Chocolate is packaged against light, heat, moisture and smells, which bloom it, soften it and taint it. The classic bar is foil inside a printed paper sleeve: the foil seals out air and odors, the sleeve carries the label. A heat-sealed clear bag is cheapest and shows the bar; a tuck box looks premium; and custom printed foil puts your brand on the bar itself once the line is settled. The label uses chocolate's standard names when they apply, "milk chocolate" means a recipe set by FDA, and declares milk and any nuts. In the example below, an Idaho chocolate maker prices four options: 17 cents to 50 cents a bar.
The short version
- Pack chocolate against light, heat, moisture and smells.
- Foil inside a paper sleeve: the classic bar.
- Heat-sealed clear bags are cheapest.
- Tuck boxes look premium.
- Custom printed foil needs a big minimum order.
- Names like milk chocolate follow FDA's standards; declare milk and nuts.
- TaroStack puts the wrapper in each bar's cost. More below.
The options
| Option | Keeps out light and smells | Looks | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foil and printed paper sleeve | Yes | Classic | Shops, online |
| Heat-sealed clear bag | No | Shows the bar | Markets |
| Tuck box with inner foil | Yes | Premium | Gift stores |
| Custom printed foil wrap | Yes | Branded | A settled line |
In summer, bars ship with an ice pack or wait for cooler weather; a bar that melts and sets again blooms. Pricing a bar is in how to price chocolate.
The label
Chocolate's names come with standards: "milk chocolate", for example, is defined in 21 CFR 163.130. The label lists ingredients in order by weight (21 CFR 101.4), the name and place of business (21 CFR 101.5) and the net weight, and declares milk, soy lecithin and nuts (21 U.S.C. 343(w)). More on the names is in chocolate labeling requirements. This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: four options for a chocolate maker
Sawtooth Chocolate Co., the made-up chocolate maker in Boise, Idaho, wraps about 700 two-ounce bars a week:
| Option | Parts | Per bar | 700 a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foil and printed paper sleeve | Foil 4¢, sleeve 25¢ | $0.30 | $207.34 |
| Heat-sealed clear bag | Bag 12¢, label | $0.17 | $122.22 |
| Tuck box with inner foil | Box 45¢, foil | $0.50 | $350.14 |
| Custom printed foil wrap | Printed foil 30¢ | $0.31 | $216.30 |
The foil and sleeve stay for shops and online; the clear bag goes to markets, and gift stores get the tuck box at a higher wholesale price. The printed foil waits until the bar line is settled, because 5,000 wraps for a flavor that doesn't sell are $1,500 on a shelf. The business year is in chocolate business plan.
Get the calculator
Download the chocolate packaging calculator. Two sheets: components, each part of each option with its pack price, units, how many a bar uses and waste; and compare, each option's cost per bar and per week at your volume, with notes. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
A cost sheet doesn't know which bars bloomed in a warm week, or which batch of couverture went into which wrapper. A shop that finds a bad bar needs the batch.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each batch's lot, the packaging in its cost, and where every case went.
Each batch a lot. Each batch of chocolate records the ingredient lots it used, gets its own lot and dates, and lot labels print for the packages.
Packaging in the recipe. The foil and sleeves are items in each bar's recipe, so every batch uses them up at the price you paid, and the count of what's left stays current.
Where it went. Each customer's order records the lots it got, so one recall report shows every customer a batch reached.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which batch is in a package | Written on it | The lot on its label |
| Foil and sleeves left | Counted when you run out | Used by every batch |
| Which shops got a batch | Invoices | One recall report |
Lots, batches, recipes and true cost are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.