Inserts and Trays for Chocolates

Why does a chocolate box need an insert at all?

Chocolates placed loose in a box slide the moment it tilts. The front row piles into the corner, dusting rubs off onto the neighbours and painted shells scuff where they touch. By the time the customer opens the lid, the neat assortment you packed has become a jumble.

An insert gives each piece its own place. It stops sliding, keeps pieces from touching and holds them upright, so the box opens the way you packed it. It also makes packing faster, because there is no arranging: each chocolate goes into its pocket and the lid goes on.

There are three main types of insert, and each holds the chocolate in a different way. The right choice depends on the chocolate, how the box will be sold and whether it will be posted.

A good insert also helps the customer. A flavour key printed inside the lid only works if every piece is where the key says it is, and only an insert guarantees that from the first box to the last.

How do the three types compare?

None of the three is better in every case. They suit different chocolates, and many makers use two of them across their range.

When is a card insert the right choice?

A die-cut card insert is a sheet of card with holes cut for each piece, folded so the deck stands a little off the floor of the box. The chocolate sits in the hole, held at its base by the edge of the card.

It suits firm pieces: enrobed truffles, set ganaches with a firm shell, wrapped chocolates and moulded pieces with a flat base. It keeps the whole box in card, which some makers prefer for its look and feel, and it can be printed in food-safe inks with a pattern, a logo or a number beside each hole.

Card inserts are less suited to very soft or dusted pieces, which can stick to or mark the cut edge, and to boxes that will travel far in the post.

When is a formed PET tray better?

A PET tray is a sheet of food-safe PET heated and pressed into a cup for each piece. The cup can be shaped to match your mould, so a square bon bon sits in a square cup and a dome sits in a round one.

Because the cup follows the shape, the tray grips the chocolate closely around its base. That makes PET the better choice for soft ganaches, cocoa-dusted truffles, painted bon bons and anything that will be posted. The chocolate cannot rock, so its surface stays clear of the walls.

Trays come in clear, black, gold and white. A black tray makes milk and white chocolates stand out; a white or clear tray makes painted colours brighter. You can see the options on our page for chocolate box inserts on their own.

When should you use card dividers?

Dividers are strips of card with slots cut half way through, which cross each other to form a grid of square or oblong cells. They do not need a cup shaped to the chocolate, so one grid can hold a round truffle, a square ganache and a small heart side by side.

That makes dividers the flexible choice for ranges that change often, and the natural choice for larger items such as fudge cubes, chocolate-dipped biscuits and rocky road. Add a paper cup in each cell for anything soft or sticky.

Keep the strips a little lower than the chocolates, so customers can see each piece and lift it out with their fingers.

Which insert suits which chocolate?

• Enrobed truffles: card insert or PET tray
• Hand-rolled, cocoa-dusted truffles: PET tray
• Painted or airbrushed bon bons: PET tray formed to the mould
• Soft ganache squares: PET tray
• Mixed shapes in one box: card dividers or a PET tray with two cup shapes
• Fudge, tiffin and rocky road: card dividers
• Wrapped chocolates: card insert or dividers
• Cocoa bombs: a single PET cup or a card insert with a round hole

How do you choose an insert step by step?

If two inserts both seem right, choose by where the box goes. A counter box can use a card insert for a lovely all-card feel. A posted box should usually use a PET tray.

1. Decide where the box is sold: over a counter, on a shelf or by post.
2. Look at the surface of the chocolate: firm, soft, dusted or painted.
3. Check whether every piece is the same shape or the box is mixed.
4. Pick the insert from the table above, leaning to PET for anything soft or posted.
5. Choose a tray colour that contrasts with your chocolates.
6. Ask for the layout on the free proof before anything is made.

How deep should a cavity be?

Aim for a cup that wraps around between half and two thirds of the piece. Shallow cups let pieces rock in transit; deep cups make them hard to lift out, especially for customers with short nails.

In a card insert, depth comes from how high the deck is raised off the floor of the box. In a PET tray it is formed into each cup, so it can vary across the tray if your pieces vary in height. Either way, the box depth is then set so there are a few millimetres of air above the tallest piece.

What about the colour of the insert?

Contrast is the rule. Dark trays behind light chocolates, light trays behind dark or colourful ones. Gold trays suit dark chocolate gift ranges. A card insert in the same colour as the lid gives a calm, matching look, while a contrasting colour frames each piece.

If your range changes colour with each collection, a white or clear tray works with all of them and saves reordering trays every time the designs change.

Think about the lighting where the box is opened too. Under warm shop lights a gold tray glows; in a cool office it can look flat beside a crisp white one. If the box is a corporate gift, white or black is the safer pick.

How do you order the right insert?

Send the piece count, the width and height of one finished piece, the shape of its base and how the box will be sold. If you already have boxes, send their inside size. We reply by email within one working day with a price and an insert recommendation, and the free proof shows the layout.

Inserts are made in 4 to 6 working days after proof approval and delivered free and tracked to UK mainland addresses in 2 to 3 working days, alongside your boxes or on their own.