Cups, Cutlery) (CRAJAGAG)

Keywords

• Private label paper products
• Disposable paper plates
• Paper tableware manufacturing
• Paper cup manufacturing
• Food service disposables

Headquarters

HQ city

Kansas City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Private Label Paper Product Manufacturing: Aspen Products manufactures private label disposable paper plates, cups, bowls, and lunch bags for retail and distribution markets. Revenue is generated through one-time product sales to business customers (retailers, distributors) rather than recurring subscription models.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Core offering

Aspen Products, Inc. manufactures private label disposable paper plates, cups, bowls, and lunch bags for retail and distribution markets. The product line includes designed plates and white paper products in multiple durability grades, ranging from uncoated 10 PT everyday plates to heavy coated 15 PT plates, alongside hot cups and paper lunch bags. Output is sold under customer private labels across Grocery, Discount, Club, and Food Service and Institutional Distribution channels.

Product overview

Aspen Products Inc. is a manufacturer of private label disposable paper products, operating as a single unified product portfolio rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The company's offerings center on four core product lines: paper plates (spanning Easy Ware, Easy Ware Ultra, Easy Way, Aspen, and Super Strong sub-brands differentiated by coating weight and durability), paper cups (hot cups), paper bowls, and lunch bags. Products are positioned for retail and distribution markets across Grocery, Discount, Club, and Food Service and Institutional Distribution channels, with an emphasis on national brand equivalent quality under private label.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Easy Ware: Premium product line for everyday use
• Easy Ware Ultra
• Easy Way
• Aspen
• Super Strong
• Lunch Bags
• Hot Cups

Products and services

• Private Label Paper Plates
• Private Label Paper Cups Private label paper hot cups designed for serving hot beverages, positioned as delivering a coffee shop experience at home. Sold to retailers and distributors for resale under customer private labels.
• Private Label Paper Bowls Private label paper bowls for retail and distribution markets, sold under customer private labels alongside Aspen's plates and cups.
• Private Label Paper Lunch Bags Private label paper lunch bags for use as lunch bags, crafts, and luminaires, sold to retailers and distributors for resale under customer private labels.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators2 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Wincup / AC Products: Manufacturer of disposable cups, lids, and foodservice disposables including paper hot cups, with both private label and branded offerings serving foodservice distributors. Direct product overlap with Aspen's hot cup and foodservice distribution business.
• Pactiv Evergreen (includes Novolex foodservice): One of the largest North American foodservice disposables and foodservice packaging manufacturers, producing paper plates, cups, bowls, and containers across private label and branded lines. Highly comparable to Aspen as a scaled, multi-plant manufacturer serving grocery, club, and foodservice channels.
• Huhtamaki: Global foodservice packaging and consumer goods company producing paper plates, cups, bowls, and other fiber-based foodservice disposables, including private label programs. Direct product overlap with Aspen's paper plate, cup, and bowl portfolio for grocery and foodservice customers.
• Dart Container Corporation: Family-owned manufacturer of foodservice disposables (cups, plates, containers, lids), with a private label and brand offering across paper, plastic, and foam. Directly comparable to Aspen on product mix, private label capabilities, and family-owned manufacturing model.
• Sabert Corporation: New Jersey-based foodservice packaging manufacturer producing paper plates, bowls, and other disposable tabletop items, including private label. Strong product-by-product comparison with Aspen's disposable plate and bowl lines for retail and foodservice buyers.
• Anchor Packaging: Privately held manufacturer of foodservice disposables and packaging, with substantial private label business in bowls, hinged containers, and tableware. Comparable customer base in grocery, club, and foodservice distributors and similar private label manufacturing scale.
• CKF Inc. (Earthware): Canadian private label foodservice disposables specialist producing paper and molded-fiber plates, bowls, and tableware for grocery and foodservice buyers. Closely comparable to Aspen in business model (private label specialist) and product mix (fiber-based tabletop).

Broad incumbents

• Georgia-Pacific (Koch): Vertically integrated paper, pulp, and consumer products manufacturer whose Dixie brand competes directly with Aspen's disposable paper plate/cup/bowl portfolio while also supplying private label. Larger scale and broader category reach make it a broad incumbent rather than a like-sized peer.
• Berry Global (Amcor Berry merger): Large global packaging manufacturer with foodservice, retail, and consumer disposables exposure including paper-based tableware. Broader portfolio than Aspen and substantially larger, but overlapping product categories and similar retail/foodservice customer types.

Emerging players

• Vegware: Specialist manufacturer of compostable plant-based foodservice disposables (plates, bowls, cups) with growing penetration in NA retail and foodservice. Comparable product category but differentiated by sustainability positioning rather than scale; an emerging competitive threat to Aspen's core paper plate/bowl lines.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aspen Products