How to Use Chocolate Wrappers Foil & Where to Find It

Give your handmade chocolates an elegant finish by wrapping them in foil. Professional chocolatier Simon Knott explains how to use chocolate wrappers foil and where to buy foil wrappers in the USA for chocolate bars and individual pieces.

How to Use Chocolate Wrappers Foil & Where to Find It

Article by Simon Knott, Professional Chocolatier

When you see the slick displays of commercially wrapped chocolate in the store, it isn’t easy to imagine you can achieve the same finish when wrapping your own chocolates by hand. However, with a bit of practice and learning some simple techniques, you will soon be able to create attractive foil packaging that shows off your creations to their best.

Advantages of Wrapping Chocolate in Foil

Chocolatiers and manufacturers have long used aluminium foil as a cost-effective and food-safe barrier in packaging their products. Aluminium foil has been a popular choice as it fulfils several functions that are particularly useful for chocolate:

• Even though the aluminium foil is rolled extremely thinly, it is still an efficient barrier against moisture and odours, which might taint the chocolate. Foil additionally protects chocolate from the sun’s rays and air, which can lead to the oxidation of fats, as well as flavour and texture degradation.

• Although thin aluminium foil still has considerable strength when protecting chocolate products, this strength lessens the likelihood of physical damage in transit.

• Chocolate wrapped in aluminium foil is more enjoyable to unwrap than most other packaging substitutes.

• Aluminium foil technology has advanced rapidly so that manufacturers can now produce very thin foil, which is only 10 microns thick (0.1 mm). The foil still performs well as a barrier but is much cheaper.

• Aluminium foil is malleable, so it is easy to shape it to the contours of awkward chocolate shapes. This improves the finished appearance of chocolate products.

• The process of anodising enables the aluminium foil surface to absorb the colours of various dyes and metallic salts. The result is a range of bright and shiny foil colours, ideal for impact when packaging chocolate.

Foil has been used for wrapping chocolates since the early 1900s. Compared with other options, foil was strong and created a good barrier, making it ideal for wrapping foodstuffs.  Aluminium foil is still used extensively in packaging many chocolate products, despite many manufacturers turning to alternative packaging solutions due to environmental concerns.

Gathering the Foil Wrappers and Materials

Taking extra care and preparation when wrapping any chocolate product will ensure the final product will have that extra wow factor. Part of chocolate’s attraction is that it melts easily but this can also become a problem when packaging, with stray fingerprints for example.

Materials Required

• Individual chocolates and/or bars that need wrapping
• Disposable gloves
• Aluminium chocolate wrappers foil (see note below)
• Scissors
• Glue stick

Aluminium foil isn’t the easiest material to cut, so it’s often best to practice cutting out a few sheets first to improve your technique. Try to use an older pair of scissors to cut your foil. When cutting through aluminium foil you are cutting through a thin sheet of metal, which can quickly blunt the blades.

Where to Buy Chocolate Wrappers Foil

If you are struggling with cutting your own foil or want to save yourself the work, there are several online companies selling neat, ready-cut confectionery sheets in different sizes and colours, which give an excellent professional finish.

Here are some online stores that cater to both professional chocolatiers and casual chocolate crafters, and ship to the United States:

Meryo Pack Visit the Meryo Pack website.

Foil Man. Visit the Foil Man website.

Confectionery House. Visit the Confectionery House website.

Ready-cut squares come in a variety of dimensions appropriate for chocolate products such as 3×3, 4×4, 6×6, and 6×7 ins.

However, the advantage of making your own chocolate foil wrappers is that they can be cut to any size, ideal if you have any unusually shaped products.

How to Use Chocolate Foil Wrappers on Individual Chocolates

STEP 1: Prepare your work area and materials

Always wear disposable gloves when wrapping chocolate. It’s ideal if the gloves fit well, so you can still be nimble with your fingers. Fingerprints on the foil or chocolate spoil the finish. Avoid any wrapping on particularly hot days to avoid damaging the chocolate.

Carefully trim off any edges on your chocolates to make them symmetrical.

STEP 2: Cut individual chocolate wrappers foil to size

If you are choosing to cut the foil yourself instead of buying foil wrappers already in the size you need, you will need to measure and cut the foil pieces now.

