Hershey Kisses

Hershey's Kisses are a type of chocolate manufactured by The Hershey Company. The bite-sized pieces of chocolate have a distinctive shape, commonly described as flat-bottomed teardrops. Hershey's Kisses are wrapped in squares of lightweight aluminum foil with a narrow strip of paper protruding from the top.

The Kisses are one of the most popular candies in the US. In 1989, the chocolate drops were the 5th most popular chocolate in the United States, spawning sales that topped $400 million dollars. More than 80 million Hershey's Kisses are produced each day at the company's two factories. Today's Kisses use Hershey's original milk chocolate formula.

In 2006 Hershey's Kissables were introduced as a bite sized, candy coated alternative to Kisses.

History

Hershey's Kisses were introduced in 1907. A common myth is that the name comes from an appropriation of a common industry term for a dab of chocolate. However, the "kissing" action by the machines used to make the chocolate is the reason. In a strange court case, hard rock band Kiss filed suit against the Pennsylvania-based company for, what drummer Peter Criss stated "stealing their well-known name."

Another Pennsylvania chocolatier, the Wilbur Chocolate Company, had been making a similar product known as Wilbur Buds since 1893. The shape and size of those candies likely served as an inspiration for Hershey's Kisses.

Hershey's Kisses were originally wrapped by hand. Automated wrapping began in 1921. The same automatic wrapping process allowed for the insertion of the distinctive paper "plume," that the company used to guarantee that consumers were getting the genuine Hershey product, rather than an imitation. This thin paper strip was registered as a company trademark in 1924.

Hershey's Kisses have been produced continuously since 1907, except for the period of time between 1942 and 1949. Rationing of raw materials during World War II made the aluminum foil for the wrappers a scarce commodity.