Packaging a chocolate brand in India: boxes, liners and bags to specify before you order

A small chocolate brand needs to specify four things before the first print run: the box, the shaped liner or cups, the bag or wrap, and the label or sticker.

Each one has a food-safety side and a practical side. The parts that touch the chocolate, which means foil, paper cups, liners and the inside of bags, must be food grade, with a lab certificate you keep. The parts that do not touch it, i.e. the outer box, sleeve and sticker, still need the right board, no staples, no smell and a full label. Get all of it in writing from your supplier, and test it with your own chocolates before you approve the artwork.

We make films, tapes and paper packaging at Jagannath Polymers in Jaipur, and our sister company prints labels. I know packaging. I am not a chocolatier, so tempering, fillings and shelf life are for your own kitchen tests and your food-safety consultant.

What does FSSAI say about chocolate packaging?

There is no separate packaging rule for chocolate. It follows the FSS (Packaging) Regulations, 2018, which we read in the consolidated Version V on the FSSAI website, dated 2 April 2025.

Schedule IV of those regulations gives a suggestive list of packs for "Sweets and Confectionery". It includes foil wrap, plastic twist wraps of PET, PP or PVC, thermoformed trays and punnets with lids, multilayer laminated heat-sealed pouches and composite containers. The list is indicative only. It does not stop you using other materials, as long as they meet the standards.

The lines that matter most for a chocolate maker are these.

1. Regulation 3(2). Anything that touches food, or is likely to, must be food grade.
2. Regulation 3(10). The printed surface must not touch food.
3. Regulation 3(9). Inks on food packages must meet IS 15495.
4. Regulation 3(14). You, the food business, must hold a certificate of conformity from a NABL-accredited lab for each food-contact material.

The box: what to specify

For most chocolate boxes, the box itself does not touch the chocolate. A tray, cups or a liner sit in between. So the box brief is mostly about strength, fat and print.

1. Board grade and thickness, and whether the inside face is virgin fibre. If any piece can slide out of its cavity and touch the box, the inside face is food contact. Folding box board for food contact is IS 1776 in Schedule I.
2. Fat resistance. Nut pralines and ganache fillings can release oil over time. A greaseproof paper sheet (IS 6622) or a coated inside face stops dark patches spreading through the board.
3. Print on the outside only. A printed lid pressing on the top row of chocolates puts ink on food.
4. Closure. On 12 June 2026, FSSAI issued an advisory directing all food businesses to stop using metallic pins, wires or any other such material for sealing, fastening or securing food and food packaging. So no stapled ribbons or stapled tags. Use a paper seal sticker, a tuck-in lid or a ribbon tied without metal.

One more point on gift boxes. The Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021 banned "wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes" from 1 July 2022, as the Central Pollution Control Board press release of June 2022 lists. If you planned a clear plastic overwrap on a chocolate box, ask your state pollution control board or an environmental consultant whether your box counts as a sweet box. I would not guess on that one.

Shaped liners and trays

The shaped liner holds each chocolate in its own cavity. It stops pieces rubbing against each other, which is what scuffs the shine off a well-tempered chocolate.

Most liners are thermoformed plastic. Each plastic has its own Indian Standard in Schedule III:

Every plastic that touches food must also pass the overall migration limit of 60 mg/kg or 10 mg/dm² under IS 9845, with no visible colour migration (regulation 4(4)(b)). Gold, black, maroon and other coloured liners need pigments that meet IS 9833 (regulation 4(4)(d)).

Recycled plastic needs care. Regulation 4(4)(e) allows recycled PET for food only under standards and guidelines that FSSAI notifies. A liner sold simply as "recycled" should not hold your chocolates unless the supplier can show it meets that route.

For a custom liner, send the supplier your actual chocolates, not a drawing. Cavities that are too tight crack the shells. Cavities that are too loose let pieces rattle and chip in transit. Ask for a sample tray before the full mould is cut, and check the fit with every shape in your range.

