Hot chocolate production
Improve your hot chocolate production lines with machinery and process solutions from Premier Forrester.
Hot chocolate powders, chocolate flakes and hot drink blends are an ever-growing product category.
For manufacturers, success depends on achieving uniform particle size, consistent flavour and packaging that protects against moisture while meeting the consumer demand for convenience.
At Premier Forrester, we have worked with some of the industry’s biggest names – including Hot Chocolate – to produce chocolate products for use in making hot chocolate.
Hot chocolate production process
When it comes to hot chocolate making, balancing flavour, solubility and shelf life is key. At Premier Forrester, our expertise is in helping teams to produce the chocolate that goes into your mug. A typical hot chocolate production line includes:
- Base preparation. Melting and refining base chocolate or processing cocoa powder to the correct specification.
- Flake or granule formation. Producing stable chocolate flakes or instant granules through controlled cooling and milling processes.
- Blending. Combining chocolate or cocoa with sugar, milk powders or flavourings to precise recipes.
- Agglomeration. Forming granules that disperse quickly in hot liquid.
- Drying and sieving. Ensuring low moisture and consistent particle size.
- Packaging. Sealing into sachets, tubs or containers with protective barriers.
Machinery for hot chocolate production
Hot chocolate production - need to know
When planning or upgrading a hot chocolate line, you should consider:
- Bottlenecks. Drying and cooling often determine throughput.
- Product variation. Flakes, dark chocolate powder and granules each require different setups.
- Batch size. Small runs need flexible mixers and feeders, while continuous systems drive efficiency for large volumes.
- Moisture control. Powders are highly sensitive to humidity, demanding robust drying and packaging solutions.
- Sustainability. Energy demand in drying and packaging material use can be reduced with the latest designs.
Talk to Premier Forrester about hot chocolate production
We know hot chocolate better than most. We helped Hot Chocolate improve its Velvetiser chocolate product with our bespoke manufacturing advice.
We can help you design hot chocolate products that balance flavour, solubility, and shelf life. By sourcing machinery from our Principals, integrating it into your plant, and supporting your operators, we ensure the system performs consistently from the first batch.