Menu
Close
Chocolate blooming is a less talked about challenge you may encounter in the vending machine business.
This is when chocolate develops a whitish cast on the surface. While not harmful, it is commonly mistaken for mold and may deter customers. Understanding the nature of chocolate bloom is essential for maintaining the quality and appeal of your offerings.
In this article, we cover what the bloom is exactly and how you can prevent it.
Chocolate bloom is a common issue that can affect the appearance and texture of chocolate. By identifying what chocolate bloom is and learning about its types, you can better prevent it from occurring.
Chocolate bloom refers to a white or grayish coating that can form on the surface of chocolate. This is not a sign of spoilage, but rather an indication that the fat or sugar within the chocolate has crystallized. Although bloom affects the aesthetics and texture, bloomed chocolate is still safe to eat.
There are essentially two types of chocolate bloom:
When you encounter chocolate bloom, it's typically manifesting as either fat bloom or sugar bloom, each stemming from distinct conditions.
Fat bloom is the result of cocoa butter separating from cocoa solids and rising to the surface of your chocolate. Here are some specific catalysts:
Sugar bloom, on the other hand, occurs when moisture affects your chocolate. This can be caused by:
When your chocolate develops bloom, it undergoes changes that can affect its quality, particularly in texture and appearance. Understanding these changes helps you maintain the integrity of the chocolate you enjoy.
Bloomed chocolate often exhibits a grainy or crumbly texture which can be noticeable upon consumption. The once smooth and velvety mouthfeel that is characteristic of well-tempered chocolate may feel less pleasant. This happens because when cocoa butter separates and recrystallizes on the surface, the chocolate's structure becomes compromised.
In terms of appearance, bloomed chocolate typically has a dull and mottled look, with white or grey streaks or spots. This cosmetic imperfection is due to either fat or sugar bloom and doesn't indicate spoilage. Fat bloom results from temperature fluctuations causing cocoa butter to rise to the surface, while sugar bloom occurs when moisture dissolves the sugar and then re-deposits it as crystals.
To prevent chocolate bloom, you must focus on the chocolate's crystal structure and its exposure to temperature and humidity.
Tempering chocolate involves careful control of the crystallization of cocoa butter. Ensure that you follow a precise heating and cooling curve. Start by gently heating your chocolate to the correct temperature, which typically varies between 45-50°C (113-122°F) for dark chocolate, and then cool it to about 27°C (80°F). Finally, reheat the chocolate to 31-32°C (88-90°F) for use. This process creates a stable crystalline structure, preventing the fat from rising to the surface and forming a bloom.
Store your chocolate in a cool, dark place, at a constant temperature between 15-18°C (59-64°F). Chocolate should be wrapped tightly to protect it from odors and moisture. To avoid water exposure and other contaminants, you can place your chocolate in an airtight container. This shields the delicate fats from fluctuating temperatures and external odors, which can lead to bloom.
Maintain a low-humidity environment for your chocolate storage since moisture can lead to sugar bloom. Aim for a relative humidity under 50% to prevent the sugar in the chocolate from dissolving and creating a rough surface. Temperature should also be regulated to stay below 21°C (70°F), as higher temperatures can affect the cocoa butter's structure, leading to fat bloom. Use air-conditioning or a dehumidifier to manage the climate around your chocolates.
In the chocolate industry, specific strategies are employed to combat the challenge of chocolate bloom, focusing on both manufacturing processes and packaging techniques.
You'll find that industry leaders invest heavily in temperature control during the chocolate making process. Controlling the temperature is crucial because fluctuations can cause fat or sugar bloom. Conching, a process where chocolate is continuously mixed and aerated, is optimized to ensure a uniform texture, which can be less susceptible to blooming. Additionally, manufacturers may add emulsifiers like lecithin to enhance chocolate stability and reduce the risk of bloom.
To maintain the quality of chocolate after production, packaging plays a vital role. The industry utilizes barrier packaging that minimizes exposure to moisture and temperature variations, two significant factors that contribute to bloom. Innovations such as modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) help in extending the shelf life of chocolate products by replacing the oxygen inside the package with gases like nitrogen that do not react with chocolate.
