I have sold boxes of chocolates on a consignment basis with some success. I seal each box in plastic (not vacuumed), and the seller stores them in a cooler. I include directions to bring the box to room temp before opening the plastic, and this procedure controls condensation. I include an extra open box (covered in plastic wrap) for display so that buyers can see what they will get. I like the consignment arrangement because it gives me control over freshness--there is no incentive for the vendor to keep the chocolates beyond their estimated shelf life. It does end up costing me, but to me that is less important than my reputation, and certainly less important than health concerns for the eventual consumer.
Now I have two new reseller possibilities, a bakery and a restaurant, which present somewhat different issues. The bakery might agree to sell plastic-wrapped boxes as I have been doing (though I imagine their customers may want to buy individual pieces as in a chocolate shop), but the restaurant would want the chocolates available as customers order them from the dessert menu, not with an hour-long delay for the bag to come to room temp before it is opened. In neither case would I expect a humidity-controlled storage cabinet. I've seen what happens to chocolate exposed to humidity, and it is not a pretty picture.
If anyone has experience with the issues I mention, I would appreciative having your thoughts.
