About Hershey's Kisses Chocolates
HERSHEY KISSES Candy Frequently Asked Questions
Over the years, tens of thousands of curious people have asked us plenty of questions about our company, our history, our products and even our wrappers - from the strip of paper printed with "KISSES" (we call it a "plume") to the bright new colors of the foil wrappers. And now we're answering some of your most frequently asked questions!
HERSHEY’S KISSES Candy History & Variety
From our small beginning as a chocolate company in turn-of-the-20th-century Derry, Pennsylvania, to the international candy company Hershey has become, our HERSHEY'S KISSES Chocolates have long been a major part of our products. Here are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about the history of HERSHEY’S KISSES Candy.
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HERSHEY’S KISSES Chocolates were first manufactured in 1907 by the Hershey Chocolate Company in Derry, Pennsylvania.
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KISSES Chocolates were in production from 1907 to 1942 and then not produced until 1947 due to rationing of aluminum during World War II. During that nearly six-year period, Hershey retooled its KISSES production equipment in order to produce chocolate D-Rations for the US Military.
KISSES Chocolates have been in continuous production since 1947 and the KISSES Brand has added many flavors to the iconic product line to become one of the leading chocolate product brands in the world.
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Like many success stories there are multiple versions of how KISSES Chocolate got its name and no one knows for certain which one is the truth! One story has it that the machines that extrude the KISSES Chocolates make a sound like a kiss. Another possibility is that “kiss” was a common confectionery term at the time to refer to a small piece of candy and that Milton Hershey was smart enough to protect his own product’s popularity by registering a trademark for the name “HERSHEY’S KISSES” in 1921.
HERSHEY'S KISSES Chocolate Wrapper & Packaging
Some of brand’s earliest innovations came in the area of product design and packaging, creating a springboard for telling the world about the quality chocolate that separated the HERSHEY’S Brand from its many competitors. From wrapping each KISSES Chocolate by hand to the paper plume that acts as a flag for each HERSHEY’S KISSES Product, the following are some of the most asked questions.
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From 1907 to 1921, KISSES Chocolates were foil-wrapped by hand, including the tissue paper identification tag inside the foil wrapper. Thereafter, KISSES Chocolates were wrapped using a machine that added the printed paper plume and then the aluminum foil wrapping.
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That parchment paper strip is called a “plume”. Originally the paper plumes were also referred to as identification tags, possibly because they looked like miniature brand flags.
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No, the original paper plumes were printed with the “Hershey’s” name so customers were able to distinguish Hershey chocolate quality from that of the company’s competitors. Later in the 1920’s, “Kisses” was added to the plume. It wasn’t until the early 1990s, approximately 1994, that “KISSES” alone was printed on the paper plume, finally replacing the original Hershey’s brand name.
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Originally, the printed paper plume contained the brand name, “Hershey’s”, and the plume distinguished HERSHEY’S KISSES Chocolates from those of competitors. The highly visible paper plume replaced the Hershey’s tissue identification tag that wrapped the chocolate and was hidden inside the foil wrapper.
The paper plume was a brand ‘flag’ waving over the top of every HERSHEY’S KISSES Chocolate.
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Yes. When the new packaging equipment added the “Hershey’s” paper plume to the top of the conical foil wrapper, it proved to be so distinctive in the marketplace that the Hershey Chocolate Company filed for trademark protection for the design. The registered trademark Number 0186828 was received in 1924.
KISSES Chocolates Fun Facts & Legends
In addition to our long history of concentrating on quality production, the HERSHEY’S KISSES Brand gets to add a bit of whimsey from time to time, treating our customers to more than just a great taste sensation. The following are some fun facts about HERSHEY’S KISSES Chocolates
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We are not exactly sure how many KISSES Chocolates are eaten each year, but we make 70 million of them each day! We suspect that a few are saved for tomorrow, but we will keep making 70 million KISSES Chocolates daily to be sure there are enough available for everyone!
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In 2007, to commemorate the 100th year anniversary of the KISSES Chocolates brand, The Hershey Company unveiled a giant HERSHEY’S KISSES Chocolate weighing 30,540 pounds, the equivalent of more than 3 million standard-sized KISSES Chocolates.
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It is hard to argue with success! Each year many KISSES Chocolate lovers “in the field” report that using the KISSES Chocolates paper plume is by far the best – and fastest – way to unwrap a HERSHEY’S KISSES Chocolate.
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Originally, the printed paper plume contained the brand name, “Hershey’s”, and the plume distinguished HERSHEY’S KISSES Chocolates from those of competitors. The highly visible paper plume replaced the Hershey’s tissue identification tag that wrapped the chocolate and was hidden inside the foil wrapper.
The paper plume was a brand ‘flag’ waving over the top of every HERSHEY’S KISSES Chocolate.
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Yes. When the new packaging equipment added the “Hershey’s” paper plume to the top of the conical foil wrapper, it proved to be so distinctive in the marketplace that the Hershey Chocolate Company filed for trademark protection for the design. The registered trademark Number 0186828 was received in 1924.