Menu Box Systems
A menu box system is the lit board that does most of the selling in a takeaway: a run of framed, LED-lit panels fixed above the counter, bright enough to read from the door and laid out so the eye lands on the things you want to sell. We build the frames, print the panels and fit the whole run as one piece of work.
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Menu Box Systems, made properly
The frames are fabricated to the width you actually have, rather than cut down from a standard kit, so a run can turn a corner or step around ductwork and still look deliberate. Panels are printed on translucent media and drop into the frame from the front, which means a price rise or a new dish is a replacement panel — not a new sign. LED throughout, so the light is even across every box and cheap to leave on all day.
- LED lit for even brightness across the whole run
- Printed panels swap out when prices or dishes change
- Frames made to your counter width, corners included
- Photographic food imagery reproduces sharply
What should you know before ordering menu box systems?
How many menu boxes does a counter need?
As many as the wall takes without crowding the menu. The width you have sets the run, not a kit size. BD Signs measures the wall above the counter, then splits the menu into sections so each box carries one category and nothing is squeezed. Corners, ductwork and bulkheads are allowed for in the frame, so a run that steps or wraps still reads as one board from the door.
Where should the best sellers go on a lit menu?
Where the eye lands first, not halfway down a list. BD Signs lays out menu boxes so the dishes you most want to sell get the space, the photography and the top of the board, and sides sit where they prompt a second thought. Most menus are price lists in size order. A lit board read from the queue does its selling before anyone reaches the counter, so the layout matters as much as the prices.
What do illuminated menu boxes need on site?
A power supply close to the run and a wall that will hold it. The boxes are LED lit, so they are cheap to leave on all day, but the supply has to be in the right place before fitting day. That is usually a fused spur or socket put in by your electrician or shopfitter. BD Signs marks where it needs to go at the survey and checks the wall above the counter will take a full-length run.
How does BD Signs make menu box systems?
Designed in-house, manufactured in our own factory, fitted by our own teams. 30 years in the industry.
- Step 1
Survey and measure
BD Signs measures the wall above your counter, noting corners, ductwork, bulkheads and where power can come in. The frame is drawn to that width, so the finished run fits the space you actually have.
- Step 2
Menu design
Our designers group the dishes, set the hierarchy and place the food photography so the lines you want to sell lead. You see a visual of the whole run before anything is printed, and it is revised until it is right.
- Step 3
Frames and panels made
The frames are fabricated in our own factory to the measured width and lit with LED throughout for an even glow. Panels are printed on translucent media, so photography and prices stay sharp once the light is behind them.
- Step 4
Fitting the run
Our own teams fix the frames as one continuous run, connect the LEDs to the supply and drop each printed panel in from the front. Before we leave, you are shown how a single panel comes out for the next price change.
Printed menu boxes or digital menu boards?
BD Signs makes both, and plenty of counters run the two side by side. The choice comes down to how often the menu changes and how much of it needs to move.
| Compare | Illuminated menu boxes | Digital menu boards |
|---|---|---|
| Changing prices | A new printed panel for each box that changes | Updated from a phone or laptop, with nothing to print |
| Best for | A core menu that holds steady for months at a time | Specials, daypart menus and offers that change often |
| Look | Even LED backlight behind printed food photography | Moving images, video and content that changes on a schedule |
| On the wall | Frames fixed above the counter, plus a power supply for the LEDs | Commercial screens on mounts, each with a player and power |
| Used together | Carries the fixed part of the menu | Carries the part that keeps moving |
Do calorie and allergen rules affect your menu board?
In England, The Calorie Labelling (Out of Home Sector) (England) Regulations 2021 apply to food businesses with 250 or more employees. Those businesses must show calorie information (kcal) for the food in scope at the point of choice, which includes menu boards, along with the portion size it refers to and a statement of daily calorie needs. On a menu, the kcal figure goes next to the description or the price of the dish.
Allergen rules apply to every food business, whatever its size. For food that is not prepacked, FSA guidance says you must provide information on any of the 14 allergens each item contains, either written on the menu or given verbally with a clearly visible written notice telling customers how to ask for it.
BD Signs designs the menu around the information you give us; deciding which rules apply to your business, and that the figures are correct, stays with you. Tell us at the start if kcal figures or an allergen notice need to appear, and space is set aside for them in the layout rather than squeezed in afterwards.
Menu Box Systems we've installed
The part of the menu that keeps changing.
A lit panel is the right answer for a menu that stays put. It is bright, it costs almost nothing to run and it never crashes. But every menu has a part that moves — the special, the price that went up, the thing that sold out at two o'clock — and reprinting a panel for that costs you every single time.
So most counters end up running both. Screens, video walls and window displays you can change from your phone. We build the first set of content ourselves, so it goes live looking like your brand rather than like a spreadsheet.
Our own digital menu platform, written in-house and developed over 15 years.
Both on the same wall
Lit panels for the menu that stays put, a screen for the part that moves. Specified as one scheme so the finishes match rather than nearly match.
Change a price from your phone
A printed panel costs you money every time it changes. A screen costs you a couple of minutes, from the back office or a beach.
Breakfast to lunch on a timer
The board changes itself at eleven. You stop paying for a menu that is wrong for half the day, and you stop relying on somebody remembering.
No design fee to put up an offer
Thousands of templates and food images come with the platform, and our designers keep adding to them. A new special takes minutes instead of a quote.
What do people ask about menu box systems?
How do I change a price on an illuminated menu box?
Swap the panel, not the sign. Send BD Signs the new prices or dishes and we reprint only the panels that have changed. Each one drops into its frame from the front, so the box stays on the wall and the LEDs, the frame and the rest of the run are left exactly where they are. A price rise across one category means one new panel, not a new menu.
How should illuminated menu boxes be cleaned?
Switch the boxes off, wipe the faces with a soft cloth and warm, mildly soapy water, then dry them. Keep solvents, abrasive pads and strong kitchen degreasers away from the printed faces, because they dull the surface and leave marks the light picks out. Above a fryer range, a regular wipe stops grease building up and keeps the food photography looking the way it did on fitting day.
Can menu boxes sit in the same run as digital screens?
Yes, and it is often the best of both. BD Signs also makes digital menu boards, so one counter can carry lit boxes for the core menu and a screen or two for offers, specials and the switch from breakfast to lunch. Both come from the same design studio, so the colours, type and photography match and the wall reads as one menu rather than two suppliers.
Other systems we make
“Excellent service as normal — have used BD Signs for the last 20 years and they have always been very helpful and delivered on time and on price!”
“Used BD Signs Design and Print services to design a new logo for my company and to design and print some large labels to use on my jobs. Professional service from start to finish. Highly recommended.”
Need menu box systems?
Send us your menu and a photo of the wall. We will lay it out, quote the whole job as one price, and fit it.
Or email info@bdsigns.co.uk — we answer everything the same working day.