Confectionery

Custom Made Chocolate Moulds

Confectionery

Custom Made Chocolate Moulds

Custom Mould Process

DPS are unique in that we not only offer design services when you have a particular design in mind; with 30 years of knowledge in the chocolate mould creation field our experienced creative team can help with the full concept creation process, using our expertise to guide you and achieve a competitive confectionery range offering.

01
Submit Requirements

Share your needs, whether it’s a detailed tight brief, character sketches or a full blue sky concept-to-product development. We also have 3D scanners in house to replicate complex shapes or original moulds.

02
Concept Design

We collaborate with you to perfect your mould design. Our designers create and refine concept 3D drawings, whilst taking into account technical requirements for chocolate moulding so we can erase any potential production issues before they arise.

03
Sample Creation

Upon approval of the 3D visuals, we produce a single-cavity sample mould for you to test out in chocolate and provide feedback. We then tweak the CAD design and re-sample until you are happy with the final result.

04
Tooling & Production

With your go-ahead, our skilled tooling and production team design and manufacture the final moulds, ensuring a fast turnaround and exceptional quality.

05
Quality Control

Every mould undergoes rigorous quality checking to meet our high standards, ensuring durability and precision. We test all our moulds in our state of the art chocolate development kitchen prior to dispatch, to ensure they are as approved.

Mould Types Available

At DPS, we take pride in the variety of moulds we produce and the way we work to ensure no problem is left unsolved. Chances are, if you have an idea, we can mould it. We produce both thermoformed and injection moulds in house, ranging from hollow figure spinning moulds, one-trip moulds to thermoformed structure sheets and everything in-between. All of these mould types can be made bespoke to your design with the help of our creative team, or you can reach out to our team to see our standard mould catalogue if you'd prefer something off-the-shelf.

Take a look at our handy guide to chocolate moulds below to see the range of moulds we produce, all under one roof.

Thermoformed Moulds
Injection Moulds
Silicone Moulds
Rapid Prototype Moulds
Ancillary Services

We’ve built up a lot of knowledge over the years and with this we continue to present new offerings to our customers. As a result of our insight into how chocolate is manufactured through our 12 years spent as a chocolate manufacturer, we offer unique supplementary ancillary services which enable us to help at every step of the process, whether you need tips on how to boost efficiently in your production runs or you require tips on the best couverture or machinery suppliers.

Reach out via our contact button or pick up the phone to chat to our friendly team about your requirements.

Spinning Frames

We have a vast amount of experience in manufacturing spinning frames in a wide range formats, whether you require a bespoke spinning frame tailored to your manufacturing process, or a standard format frame. Our off-the-shelf spinning frames are both practical and economical.

We've spent years evolving our spinning frames so they are the best around, with a high volume of magnets ensuring a tight seal and reducing wastage, plus our adaptations to create a used-friendly design that improves de-moulding and speeds up production.

Nozzle Plates

Dedicated nozzle heads are often required, for example in larger production operations. We have experience in providing solutions for these applications, whether it is a new plug and play assembly or an adaptation of an existing piece of equipment.

As part of our consultancy services, you can come to us with any complex projects that require a deep understanding of production equipment and the end result you require. Between us we will come to a solution that can be manufactured in-house, giving you a one-stop shop for your production needs and taking the headache out of any challenges you foresee.

Chocolate Mould Carrier Frames

Carrier trays offer an innovative and cost-effective solution for chocolate production lines. Instead of investing in a complete set of injection moulds, businesses can use thermoformed moulds that fit neatly inside these trays, making them ideal for seasonal or trial products with limited investment budgets.

We offer off-the-shelf carrier trays in standard sizes, including 275 x 175mm, 275 x 205mm plus Knoble footprint trays. Additionally, we provide custom-made trays tailored to meet specific production line requirements and enhance operational efficiency. Whether you need a standard solution or a bespoke design, our carrier trays ensure smooth and efficient chocolate production.

Chocolate Demoulding Plaques

We offer high-quality injection moulded demoulding plaques designed to enhance efficiency in chocolate production. These plaques can feature a matte finish and additional design elements to facilitate easy use during the production process. Made from impact-resistant materials, our demoulding plaques are built for durability and longevity in a demanding production environment.

We provide both off-the-shelf options and custom sizes to meet your specific needs. Our demoulding plaques are available in various colours, and we also offer a colour matching service to perfectly align with your brand requirements.

Custom Made Machining Components

While our expertise in chocolate moulds is well-established, our core strength lies in design and engineering. We tackle a wide range of production challenges by creating bespoke machinery components tailored to our customers' needs.

Our portfolio includes components beyond traditional chocolate moulds, such as depositing plates for chocolate machines, dropping plates for twist wrappers, jigs for accurate mixture dosing, iris cutters for mince pie dough, and frame systems for cooking microwavable rice. Whatever your production challenge, our engineering expertise can provide innovative solutions.

