Min. 100 units · 3–5 days
Chocolate Boxes
Custom Food Packaging
Specify thisCustom Sleeves
Chocolate Sleeves
Made-to-order chocolate Sleeves in uncoated kraft board, printed to your artwork and cut to your dimensions.
- Minimum order
- 100 units
- Production
- 3–5 business days
- Construction
- sleeve
- Delivery
- US, UK, Canada, Australia
No obligation
Start a quote
Name, email, phone and what you are packing and the volumes you run. Attach artwork if you have it. We reply with a specification and a written price, usually within one business day.
What chocolate sleeves have to cope with
Chocolate Sleeves hold a chocolate bar or block, wrapped over an inner foil or film. That is the starting point for the specification, because measure the bar as it will be wrapped. The inner layer is thin but a sleeve has almost no tolerance.
In service they are used for confectionery retail where the sleeve carries the brand and the inner wrap protects the chocolate.
Where chocolate sleeves are actually used
Chocolate Sleeves are specified for confectionery retail where the sleeve carries the brand and the inner wrap protects the chocolate. Measure the bar as it will be wrapped. The inner layer is thin but a sleeve has almost no tolerance.
- Confectionery retail where the sleeve carries the brand and the inner wrap protects the chocolate
- Food service branding
- Retail product banding
- Gift presentation
The substrate for chocolate sleeves
A light coated board — the sleeve carries no load, so weight here is about feel and print rather than strength.
The options we would consider for this format are below; measure the bar as it will be wrapped. The inner layer is thin but a sleeve has almost no tolerance.
- Uncoated kraft board
- C1S paperboard
- Corrugated E-flute
- Greaseproof paper
- Recycled board
Printing chocolate sleeves
Soft-touch and matt finishes suit the category. Chocolate packaging is judged in the hand as much as on a shelf.
Offset lithography, Flexography, Digital press are all available for this format. Run length usually decides which is cheapest: digital removes the plate cost on short quantities, offset and flexo overtake it at volume.
Finishing chocolate sleeves
Soft-touch and matt finishes suit the category. Chocolate packaging is judged in the hand as much as on a shelf.
Each finish below is a separate pass on the press or the finishing line, which is why they are quoted individually rather than bundled.
- Matte lamination
- Uncoated natural
- Spot UV
- Foil stamping
- Emboss
Sizing chocolate sleeves
Sized to the bar including the inner wrap, which adds a small but real thickness.
Send the contents rather than a box size. The bar is measured unwrapped, and the foil or flow-wrap underneath is forgotten.
What moves the price
Four things drive a quote more than anything else: the quantity, the print route, the board grade and the number of finishing passes. Dimensions matter too, but usually through how efficiently the shape nests on the press sheet.
Prices start from $0.30 per piece for large-volume orders. If a cheaper route exists we say so at quoting rather than after the invoice.
Holding chocolate sleeves before service
The sleeve is sized to the bare bar, so it will not slide over the bar once the inner wrap is on.
Paperboard also absorbs moisture from the air until it equalises with its surroundings. If stock sits more than about six weeks in unconditioned space, a moisture-resistant coating is worth its small premium.
Getting artwork press-ready
Measure the circumference of the filled product, not the empty one, and add 10 mm for the glue lap.
Supply a print-ready PDF or vector file with fonts outlined and images at 300 dpi. Our prepress team checks every file before a proof is issued. The check that catches most files is type sitting too close to a crease, which is easier to move at layout than at proof.
From enquiry to delivery
Start with dimensions and quantity. If you already run something similar, a physical sample tells us more in a minute than a specification does in a page.
You approve the quote, we send the dieline, prepress proofs it, and production follows. The proof stage is where changes are still free.
Sampling before you order
Ask for an unprinted sample if the question is fit, or a printed prototype if the question is colour. They answer different things.
Sample costs are normally credited against the production order.
