History
Hershey's Kisses milk chocolates were introduced in 1907. The candy got its name by the machine that makes them, which made kiss sounds and appears to "kiss" the conveyor belt onto which the chocolate is dispensed.
Another Pennsylvania chocolatier, H.O. Wilbur & Sons Chocolate Company, had been making a similar product known as Wilbur Buds since 1894. The shape and size of those candies likely served as an inspiration for Hershey's Kisses chocolates.
Hershey's Kisses chocolates were originally wrapped by hand. Automated wrapping began in 1956 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. Italian confectioner Perugina manufactures a small chocolate and hazelnut candy called Baci (Italian for Kisses). Baci are reputed to have been used as a clandestine method for delivering love notes between two confectioners, Giovanni Buitoni and Luisa Spagnoli. This may have served as the inspiration for the paper strip.
Hershey's Kisses chocolates 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.
The word KISSES became a registered trademark by the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 2, 2001. (Reg. No. 2,416,701). The plume device is also a federally registered trademark (Reg. No. 186,828). The conical configuration of the product is also a federally registered trademark.
Some streetlights in the town of Hershey are shaped like Kisses. These can be found on Chocolate Avenue (Hershey's main street and the site of the original chocolate factory), as well as a downtown portion of Park Avenue, and at several Hershey Company facilities. These were first installed in 1963 and generally alternate between wrapped and unwrapped Kisses.
In 2007, The United States Postal Service issued a postage stamp commemorating the Hershey's Kiss. This 39-cent stamp was part of the USPS's "Love" series.
Read more about this topic: Hershey's Kisses
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