Understanding chocolate bloom — the whitish coating that can appear on the surface of chocolate — is essential in ensuring you enjoy your chocolate at its best quality. Below are answers to common questions regarding chocolate bloom.
Yes, you can eat chocolate that has bloomed. The bloom is simply a visual alteration and does not make the chocolate unsafe to consume.
To prevent fat bloom, store your chocolate in a cool, dry place away from temperature fluctuations and light. Ensure chocolate is properly tempered before it is cooled and settled.
Chocolate bloom appears as a white or grayish coating on the chocolate's surface, while mold typically exhibits a fuzzy texture and distinct off-colors like green or black. Bloom is also odorless, unlike mold which may have a musty smell.
The primary causes of chocolate bloom are exposure to high temperatures, humidity, and temperature fluctuations, which cause cocoa butter or sugar crystals to rise to the surface.
Sugar bloom feels grainy to the touch and is caused by moisture dissolving and recrystallizing sugar on the chocolate's surface. You can avoid sugar bloom by keeping chocolate wrapped tightly and stored away from moisture.
The time frame for chocolate to show signs of blooming varies depending on storage conditions but can occur within several days if the chocolate is kept in an environment with poor preservation conditions.
Conclusion
We hope you found this blog post informative.
Chocolate Bloom is one of the lesser known issues that arise in vending that can do serious damage to your sales and reputation.
If you enjoyed this post, check out our Vending Blog for more tips and guides on the vending industry.
If you’re a business in Toronto or the surrounding areas and would like to get vending services for your establishment, click here to contact us.
If you’re running a vending machine business, you better understand the needs of your location if you want to be successful. This is especially the case with snack machines.
Most people will still buy from a soda machine even if it doesn’t have anything they like if they’re thirsty enough. But when it comes to snacks, if you don’t have anything of interest, it will stay on the shelves until you have to swap it out.
In this article, we’re going to cover all the snacks you should be putting in your snack machines.
Chips are a classic vending machine snack that does well in any location. The profit margin typically won’t be as high as other snacks, but it makes up for this in volume. Here are some popular chip options to consider:
When selecting chip options for your snack machine, it's important to consider the preferences of your target audience. If you're placing your machine in a school or office setting, you may want to consider offering healthier options like baked chips or veggie chips. Additionally, be sure to include a variety of flavors to appeal to different tastes. If you’re not sure what your crowd is into though, always resort to the classics.
Overall, chips are a snack machine staple and a must stock.
Chocolates are another popular snack choice for vending machines. They sell well, and have higher profits than chips. Here are some of the most popular chocolate options that you can consider stocking in your vending machine:
Hershey's chocolate bars are a classic choice that many people love. They come in different sizes, although you’ll typically be putting the standard 1.55 oz bars in your machines. You can also choose from different flavors, such as milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and cookies and cream. From our experience, the most popular bar is cookies and cream.
Statistically, Snickers bars are the most popular chocolate bar. Not having these in your snack machines is a major disservice to your business and your location. Make sure these are stocked regularly.
Kit Kat bars are another big hit. You’ll usually be stocking the standard 1.5 oz bar. Kit Kat Chunky does well in most locations as well. Kit Kat bars also come in different flavors, such as dark chocolate and white chocolate. These flavors can be hit or miss, so we recommend testing them out before you make them a default snack at your location.
After Snickers, M&M's are the second most popular chocolate. Peanut M&M’s typically do better than regular M&M’s. Another great thing about M&M’s is that you can stock them year-round without worrying about them melting or getting “the bloom”.
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are another staple. These typically do very well, and you would have to be crazy not to include them. If your location has a lot of concerns surrounding peanut allergies though, make sure to check in with them before adding these to your machine.
When choosing which chocolates to stock in your vending machine, make sure to consider your target audience and their preferences. You can also rotate your selection periodically to keep things interesting and offer variety.
Candy might not be as popular as Chips or Chocolate, but can still do pretty well depending on the location. Here are some of the most popular candies:
When choosing candy for your vending machine, it is important to consider the preferences of your target audience. You may also want to consider offering a variety of options to cater to different tastes. Keep in mind that candy can be high in sugar and calories, so it is important to offer healthier options as well.
