This is, perhaps, where it all began – when Tobler used aluminium foil to wrap his iconic chocolate bar in the early 1900s. Since then, of course, both foil and flexible plastic materials have become an indispensable part of the confectionery industry with millions of bars of chocolate (and other) snacks wrapped every day on high speed machines.
The development of different laminates and metalized films has enabled manufacturers to do away with rigid trays and just use a straightforward over-wrap. This means much less material per product and, thanks to the clever formulations, excellent barrier to light, moisture and odours, as well as strong puncture resistance – but retaining easy to open characteristics and no mess!
Aluminium foil is still used in many high end chocolate confectionery products to reflect quality, as well as offering the same protective and ease of use qualities. For sugar confectionery, sweeties or candies as they are commonly known, the flexible bag is an almost universal style, allowing ease of filling, all the usual barrier features – in this case particularly moisture – and Point of Sale features, such as hanging tags or euros-lots, which can easily be incorporated into the design.