The packaging could also prevent the white "bloom" discoloration that appears on chocolate if it is stored in direct sunlight.
NineSigma, a US consultancy, has issued the design tender on Kraft's behalf, as part of its open innovation programme.
The US group, which owns Cadbury’s, has begun searching for hi-tech “thin film” packaging for its chocolate bars to “minimise melting” in temperatures of up to 40C.
The packaging could also prevent the white “bloom” discolouration that appears on chocolate if they are stored in direct sunlight.
The innovation could represent the biggest change in confectionary packing since the shift from the use of aluminum foil wrapper inside a paper envelope to the one-layer plastic flow packaging around ten years ago.
NineSigma, a US consultancy, has issued the design tender on Kraft’s behalf, as part of its "open innovation" programme. It wants “proof of concept” designs within the next nine months.
The tender states: “Kraft Foods seeks novel materials or approaches to packaging that can protect single serve chocolate bars from medium term exposure to warm ambient conditions. These products frequently experience multiple cycles of exposure to controlled and uncontrolled climates.
“Product may be shipped in controlled and uncontrolled conditions, sold by the retailer in an air-conditioned setting and consumed sometime later after having been carried on the person or in a handbag. Although current technology can provide a solution to the problem, the resultant packaging is both cost prohibitive and excessively bulky.”
Nine Sigma said it wanted to hear from design experts that would use “novel insulating materials, phase change material and thin film approaches that can store energy and repurpose it”.
Other possible approaches could include “active packaging technologies that are triggered by temperature or light” and “novel cooling or heat absorbing technologies”.
A spokesman for Kraft said: “We’re complementing our traditional R&D and actively looking for external partners. We’ve worked with outside partners to develop easy re-seal closures for Milka molded bars. And our unique “Snack ‘n Seal” resealable packaging for Oreo and Chips Ahoy! was developed with the help of an outside supplier.”
Kraft could make significant cost savings from the innovation. The spokesman said when it changed Milka bars from an aluminum foil wrapper inside a paper envelope to the one-layer plastic flow pack it reduced packaging materials weight by about 60pc, eliminating around 2,600 tonnes per year for the 100g and 300g bar formats.