Biscuit Rollers and Cookie Cutters

We have years of experience designing and manufacturing large biscuit rollers for use in the manufacturing industry to boost efficiency and push the boundaries of product development. Our high-quality CNC engraving machines ensure that we can deliver exceptional quality designs over any shape of biscuit.

Our experience also spans into creating custom biscuit cutters and rollers tailored to the baking industry. Whether you need a one-off cutter or stamper for handcrafted operations, or a high-volume roller for industrial-scale production, we can deliver precision-engineered solutions to meet your needs.

Soap and Wax Melt Moulds

In recent years soap and wax melts have become extremely popular. Many cold process soap makers prefer plastic moulds, as opposed to silicone, for the beautiful and precise details they provide. Our high-quality CNC engraving machines ensure that we can deliver exceptional quality images for all your soap and wax melt designs.

We produce both cold-press soap moulds and silicone moulds, so whatever your requirements, let us know and we can come up with a solution that works for you.

Looking for something else? We cover a wide range of services so drop us a message with your requirements and we'll take it from there...
FAQs & Manufacturing Tips

Your questions answered, plus our tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your moulds...

What are the lead times for the design and production processes?

Our lead times vary depending on the complexity of your project, however can be as short as 2 weeks due to our manufacturing facilities being based in the UK. We will be able to provide a detailed timeline after reviewing your specific requirements. For a more accurate estimate, please contact our team directly.

What is the difference between thermoform and injection moulds?

For a detailed comparison of thermoform and injection moulds, including their durability and other features, please refer to the Mould Types Available area of this page, which has a handy comparison guide.

How should I maintain and store the moulds to ensure durability?

Proper maintenance and storage are essential for prolonging the life of your moulds. We recommend cleaning them with mild, food-safe detergent and storing them in a cool, dry place. For detailed care instructions, please ask our team for our Mould Maintenance Guide.

What is a single cavity mould sample?

A single cavity sample is a prototype of your mould, used to test and refine the mould design and function before full production.

Can you create a replication of a mould that was not previously made by DPS?

Absolutely, we specialise in replicating existing moulds, even if they were not originally produced by DPS. Please provide us with the necessary details and specifications for a precise replication.

What is an Injection T1 Sample?

This is full size mould sample made from the injection mould production tool. We send this to the customer to test in their own production environment and to approve all aspects of the design/use before the full quantity is produced.

What is freeboard? How does it reduce wastage?

Freeboard is additional depth added to the cavity of injection or flat backed pieces. This is added to reduce the amount of chocolate spillage out of the cavity when it is placed on a vibration plate, therefore reducing wastage. Customers normally require this when it is being machine deposited and on large scale production. However, not all customers require freeboard as it depends on the manufacturing of the product.  For example, if the mould is being hand-filled and scraped, freeboard isn’t normally required.

What is a layout drawing?

A layout is a technical drawing of the full-size mould.  This provides the customer with information such as pitch, thickness of mould, external dimensions etc.

How can I innovate without large upfront investment costs?

We approach each new project from a fresh perspective, depending on your production, design and cost requirements. This means we're able to adapt the finished mould style to ensure it's within your budget. As we produce all types of mould in-house, we are able to blend production techniques to do everything possible to make your project come to life.

What options do you offer for corporate branding of standard moulds?

DPS offers a wide range of affordable corporate branding options, including thermoformed structure sheets plus our prototyping services for any MOQ with no tooling costs. Check out more details on our Prototype page.

Custom Mould Pricing Structure

Discover the competitive pricing options at DPS, tailored to your project needs, starting from as little as £350. For a detailed and exact quote, reach out to our friendly team with your requirements via the contact us button below.  We’ve got 30 years of experience in making projects come to life, using our innovative approach to mould-making to ensure you get high quality, high efficiency moulds at a price point that works.

Our project quotes are split up into three sections:

DESIGN - this includes every step in the process from creating initial 3D designs based on your brief, to tweaking these until you get the perfect product, inclusive of single-cavity mould samples, enabling you to run production checks before we move on to tooling.

TOOLING - this price is dependent on the type of mould you order, and is the cost of producing a tooling part which we then use to mass produce your bespoke moulds. We're constantly working to ensure the tooling costs are viable for your project budget and we have plenty of options depending on longevity of product lines, production set ups and much more which enables us to be confident in our pricing working for you.

MOULD PRODUCTION - this is the cost of mass producing the moulds to be sent to your production facilities and is charged per mould. It is dependent on material type, of which we have a range of options to meet your needs.

Looking for something off-the-shelf? Explore our standard moulds for modern, quality chocolate moulds without the design and tooling fees.

Contact us today

We are always looking for our next challenge, so if you have a questions or have a project we could help with, please contact us via our contact form or one of the following methods:

Studio

Who we work with…

Working alongside brands you know and love

From multi-national companies to artisanal chocolatiers and everyone in-between, we build meaningful relationships, providing expert guidance and innovative solutions.
Take a look at just some of our loyal customers below!

