Chocolate manufacturer Hershey’s is introducing its Kisses candy in double-size in the US.
Called Hershey's Kisses Deluxe, each piece of candy comes with a hazelnut center and has chocolate with crisped rice. The product is expected to be available at stores in the US from 5 November.
The Deluxe chocolate will be available through Valentine's Day in packages of three ($1), four ($1.29) as well as gift packs of 15 ($3.99), 35 ($10.99) and 75 ($32.00). The 75-count gift box will available through online channel, as the candy maker is positioning the brand as a holiday gift.
Hershey's Kisses senior associate manager for Hershey's Kisses was quoted by USA Today as saying: "It took 55 years just to change the color of the foil. Then it took another 38 years to put something inside the milk chocolate. We're getting better, but it does take us a little while to tinker with something that is iconic as a brand Milton Hershey founded himself."
In 2013, The Kisses Deluxe was first introduced in China as Hershey's wanted to appeal to the tastes of Chinese consumers, who prefer chocolates to have less sweet and cream, reported USA Today.
Last year, Hershey's reported over $7.4bn in sales and is seeking to enhance its sales through premium chocolate category.
In the US, premium chocolate account for about 8% of the total chocolate market and in recent years, this segment has seen double-digit growth rate.
Recently, Hershey's rival Nestle intrdouced its Callier brand in the US, UK, and Germany through Amazon and other travel retail stores at airports in Geneva, Zurich, Dubai and Singapore. Until now, Callier was sold only in Switzerland.
Image: Hershey's Kisses now introduced in larger size. Photo: Courtesy of IvoShandor/Wikipedia.
