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Home > Archive > Jul 5, 2007

A Kiss to Build a Dream On
By Cami Cox
Staff Writer
A sweet little piece of American culture hit its century mark this year. The Hershey's Kiss, that bigger-than-a-chocolate-chip but smaller-than-a-candy bar little teardrop made its public debut in Hershey, Penn., in 1907, and the candy, though small in size, packed a big enough bite to have made it a favorite among chocolate lovers ever since then.
To celebrate the birth of the Kiss, Hershey gurus have some “big” things planned. On July 7 (the official birthday of the Kiss), Hershey's will unveil the world's biggest Kiss candy, which will stand more than 12 feet in height and, it is anticipated, will shatter the current world record of 15,026 pounds for a single chocolate candy! At a private birthday celebration set to take place at Hershey's Chocolate World in Hershey, Penn., representatives from Guinness World Records will weigh this granddaddy of all Kisses to see if it is hefty enough to set a new record.
The United States Postal Service has also been celebrating 100 years of Kissing, starting off the 2007 year by giving the little chocolate treat its very own postage stamp.
So just how did the little sweet known as a Kiss come into being, and how has it evolved over the years?
According to information from the Hershey Company, founder Milton S. Hershey created the bite-sized chocolate candies July 7, 1907. While most of Hershey's candies were created using molds, the little Kisses were formed by being machine-deposited and left to cool freestanding.
There are a couple of theories as to the origin of the Kiss' name. Executives at Hershey don't know for sure, but one supposition is that the sweets were called Kisses because of a puckering, kiss-like sound made during the manufacturing process, when the candies were deposited by machine onto a moving steel belt.
Theory number two suggests that Kisses were called Kisses simply because back in Hershey's time, the term “kiss” referred to a bite-sized piece of candy. Howsoever they came to be called, the little chocolate morsels have become a household name in America over the past 100 years, lining the walls of stores and putting smiles on the faces of chocolate lovers from the East Coast to the West.
Today, more than 80 million Hershey's Kisses are manufactured each day at factories in Pennsylvania, California and Virginia – quite an expansion from the candy's rather humble beginnings. Originally, the chocolates had limited production and were wrapped by hand at the Hershey factory; it wasn't until 1921 that a machine was introduced to do the job. Modern-day wrapping machines can wrap up to 1,300 Kisses a minute!
Though the shape of the actual candies has stayed the same, the outer covering of the Kiss has evolved over the years. The tiny treats have always come clothed in their signature silver foil, but Kisses didn't acquire their “Hershey's” flag until 1921. The little plume extending from the noggin of the Kiss was trademarked by founder Hershey in 1924; the Kiss in its entirety – from the shape to the wrapping – was not patented by the Hershey Company until 1976.
The Hershey's Kiss stayed primarily the same for more than four decades after the introduction of the plume, but time and progress stand still for no man (or chocolate). In 1963, amidst integration and Beatlemania, the Kiss started a small revolution of its own, gussying up in red and green foil for the Christmas holiday. Kisses were later trussed in pastel blue, pink and green for 1968's Easter season.
Further evolution came to the Kiss in 1990 when Kisses with Almonds were introduced, and Kisses were joined by their cousins the Hugs (milk-chocolate Kisses “hugged” by white chocolate) in 1993. Various Kiss flavors and colors have been added since, including dark chocolate Kisses, caramel-filled Kisses and toffee Kisses.
Kiss production has been steady ever since the candies were first created, but there was one interruption between 1942 and 1949. Because of nationwide aluminum foil rationing during and after World War II, Hershey's halted the manufacturing of its Kisses; instead, Kiss machinery was used to produce chocolate paste for military rations.
Aside from that patriotic hiatus, the little Kiss has, uninterrupted, packed a big wallop in the chocolate market for 100 years now, going steady and growing steadily.
As this little darling of the chocolate world celebrates its 100th birthday, the Hershey Company invites the rest of America to share the love and Kisses in celebration, too. As their slogan has it, “Say it with a Kiss.”

For more information about the Hershey Company and the Hershey's Kiss, visit www.hersheys.com.

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