HERSHEY, Pa. – While most people love chocolate, they may not be aware of the shipping challenges it poses during the summer months or in warmer climates. To solve this unique challenge, The Hershey Company is seeking ideas for the development of a lightweight, affordable, cool shipping system that will keep chocolate close to the temperature at which it was packed for at least 48 hours.

The open innovation contest is being held through NineSigma, an open innovation company that connects organizations with experts to solve technology problems. Hershey’s cool ship contest is designed to identify new systems or materials that will allow chocolate to be shipped in warm weather without the need for gel packs. The ultimate goal is to develop a system that would be inexpensive enough to use year-round as part of the standard packaging for consumers’ chocolate shipments.

“With the rise of e-commerce, we understand it is critical to have affordable cool shipping technologies in place to continue providing consumers with quality experiences all year long,” said Eric Zampedri, manager for packaging innovation R&D at The Hershey Company, in a press release. “We decided a great way to solve this challenge was to take it to the same people who love chocolate through a crowdsourcing competition that will help us discover innovative technology ideas.”

Participants in this competition are vying for $25,000 in development funds and the opportunity to further collaborate with Hershey to develop proposed solutions. Participants must complete and submit the online submission form by 5 pm EST on February 15. The completed online submission form will serve as an introduction to the respondent’s technology and expertise, while including evidence to support the approach’s technical feasibility.