Chocolate Events

Hershey's recently traded elegant for an Easy-Open Fresh Pack.

Have you ever tasted a stale Hershey's bar? I doubt it. And, I’ll bet you’ve never had a hard time sliding the former beautiful sleeve off—revealing the silver foil wrapping that covered your delicious indulgence.

If you were sneaking a bite of your favorite chocolate, the wrapper was a silent accomplice. It was a simple but lovely package that felt like a gift. A gift as special as the chocolate inside.

I miss it. I saved the wrapper sleeves as art. I loved them so much I created collage with them. Inspired by its silver kissed typeface on a matt chocolate background, I could not just throw them away. The paper wrapping was elegant. It was unique. The foil matched the type signature…it made sense.

It’s iconic design is now like many other candy wrappers—function over finesse. It’s not special anymore.

They even moved the ® ...why? What happened to the Milk Chocolate underscore...Did they have to file all new trademark applications for that? At what cost? Is that why they had to give up their gift packaging? I'm curious.

In honor of what it once was...

Lindt is actually one of my choice chocolates, extra dark 85% cocoa—its full-bodied cocoa flavor is excellence with a distinct personality. Their package is not as easy to open as Hershey’s used to be, but it still feels like a gift. It’s still in a foil wrap with a box cover at the time of this writing.

I also like Scharffen Berger tasting squares for their flavor and individually wrapped, mini foil with tiny sleeves packaging. Ghiradelli is another sweetie that’s gone to a tear open wrapper, albeit foil-like. So sad.

Okay, I’m sure they had good reason to make the switch…most likely a cost savings and ease of conveyor conversions, but anyone who has made this switch has lost their packaging ethos.

Chocolate as a special occasion should be savored, and dressed up in reverence for it’s magnificence—not given knock-off attire for such a wonderful chocolate event.

If they start putting Hershey's Kisses in a tear open pack and do away with its signature flag, I am not going for it. That’s part of the fun…unwrapping the foil on the kiss, squishing the evidence of a kiss-a-thon in to a tight ball so you don’t remember how many you ate…uhh, more than you intended…and then later finding little flags in the hallway or under the bed when you get to swiffing.

I’m not ready to give up this heartfelt heritage for a shiny, modern, crimp-edge fresh-pack.

Now, back to the bar—the current package has a BB date of 52014—that’s a full year from today. I ask you…do you really think it will be around that long? Excuse me—I’ll continue in a moment, my mouth is full.

What do you think? Best Before or Best After on packaging?

TIP: Dress up your chocolate with special attire. Serve a kiss on a kiwi slice.
Double-Dip some blueberries. Toss in some apricot bits with your s’mores melt.
Add a little something to your chocolate and recapture some of its former packaging
glory with a delicious package of your own making. It will melt hearts, guaranteed.


PS. Still one of the best among the rest.


P.P.S: Some of my Hershey's Wrapper Art