Keep Chocolate Cool when Shipping in Hot Climates - Q&A

Question: Do you worry about condensation from the ice pack? I have kraft paper packaging on my bars.

Answer: Yes, I do. I encourage wrapping both ice packs and chocolate in kraft paper.

Question: Can we use regular bubblepak that are not metallized for insulation?

Answer: Yes, the air in bubble wrap will help insulate your products. The metal helps reflect heat though, so metallic bubble wrap remains a better option than simple bubble wrap.

Question: One worry I have is the chocolate being exposed to sustained sunlight in a courier's van. Is there any way to reduce this risk?

Answer: I recommend doubling down on insulation when packing your products. In my experience, chocolate wrapped in metallic bubble wrap inside cardboard box will help protect chocolate from the heat. In addition, putting a “protect from heat” sticker may help.

Question: Do you tape all the sides of the cardboard box for better insulation?

Answer: yes, as you want to avoid any open space that’ll let cold escape.

Question: If I use a foam cooler inside a cardboard box and my 15-bar chocolate boxes are in bubble wrap inside the cooler, where should I put the gel packs, inside or outside the foam cooler?

Answer: inside the foam cooler! Make sure to protect your bars from condensation by wrapping them in kraft paper.

Question: for those in temperate climate out at fairs and trade shows without tents or cooling....could these methods work for a couple of hours?

Answer: yes.

Question: Have you seen any chocolate get damaged by being too close to the ice pack?

Answer: yes, this happened to me because I hadn’t protected the chocolate well from the big gel packs. Lesson learned. Next time, I’ll wrap the chocolate bars in kraft paper.

Question: Do chocolate ship nationwide through refrigerated container?

Answer: I don’t think so.

Question: Should the chocolate be frozen solid before shipping?

Answer: I can’t speak for bonbons and confections, but I do freeze wrapped chocolate bars for 24 hours before shipping them to hot destinations.

Question: Estelle, can you speak more about freezing bars?

Answer: please see above.

Question: When freezing before shipping should the chocolate be already wrapped or unwrapped

Answer: wrapped.

Question: What is the biggest temp difference you have had shipped chocolate to bridge from A to B?

Answer: probably 40 degrees F or about 22 degrees C.

Question: Where is a good source of these materials?

Answer: this all depends on your geographical location and shipping volume. For small shipping volumes in the US, I recommend Amazon. For larger orders, check out websites like https://ipcpack.com/ or www.lumi.com.

Presentation Slides