Kinder Surprise (Kinder Sorpresa) is a world-famous chocolate treat, which in its appearance resembles a chicken egg. Inside the sweets is a small plastic box that contains an original toy or a souvenir. Currently, the Kinder brand is owned by a large Italian company, Ferrero, specializing in the manufacture of chocolate and confectionery.
History of occurrence
Starting the story about the appearance of the first chocolate egg with a surprise toy inside, it is necessary to mention the person who invented this delicacy. His name is Pietro Ferrero, and he is the creator of the world famous brand of confectionery Ferrero, which gave the world the legendary Nutella chocolate paste, Raffaello coconut sweets and many other sweets that are presented today in stores.
Mass production of sweets from Ferrero began with a small family bakery in one of the southern cities of Italy - Alba. It was here that in the early 1940s, the young and unknown confectioner Pietro did his first culinary experiments, which allowed him to develop a unique recipe for dessert dishes. Confectionery from Ferrero began to be very popular, and soon a rumor about them swept across Italy.
Ferrero's business is starting to go uphill, and this makes him think about expanding his business. So, in 1946, he opened his first factory for the production of sweets, by analogy with a pastry shop, it is called "Ferrero". After only some 10 years, its products become known outside of Italy, the first representative office is opened in Germany, and then in other European countries. Thus, Ferrero enters the international arena, winning the love and trust of a foreign client.
Despite the fact that the brand managed to develop quite quickly and successfully, its founder, Pietro Ferrero, could not ignore even the company's minor failures. So, in 1949, worrying about a factory that was threatened with destruction by a powerful flood, he earned a heart attack and died suddenly. After his death, the responsibility for the fate of Ferrero fell on the shoulders of his brother, Giovanni Ferrero (Giovanni Ferrero).
It was in the era of the leadership of Giovanni that the family company was forced to fight with other confectionery brands, defending the right to be considered a world producer of sweets and chocolate products. For many years, starting in 1955, the newly-made director actively fought with competitors, developing various marketing and strategic concepts.
His efforts were successful, and the Ferrero brand defeated other companies specializing in the production of similar products. However, the stress experienced by Giovanni Ferrero throughout the entire "military" process, greatly affected his health. Just a couple of months after the deafening victory of the company, he passed away, passing the reins to his nephew, Michele Ferrero.
Being a young 24-year-old boy, Michele Ferrero was distinguished by a broad outlook and rich imagination. Having stood at the helm of the company, he literally began to gush with a variety of creative ideas, thanks to which Ferrero was once again able to strengthen its position on the world stage.
First Kinder Surprise
Speaking about the emergence of the first "Kinder surprise", it is worth noting that the very idea of a "toy inside a chocolate candy" is not new. So in An old tradition was popular in Italy - to bake Easter eggs with oblong, egg-shaped eclairs, which contained a small surprise (a symbolic souvenir or a coin). Similar treats were also found in the pre-war USSR, they were called "chocolate beans" and, as a rule, they were made for the New Year.
However, Michele Ferrero was the first person who decided to bring the idea of such a dessert to his own business. Having decided on the shape of the first confectionery product of his own production, he began to develop its prescription formula.
In the course of numerous culinary experiments, Michele came up with a brilliant idea - to create a chocolate in which the proportion of milk content was over 40%. The resulting product was called "Kinder", because the target audience for which this sweetness was conceived was children. Future eggs "Kinder Surprise" began to be made from this particular variety of chocolate.
Mass production of the legendary "chocolate eggs with a surprise" was launched in 1974. They were made from two-layer chocolate "Kinder", and inside contained a small oblong plastic capsule of orange color. Thus, the confectionery, according to its idea, really resembled real chicken eggs. Ferrero's new invention was instantly patented.
Surprisingly, at first, Kinder Surprises did not have any souvenirs or toys inside. The idea to fill the orange capsules with some content appeared a little later and did not belong at all to the members of the Ferrero family, but to the Swiss designer, Henry Roth. The first toys that turned out to be filled with chocolate eggs were created precisely according to his drawings and drawings.
Kinder Surprises were doomed to success. So, at the first appearance of local stores on the shelves, they were bought up literally within an hour.
The history of the "Kinder surprise" in the Russian Federation
The history of the first Kinder Surprise in Russia is inextricably linked with the opening in 1995 of the first Ferrero representative office in Moscow.
It was at this time that the legendary, world-famous sweets “Kinder Chocolate” and “Kinder Surprise” arrived in domestic stores and supermarkets. Products quickly gain the love and trust of the Russian consumer, becoming the main bestsellers of the 1990s.
Currently, two brand new products have been released:
- "Kinder Chocolate Maxi";
- "Kinder Chocolate with cereal with cereals"
US scandal
Kinder Surprise sweets have long been banned from entering the United States for commercial purposes. Legislation of the state provided for a fine of $ 2.5 thousand for violating the current law.
The fact is that in 1938 a decree was passed introducing a ban on the sale of confectionery and sweets containing any inedible inserts or elements.
The ban on the distribution of Kinder products was provoked by the fact that the elements and parts contained inside the egg could be potentially dangerous for children.
However, to date, this ban has been lifted, since in March 2013 new samples of chocolates were developed that met all the standards of the American Commission for the Safety of Consumer Rights.
Interesting Facts
- Currently, it is quite common and popular to collect rare toys from "Kinder". So, in 2007, a precedent was widely discussed when a collection consisting of more than 90,000 souvenir-surprises was sold on the Internet at one of the online auctions for 30,000 euros.
- The most famous collection of toys from "Kinder" is the collection released in 1974. It is represented by iron figures of people - representatives of various professions, Henry Roth worked on its design.
- In 2011, under tragic circumstances, the heir to the multi-million dollar empire Ferrero, Pietro Ferrero, passed away. This incident forced retired 85-year-old Michele Ferrero to once again stand at the helm of the company.
- Michele Ferrero, owner of the Ferrero brand, is recognized as the richest man in Italy.
- In 2001, the production of new chocolate eggs called "Kinder Joy" was launched. They were made for countries characterized by a hot climate.
- The approximate weight of one chocolate egg with a surprise is 35 grams.
- According to surveys, in Russia more than 93% of the population aged 4-50 know about Kinder products.
- Over 100 different toys from "Kinder" are produced annually, the design of each of which is exclusive and unique.
- The total number of chocolate brand eggs sold over its entire thirty-year history is 30 billion.
