Hershey's Kissables

Hershey's Kissables was a chocolate-candy brand marketed by The Hershey Company in the United States from November 11, 2005, until July 19, 2009. The product was designed as a Hershey-specific response to the broad consumer appeal of small, colorful, candy-coated chocolate pieces. Its form distinguished it from conventional button-shaped coated chocolates: each piece was molded to resemble a miniature Hershey's Kiss, although the exterior was enclosed in a comparatively thick sugar shell. The original product combined a milk-chocolate center with a multicolored coating. Its standard palette included red, orange, yellow, green, and blue. Seasonal versions extended the visual identity through pastel colors for Easter, pink and white for Valentine's Day, and red and green for Christmas. This use of holiday color schemes placed Kissables within the impulse-confectionery and seasonal-candy segments, where packaging and color variety are important parts of the product proposition. In mid-2007, Hershey expanded the line with Kissables Dark, a dark-chocolate variant. It used more subdued colors and a semisweet chocolate center, giving the brand a less overtly sweet flavor profile while retaining the same general coated, bite-sized format. The product also became associated with a significant formulation and labeling change. Beginning in 2007, Hershey altered the ingredients used in Kissables, replacing some of the relatively costly cocoa butter with vegetable fats. The revised formula used a mixture that could include palm, shea, sunflower, and/or safflower oil, along with other changes to the ingredient list and color system. The package description changed from “candy coated milk chocolate” to “chocolate candy.” Under United States Food and Drug Administration labeling rules, the revised formulation could not legally be identified as milk chocolate. This change reflected production-cost considerations but also altered the product's regulatory description and consumer-facing identity. Hershey discontinued Kissables in July 2009. No later relaunch or continuing production is established in the supplied reference material. The brand is therefore best understood as a short-lived Hershey product line rather than a current standalone confectionery brand.

Hershey's Kissables entered the United States market on November 11, 2005, as a coated chocolate product shaped like miniature Hershey's Kisses. Rather than presenting the familiar foil-wrapped Kiss format, the line used a thick sugar shell that made the pieces suitable for colorful assortment and easy snacking. The product's design placed the Hershey name in a format comparable to other small, sugar-coated chocolate candies while preserving a visual connection to the company's best-known chocolate shape. The initial assortment used red, orange, yellow, green, and blue pieces. Hershey also produced holiday-oriented color combinations, including pastel shades for Easter, pink and white for Valentine's Day, and red and green for Christmas. These variations broadened the line's relevance beyond ordinary everyday confectionery and supported seasonal merchandising. In mid-2007, Hershey introduced Kissables Dark. This version retained the coated Kissables format but substituted a semisweet dark-chocolate center and used more subdued colors. It represented an attempt to extend the line toward consumers seeking a darker chocolate taste without abandoning the established piece shape or candy-shell concept. The product's 2007 history also included a notable recipe and labeling change. Hershey began substituting some cocoa butter with less expensive vegetable fats. The revised ingredient statement included vegetable oils such as palm, shea, sunflower, and/or safflower oil, in addition to chocolate, dairy ingredients, colors, glazing agents, and other confectionery components. The package wording changed from “candy coated milk chocolate” to “chocolate candy.” The supplied reference explains that, under United States Food and Drug Administration labeling requirements, the revised recipe could not legally be described as milk chocolate. Thus, the change affected both the manufacturing formulation and the product's formal market description. Hershey's Kissables remained on sale until July 19, 2009, when the company discontinued the product. The available reference material does not identify a separate successor, later relaunch, or reason for the final discontinuation. Its documented lifecycle was consequently less than four years, making Kissables a discontinued product experiment within Hershey's broader chocolate portfolio rather than an enduring brand franchise.

• 2009

  Product is discontinued

  [1]Hershey's Kissablesen.wikipedia.org

  Hershey's Kissables are discontinued on July 19.

• 2007

  Kissables Dark is introduced

  [1]Hershey's Kissablesen.wikipedia.org

  Hershey adds a dark-chocolate variant with a semisweet center and less vivid coating colors.

• 2007

  Recipe and labeling are revised

  [1]Hershey's Kissablesen.wikipedia.org

  The product formula is changed to use vegetable fats in place of some cocoa butter, and its description is revised from candy-coated milk chocolate to chocolate candy.

• 2005

  Kissables launches in the United States

  [1]Hershey's Kissablesen.wikipedia.org

  The Hershey Company begins selling Hershey's Kissables on November 11 as colorful, sugar-shell-coated chocolate pieces molded in a miniature Hershey's Kiss-inspired shape.

A colorful, bite-sized, candy-coated chocolate positioned around the recognizable Hershey's Kiss shape, with seasonal variants and a later dark-chocolate extension.

• Sugar-shell-coated milk chocolate candy · 2005

  Hershey's Kissables

  The original Kissables product consisted of small chocolate pieces molded to resemble miniature Hershey's Kisses and covered in a thick sugar shell. Standard pieces appeared in red, orange, yellow, green, and blue. Seasonal assortments used holiday-specific palettes, including pastel Easter colors, pink and white for Valentine's Day, and red and green for Christmas. The product was sold from 2005 until its discontinuation in 2009.

• Sugar-shell-coated dark chocolate candy · 2007

  Kissables Dark

  Kissables Dark was introduced in mid-2007 as a darker-flavored extension of the line. It used a semisweet chocolate center and more subdued coating colors while retaining the small, coated, Hershey's Kiss-inspired form of the original product.

• 2009

  Discontinuation of KissablesOther

  Background

  After a market presence beginning in 2005, Hershey ended the product line.

  Action taken

  The company discontinued Hershey's Kissables on July 19, 2009.

  Aftermath

  The product became a defunct Hershey confectionery offering; the supplied material does not establish a successor or relaunch.

  Source

• 2007

  Reformulation to reduce production costsStrategy

  Background

  Hershey began changing the ingredients of Kissables during 2007, in part to reduce reliance on relatively expensive cocoa butter.

  Action taken

  The revised formula replaced some cocoa butter with vegetable fats, changed portions of the ingredient list, and altered the front-of-pack description from candy-coated milk chocolate to chocolate candy.

  Aftermath

  The revised recipe could not legally be described as milk chocolate under the United States food-labeling rules described in the reference material, changing the product's formal labeling identity.

  Source

• 2007

  Launch of Kissables DarkProduct launch

  Background

  Hershey extended the Kissables line with a darker chocolate option.

  Action taken

  Kissables Dark was introduced with a semisweet interior and more muted shell colors.

  Aftermath

  The variant remained part of the discontinued Kissables line, which ended in July 2009.

  Source

1. 1Hershey's Kissablesen.wikipedia.org