What OUR CUSTOMERS say...
Don’t just take our word for it…
"Working with DPS has been an absolute pleasure and critical to the success of our project work.
The DPS team have offered agile, turn-key solutions from design and prototyping all the way through to scaled production, with great quality.
They have been committed to our success and are key business partners."

Pladis Western Europe SSA & APAC

Ross Morrison, Research & Development Director

"Artisan du Chocolat has worked almost exclusively with DPS since 2015. During this time, they have
been instrumental in developing and delivering high quality innovative chocolate moulds in short lead times.  Their positive
attitude combined with creativity and technical competence has made them a trusted and irreplaceable partner for Artisan du Chocolat."

Artisan du Chocolat

Anne Weyns, Founder

"DPS Designs has provided us with first-rate moulds that meet our high expectations. Their attention to detail and commitment
to quality have been evident in every interaction. More importantly, their ongoing support has been invaluable. DPS' expertise and dedication
have helped us not only create our moulds but also advise us on techniques to enhance their longevity through effective cleaning methods."

Percy's Baking UK LTD

Mario Holbrook-Yalias, General Manager

"Walkers Chocolates and DPS have worked very closely for a number of years across a wide variety of projects.
DPS have been nothing shorted of amazing during this time helping us to overcome challenges, offering solutions to complex
moulding issues and championing our business within their network. We couldn’t recommend Fanzi and the team at DPS enough"

Walkers Chocolates

Tom Murtagh, Commercial Director

"Hugely knowledgable, accurate and super-efficient, it is always a pleasure to work with Fanzi and the team at DPS."

Mummy Meegz

Helen Hartley, Managing Director

"Having utilised DPS' flare and creativity to help with the design and implementation of many seasonal products
from hollow chocolate figures to stick packs, I am still amazed at their irrepressible belief that ‘we will make this work’, and their overall ‘can do’ attitude,
often working to compressed timelines. We are incredibly proud of the products Fanzi, and the team at DPS, have helped us develop over the years."

Kinnerton

Adam Guymer, NPD Senior Process Technologist

"DPS have contributed to a number of successful projects, and given a lot of inspiration and motivation
to our team to develop more innovative products together. In DPS we find a highly motivated team, who are very
professional and reliable in all respects. It has been a great pleasure working with them and we look forward to more exciting projects to come"

Rübezahl Schokoladen GmbH

Gisela Baumgaertner, Export Manager

"We have been working with DPS now for many years and can’t fault the service we get from concept to the finished product. The development work is always innovative and the DPS team are very knowledgeable."

OV Group

Mike Holland, Design & Packaging Manager

"DPS and Klett Schokolade have been working together as equals for many years.
We particularly like the speed and the open exchange with the entire team."

Klett Schokolade

Christopher Klett, Managing Director

"The team at DPS are highly professional and very well organised.
Their customer service and speed of response is excellent, as are the products they produce.
They have assisted us greatly in a complex product launch."

Lola's Cupcakes

Mario Budwig, Managing Director

"Artisan du Chocolat has worked almost exclusively with DPS since 2015. During this time, they have
been instrumental in developing and delivering high quality innovative chocolate moulds in short lead times.  Their positive
attitude combined with creativity and technical competence has made them a trusted and irreplaceable partner for Artisan du Chocolat."

Artisan du Chocolat

Anne Weyns, Founder

"Hugely knowledgable, accurate and super-efficient, it is always a pleasure to work with Fanzi and the team at DPS."

Mummy Meegz

Helen Hartley, Managing Director

"DPS Designs has provided us with first-rate moulds that meet our high expectations. Their attention to detail and commitment
to quality have been evident in every interaction. More importantly, their ongoing support has been invaluable. DPS' expertise and dedication
have helped us not only create our moulds but also advise us on techniques to enhance their longevity through effective cleaning methods."

Percy's Baking UK Ltd

Mario Holbrook-Yalias, General Manager

"Working with DPS has been an absolute pleasure and critical to the success of our project work.
The DPS team have offered agile, turn-key solutions from design and prototyping all the way through to scaled production, with great quality.
They have been committed to our success and are key business partners."

Pladis Western Europe SSA & APAC

Ross Morrison, Research & Development Director

"The team at DPS are highly professional and very well organised.
Their customer service and speed of response is excellent, as are the products they produce.
They have assisted us greatly in a complex product launch."

Lola's Cupcakes

Mario Budwig, Managing Director

"Walkers Chocolates and DPS have worked very closely for a number of years across a wide variety of projects.
DPS have been nothing shorted of amazing during this time helping us to overcome challenges, offering solutions to complex
moulding issues and championing our business within their network. We couldn’t recommend Fanzi and the team at DPS enough"

Walkers Chocolate

Tom Murtagh, Commercial Director

Ready to start your next project with us?