Cosfibel says plastic is increasingly being used for chocolate packaging, although PET and PVC, both favoured for their "excellent clarity", have tended to be used more than PP.
The Révillon Chocolatier pack is a "drawer-style" container comprising a rigid 80-micron PP inner with two cavities containing the thermoformed chambers that hold the chocolates, and a 50-micron PP outer "sheath".
The opaque PP outer is printed in a combination of UV offset for vibrant colour reproduction of the full-colour images and silk screen for the "gold glitter" effect. The pack is produced by Cosfibel subsidiary Roskoplast.
Cosfibel plans targeting the chocolate market more actively with its packaging in the future. Sales manager, Diversification, Bertrand Chassagne says: "While still some 20% more expensive than cartonboard when sourced from Europe, we are increasingly buying PP from the Far East, where the price differential tends to be closer to 10%. PP produces attractive, tactile packs with excellent printability."