Gum is a great item to have in vending machines. It offers a quick and easy way to freshen your breath. The profit margins are significantly higher than Candy & Chocolate as well.
When choosing which gum to stock in your vending machine, it's important to keep in mind your target audience. If you're placing your vending machine in an office setting for example, mint flavored gum would usually be the best choice. If you’re putting your vending machine in the presence of a younger crowd, you might see success with adding fruit flavored gums as well.
Pastries are a great option for vending machines. Not only do they sell well, but the profit margins are solid as well. Best of all, because they’re more filling than a chocolate bar, there are people who will treat them like part of a meal.
Here are some of the most popular pastries to put in your machine:
When putting pastries in your vending machine, be sure to consider the best before date of each item. Pastries don’t have the shelf life of other snacks and you don’t want to risk having someone buy stale or expired pastries.
Healthy Snacks are becoming more of a popular thing every year. Some locations will ask you to include them, while other locations will have them as a requirement.
Healthy snacks provide their own set of unique challenges: they’re more expensive, they have shorter shelf lives, and most of the people that ask for them will never actually buy them. This doesn’t even account for the fact that most “healthy” snacks aren’t really healthy at all!
However, you should still put them in your vending machines whether or not the locations asked you to. Some people at every location really are trying to watch what they eat and the last thing you want is to lose sales because you don’t have anything that’s low-fat or sugar free.
Here are some Healthy Snack options you can consider putting in your machines:
In our professional opinion, Nuts are the best healthy snack to put in a machine. Not only do they sell well, but they’re also the most “Healthy” option. Almonds and peanuts usually do well with older crowds and health nuts (no pun intended).
These can do okay if you have the demand for them. Companies like Terra sell chips made from vegetables like Yam and Taro that tend to do well among people trying to watch what they eat. You’ll have to price them higher to get the same profit margin from regular chips though which might put off some people.
Protein bars do really well at vending locations that have a fitness crowd. Places like Rec Centres, Gyms, or Workplaces with an office nearby. If there’s any trace of a workout culture at your location, protein bars are a must have in your snack machines.
By offering a variety of healthy snack options, you can attract customers who are looking for a quick and convenient snack that won't derail their diet. Consider adding some of these healthy snack options to your vending machine to appeal to health-conscious customers.
Microwaveable items are perfect for vending machines that are located in places like offices or anywhere that has workers present at all hours of the day. Many of these items make for quick lunches, and it’s easy to have people at a location that buy them on a regular basis.
Some microwaveable items you can put in your snack machine include:
When it comes to microwaveable items you can add to your vending machine, Instant Noodles are a staple. They’re easy to stock and sellable at a good margin. The people who buy them will appreciate the fact that they’re available as well. You can choose from chicken, beef, shrimp, and vegetable flavors. Make sure the vegetable flavor is always available for the vegan/vegetarian crowd.
Microwaveable popcorn is another staple in snack machines. They’re easy to stock and have good margins as well. They’re particularly popular in office locations although some small retail breakrooms will enjoy them as well.
Mac and cheese is a classic comfort food that can be prepared in just a few minutes. You can choose from a variety of flavors, including traditional, white cheddar, and bacon. Mac and cheese is a great option for people who are looking for a quick and easy meal.
Rice bowls are a great option for people who are looking for a more substantial meal. You can choose from a variety of flavors, including teriyaki chicken, beef and broccoli, and vegetable fried rice. Rice bowls are easy to prepare, and they are a great option for people who are on the go.
In addition to the popular snacks mentioned earlier, there are a few non-snack items that you may want to consider including in your vending machine. These will mostly be dependent on the location, and in most cases you won’t ever be adding them.
Some miscellaneous items include:
Most of the time, Miscellaneous items are location specific and mainly added to meet the demands of the location. It shows the location that you are going above and beyond for them, and they will appreciate your services greatly.
We hope you found this guide useful!
Snack machines can be more complicated in terms of what you can provide for your customers, but as a result there are more ways for you to satisfy them.
If you own vending machines, feel free to check out our vending blog for more tips and advice on running a successful business.
If you own a building in Toronto, Ontario and would like to have top of the line vending services at your establishment, visit our website and contact us.
Till next time, good luck!