​Why the Most Popular Coffin Isn’t the Only Choice

Because Funerals Don’t Have to Look the Same​

In most New Zealand funeral homes, the most popular coffin is made from MDF with a woodgrain veneer. Oak finish, mahogany finish, satin finish, it looks like wood, and it’s what many families recognise straight away.

It’s been the standard for decades, and for a lot of people it feels safe and familiar. There’s nothing wrong with that. For many families, it’s exactly the right choice.

When it comes time to choose a casket, families are often shown a selection by their funeral director. In that moment, one of the most common questions people ask is,

“What do most families choose?” “What’s your most popular?”

It’s an understandable thing to ask in such a hard time. People want reassurance. They want to know they’re making the safe, normal choice.

And the answer is usually the same: the mid-range MDF coffin with a woodgrain finish. Oak look, mahogany look, satin finish. It’s familiar, it looks traditional, and it has been the standard for decades.

That’s why it’s the most popular. Not because it’s the only option, but because it feels safe and familiar.

But It’s Not the Only Choice

The standard wood grain veneered coffin might feel like the safe answer, but it isn’t the only option. Even within cardboard coffins, there are some designed to look just like traditional veneered MDF.

Families can add drawings, messages, and artwork, making the casket part of the farewell.

Outside The Box Caskets is purposely different. We’re not trying to look like something else. We don’t hide the fact we’re cardboard, we show it off!It’s beautiful in its own right. What you see is what you get. Simple, natural and authentic.

Outside The Box Caskets offer something different. Made in New Zealand from a combination of recycled cardboard and kraft fibres, a board specially made for our caskets, they are calm, approachable and modern. They do not have the hard glossy finish of traditional coffins. Instead they bring a different kind of dignity. Softer, lighter and more personal.

They bring a gentle presence that feels completely different from the traditional casket people are used to seeing. And they can be personal. With MDF or polished timber, you can’t draw on the surface. You can’t write notes or cover it in artwork. Our caskets invite that. Families decorate them with drawings, messages, and photos. Children add their own touches. Friends write their goodbyes. The casket becomes part of the farewell, not just a container for it.

Even left plain, they stand out. They bring a simplicity and a warmth that many people didn’t even know was possible.

More than just eco

Yes, they’re eco-friendly. That matters to many families. But that’s not the only reason people choose them. They choose them because they want something that is different, Something modern. Something that doesn’t look like the same coffin everyone else has.

Because why should a final goodbye look like everybody else’s?

Ask the question

When the funeral director hands you the catalogue, it can feel easiest to choose the most common option. The one that has been chosen for decades. The one that feels safe and familiar. But you do not have to stop there.

There are other options. If you do not see us in the front, flip right to the back of the catalogue, that is often where we are hiding. We know we should be at the front (and one day we will be).

Maybe one day the catalogue will open and the standard choice will be Outside The Box.Imagine a time when the most popular choice is not a MDF casket with a woodgrain finish, but a cardboard casket. A new kind of standard.

Funerals do not have to follow the script. They do not have to follow the standard.

They can be different.

They can be personal.​

They can be Outside The Box.