Start by sizing the foil wrapper for one chocolate. There must be enough excess so that when lifted onto the chocolate base, the bottom is entirely covered with no bare patches. At the same time, you don’t want an excess of foil, or it will bunch up and spoil the finish.

When you have sized the first square of foil, measure the remaining pieces you need and cut them out with scissors.

STEP 3: Fold the edges and wrap the chocolate in foil

Steps for Wrapping Chocolate in Foil:

1. Place the chocolate down onto the foil so the base is uppermost.
2. Pick up one corner of the foil and bring it up onto the base of the chocolate.
3. Continue around with the other edges of the foil and fold them on top as well. Pull the foil tight, without tearing it, to create a smooth, clean finish.
4. Ensure the whole base is covered.
5. Turn the chocolate the right way up and carefully smooth any creases with your fingers.

For a professional finish and enhance the presentation of your individually foil-wrapped chocolates, you can add a small sticker on the top of each piece.

How to Wrap Chocolate Bar in Foil

STEP 1: Prepare the chocolate bar for wrapping

Always wear disposable gloves when wrapping chocolate. The gloves need to be a close fit so you can still be nimble with your fingers. Fingerprints on the foil or chocolate spoil the finish.

Avoid any wrapping on particularly hot days.

STEP 2: Cut the chocolate foil wrapper to the correct size

Start by using one chocolate bar to size the foil wrapper. You will then use this to create a template for the remainder of the bars.

To size the foil, lay a chocolate bar face down onto the corner of a foil sheet. Position the bar so there is enough excess foil on all sides to lift up and over the bar when folded. Cut the first sheet neatly with the scissors.

Wrap the bar with this first trial sheet to ensure it’s the right size. If correct, cut the remaining sheets you require or adjust the size if it needs changing.

STEP 3: Fold the edges of the foil then wrap the chocolate bar

How to wrap chocolate bar in foil:

1. Position the bar centrally, with the squares facing down against the foil.
2. Start with the short edges and fold the foil up and over onto the base of the bar so it covers about 1 cm (0.5 inch). Do the same at the other end.
3. Next, push the foil down in the corners and fold over the two long edges by about 1 cm (0.5 inch) to make a neat finish. You’ll find the foil should keep in place once you have folded it over.
4. Then lift the two long foil edges up over to the centre of the bar and flatten them out.
5. Apply a small amount of glue stick (UHU, Pritt, Elmer’s) on the upper flap and gently push the top flap against it to form a seal.
6. Go over the foil-wrapped bar with your fingers and smooth out any minor creases.

For a professional finish, check over the bar and gently push the foil against the top surface to take on the chocolate’s shape underneath.

You can also make a paper sleeve to wrap around your chocolate bar for an extra touch. You can use online designs and a home printer. The sleeve is then cut to shape and wrapped around the foiled chocolate bar, before gluing it in place with the glue stick.

After that, it’s straightforward to add a ribbon, sticker, or label to enhance the presentation of your finished chocolate bar.

FInal Words on Using Chocolate Wrappers Foil  

We hope you’ve enjoyed this article from chocolatier Simon Knott on how to use chocolate wrappers foil, to enhance the look of your handmade chocolate creations. And hopefully, you are now feeling inspired to engage in this little food craft activity at home for yourself.

While making good quality chocolate is obviously the main goal, the anticipation and joy of receiving a beautifully wrapped chocolate cannot be denied. Take the time to foil wrap your chocolates, and your recipients will appreciate it.

Here are some of the take home points from this article, in case you missed them:

• Wear gloves when foil wrapping chocolate; fingerprints are never a good look.
• Do not attempt to wrap chocolates in hot weather.
• Use old scissors to cut foil; it will blunt your blades.
• Start with wrapping and cutting foil for one test chocolate, to learn the technique and get the foil size correct. Then, use this piece of foil as a template for the rest.

Now that you have learnt how to use chocolate foil wrappers like the professionals do and you’re ready to share your creations, make sure you know how to ship them. In this article we explain how to package and prepare chocolates for shipping and postage, to ensure they arrive in great condition.

And lastly, if you have not yet learnt how to temper chocolate properly, make sure you do! Tempering chocolate is the key skill that will elevate your chocolates from amateur home kitchen cook to professional standard. We explain how to temper chocolate in this article, check it out.

Happy chocolatiering!