Reference
Chocolate Sleeves at a specification level
| Product | Chocolate Sleeves |
|---|---|
| Category | Custom Sleeves |
| Construction | Wrapped band, glued or flat-supplied |
| Fit | Sized to filled product circumference |
| Ships as | Flat, banded bundles |
| Materials | Uncoated kraft board, C1S paperboard, Corrugated E-flute, Greaseproof paper |
| Printing | Offset lithography, Flexography, Digital press |
| Finishes | Matte lamination, Uncoated natural, Spot UV, Foil stamping, Emboss |
| Minimum order | Minimum order is 100 units on any format, and unit cost falls sharply as the quantity rises. |
| Lead time | 3 to 5 business days after artwork approval |
| Shipping | Across the US, UK, Canada and Australia |
Specification builder
Specify Chocolate Sleeves in under a minute
Set what you know, leave the rest. Everything here travels with your request, so nothing gets retyped.
- 100-unit minimum
- 3–5 day production
- Free dieline
- No obligation
Chocolate Sleeves
Drag to rotate
What you get
Why buyers specify this format
Sized to the contents
Sized to the bar including the inner wrap, which adds a small but real thickness.
What goes wrong in service
The sleeve is sized to the bare bar, so it will not slide over the bar once the inner wrap is on.
Where it is used
Specified for confectionery retail where the sleeve carries the brand and the inner wrap protects the chocolate.
The detail that decides it
Measure the bar as it will be wrapped. The inner layer is thin but a sleeve has almost no tolerance.
This format sits in our custom sleeves range, alongside 23 other made-to-order formats.
Answers
Chocolate Sleeves: service and food safety
Specification, minimums and lead times for chocolate sleeves.
Should I measure the bar with or without its inner wrap?
With it. A sleeve has almost no tolerance, and a foil or flow-wrap layer that seems negligible is often exactly enough to stop the sleeve going on.
Are these food-contact compliant?
We specify food-contact compliant boards and inks where the pack touches food directly. Tell us whether contact is direct or through a liner for chocolate sleeves, because it changes which stocks are available to you.
How do you stop grease showing through?
A grease-resistant coating or a greaseproof liner. Untreated board will always strike through eventually with hot, oily food — that is a property of the material rather than a quality fault, and it is inexpensive to design out.
How exactly can you match our brand colour?
On offset and flexo we hold the ink formulation, which gives a tight match run to run. Digital has a wider tolerance. If exact consistency across repeat runs matters more than short-run economics, we will quote the litho route.
Can I order chocolate sleeves in a custom size?
Every run is cut to your dimensions — there are no stock sizes here. Send the product measurements rather than a box size and we will build the sleeve around them, then send a dieline template you can design onto.
What happens after I approve the quote?
We issue a dieline template sized to your product, prepress checks your artwork against it, and a proof comes back for sign-off. Nothing runs until you approve that proof, and sleeves then take 3 to 5 business days.
Can you hold the specification for repeat orders?
Yes. Once a first run is approved we hold the board, structure, dimensions, print method and finishes against your account, so a reorder references the same specification exactly rather than being re-derived. That includes the ink formulation, which is what keeps a brand colour consistent between runs rather than drifting a shade each time.
Do you offer recycled or recyclable options?
Recycled grades are available across most of the substrates we run for sleeves. Recycled content, kerbside recyclability and certified compostability are three different claims though, so tell us which one you intend to print.
What file format should I send artwork in?
A print-ready PDF or a vector file, with fonts outlined and any raster images at 300 dpi at final size. We supply the dieline to design onto, and prepress checks bleed, safe area and crease clearance before issuing a proof. The dieline we supply carries the crease positions, so keeping type clear of a crease is easier to solve at layout than at proof.
What is the minimum order for chocolate sleeves?
A flat 100 units on any format. Most sleeves in this range are quoted from 100 units upward because unit cost falls sharply above that, but the minimum exists so you can validate a structure first.
How long do chocolate sleeves take to produce?
3 to 5 business days after artwork approval, plus freight. Sleeve runs with applied finishes can take longer because each finish is a separate pass, and we confirm a firm date in writing with the quote.
What do chocolate sleeves cost?
Prices start from $0.30 per piece for large-volume orders. For this format the biggest levers are quantity, print route, board grade and how many finishing passes are involved. We quote each element separately so you can see where the money is going. Finishing passes are the lever buyers most often underestimate: each one is a separate run through the line.
Next step
Price Chocolate Sleeves by the case
Send the fill size and the volumes you run. We reply with a full specification and a written price, usually within one business day.