Cups, foil and wraps

Paper cups for truffles and pralines are usually greaseproof or glassine-type paper. Ask which standard the paper meets (greaseproof is IS 6622) and keep any print on the outside of the cup.

Foil is the classic wrap for bars and coins. Bare aluminium foil for food is IS 15392 in Schedule II. Foil laminated with paper or plastic is IS 8970 in Schedule I. If the foil is printed or coloured, ask which face carries the ink and colour. The face against the chocolate should be plain.

Bags: cello bags, pouches and ties

Clear bags of chocolate drops or bark are common for small brands and gifting. They are usually polypropylene film (IS 10910) or polyethylene (IS 10146). Ask for the film type, the thickness in microns and the migration report.

For closure, I would choose a heat seal. A heat-sealed bag shows tampering, keeps humidity out and keeps smells away from the chocolate. If you prefer a tie for the gift look, use paper, fabric or a plastic tie with no metal wire inside. Wire twist ties are exactly the kind of metallic fastener the June 2026 advisory asks food businesses to stop.

Chocolate lollipops need a separate thought. Candy sticks of plastic are on the list of single-use plastic items banned from 1 July 2022 in the CPCB press release above. Ask your stick supplier for a paper or wooden stick.

Stickers and labels

Our sister company, Jagannath Labels, prints labels, so we read label rules from the printing side.

1. Keep stickers on the outside of the box or bag. The adhesive should never sit against chocolate.
2. Do not rely on a hang tag. Regulation 4(6) of the FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 (FSSAI, Version II, 29 December 2021) says the label must be applied so that it will not become separated from the container. A tag on a ribbon can come off.
3. Plan for small pieces. Under regulation 8(1), a pack with a surface area of 100 sq cm or less can leave the ingredients list, batch number, nutrition, additives and the licence number and logo off its own label, as long as they appear on the multi-unit package. A single wrapped chocolate inside a gift box is a common example. The box then carries the full label.
4. Check the outer box rule. Regulation 4(8) says an outer container displayed for retail sale must carry all the declarations required on the packs inside, unless it is transparent and those declarations can be read through it.

A labelling amendment comes into force on 1 July 2027, so ask your food-safety consultant what applies when your labels are printed. Our guide to FSSAI labelling for sweet shops explains the general rules.

Questions to put to every supplier before the first print run

Send the same list to each supplier, us included. It makes quotes comparable and it shows quickly who knows food packaging.

1. What is each food-contact part made of, and which Indian Standard does it meet?
2. Can you give a NABL-accredited lab report for each food-contact part, including overall migration under IS 9845?
3. Do the inks meet IS 15495, and is all print on the outside?
4. For coloured liners and foils, do the pigments meet IS 9833?
5. Is any food-contact part made from recycled material? If yes, under which FSSAI-notified route?
6. How will the box close without staples or metal wire?
7. Can I have printed samples, made on the same line as the bulk order, to test with my chocolates?
8. Will every carton of boxes, liners and bags carry a batch number?

Three tests to do with your own chocolates

Ask for printed samples and set aside a few pieces from one batch.

1. The fat test. Place your most oil-rich praline on the liner, the cup and the inside of the box, close it and leave it for two days at room temperature. Then look for dark patches on the board and on the outside. A patch means you need a greaseproof layer.
2. The smell test. Seal a few chocolates in an airtight jar with a piece of the box, the insert and the sticker. Seal a second jar with chocolates alone. After three days, taste one from each jar. Chocolate picks up smells easily, and an inky taste is the first thing a customer notices.
3. The rattle test. Fill a box with your full range, close it and shake it hard, then tip it on each side. Open it and look for scuffs, chips and pieces out of their cavities.

These will not replace a lab report. They do catch most problems while changing the order is still cheap.

If you will ship by courier, read our guide on how to ship sweets and cakes by courier as well. Heat matters as much as the box for chocolate, and packaging alone cannot cool it.