HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Chocolates were first introduced in 1907. It's not known exactly how they received their name, but a popular theory is that the candy was named for the sound or motion of the chocolate being deposited during manufacturing.

The basic concept of the present-day wrapping machines for HERSHEY'S KISSES Chocolates dates back to a single channel wrapper developed in August 1921. The plume was added around this time. Before these machines, KISSES Chocolates were wrapped by hand. Today's machines can wrap up to 1,300 KISSES Chocolates per minute!

Our founder Milton S. Hershey obtained a registered trademark for the iconic plume extending out of the wrapper in 1924.

The shape of HERSHEY'S KISSES has not changed, but there were a few chocolate variations produced between 1909 and 1931 that were offered in addition to the standard milk chocolate flavor. The names included SWEETHEARTS (1900-1918), SILVER TOPS (1909-1931) and SILVERPOINTS (1918-1929). As of 1931, all these variations have been retired.

Production on HERSHEY'S KISSES Chocolates was briefly interrupted from 1942-1949 due to the rationing of silver foil during World War II. KISSES Chocolates mixing machines were also used at this time to produce chocolate paste for military ration bars. It's estimated that 3 billion ration units were produced during this period.

In 1962, HERSHEY'S KISSES Chocolates joined the color revolution by adding red and green colored KISSES Chocolates for Christmas in addition to the traditional silver. Today KISSES Chocolates get colored up for all sorts of occasions, like pastels for Easter, red for Valentines Day, and autumnal colors for our Fall Harvest collection.

HERSHEY'S obtains a registered trademark for the configuration of KISSES Chocolates with their foil wrapper.

In September 1990, HERSHEY'S adds their first major addition to the KISSES Brand line up with KISSES Milk Chocolates with Almonds. HUGS Candies joins the lineup in 1993, featuring a MINI KISSES Milk Chocolate hugged by creamy white chocolate.

To indulge our fans' desire for variety, the first HERSHEY'S KISSES Limited Editions are introduced. The lineup changes yearly, and has included such flavors such as extra creamy chocolate, double fudge and strawberry crème.

In June 2003, HERSHEY'S adds KISSES SPECIAL DARK Mildly Sweet Chocolates to the HERSHEY'S KISSES family. This is followed by the addition of KISSES Milk Chocolate with Caramel, featuring the traditional HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate with a creamy caramel center. Hard to believe we made it almost 100 years without these delicious additions!