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Hershey Kisses are known for their iconic curly tip on top. But something has been amiss for awhile. Cookie makers say their bags of candy were showing up with the tips lopped off.
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Sweet! Hershey's missing tips are soon to be back on its kisses

Gretchen McKay/Post-Gazette

Sweet! Hershey's missing tips are soon to be back on its kisses

The case of the tipless kisses has been solved. 

Turns out, it was a manufacturing problem that caused the pointy nibs on Hershey’s iconic kisses to go missing in the weeks leading up to Christmas, ticking off scores of cookie makers.

Company officials aren’t saying where, exactly, on the production line things went awry, or why the candy maker took so long to acknowledge a problem that caused soooo much angst during one of the busiest baking seasons of the year. But according to  spokesman Jeff Beckman, things are back on track.  

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“After we heard from Hershey’s Kisses fans during the holiday season, our operations team looked closely at our complete kisses manufacturing process and made adjustments to the process for shaping the tips,” he wrote in an email. “This has improved the consistency of their appearance. These improved kisses are now flowing out of our Hershey plant and you can expect to see them in market later this year.”

A detail shot of Hershey Kisses photographed Sunday, May 5, 2019, during the  2nd annual Cookie College hosted by The Wedding Cookie Table Community on Facebook at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh - Meadow Lands in Washington. Last December, members of the community noticed their beloved kisses were being put in the bag with out the iconic rounded conical peak.
Gretchen McKay
Months later, Hershey Kisses are (finally) back on point

Just don’t expect perfect kisses on Valentine’s Day, at least of the chocolate variety. 

“It will take a few months for products to appear on shelves,” Mr. Beckman wrote in the email, adding, “We appreciate the love and passion our consumers have for kisses and we value the feedback they gave us last year because we also want our kisses to look great, just like our consumers.”

The controversy first came to light on Dec. 3 as Debbie Krivoniak Sheetz of Greensburg was making peanut blossom cookies. When she started to peel open her Hershey Kisses, she noticed that not one in the entire bag had a pointed tip. And there were no loose tips in the bottom of the bag either.  Customer service answered her call, but she couldn’t believe what they were telling her. So she asked members of The Wedding Cookie Table Community on Facebook if they were having problems, too. 

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“After giving the bar code [on the package] to the women on the phone, she comes back with ‘Oh yes, Hershey has cut the tip off of all of these milk chocolate kisses because they only break off in transit.’ Seriously?” she wrote on the group’s page. 

Within days, all heck broke loose.

Soon, the group’s 10,000 members from all across the country were comparing their kisses. When dozens reported the same problem, site administrator Laura Magone organized a day for everyone to make telephone calls to Hershey. 

While Anna Lingeris, who leads brand publicity for Hershey, was quick to reach out with offers of free samples, cookie makers weren’t having any of it.  They wanted their tips back. 

”The problem is that when you are talking about a peanut butter blossom, there is no viable alternative,” said Ms. Magone. “Bakers are highly critical of their own work, and if a Hershey Kiss is defective, the baker's work is defective. Bakers expect perfection.”

Community members, many of whom found it impossible to believe that Hershey didn’t know the tips were missing, had all kinds of theories. Some speculated it was intentional vandalism to save money while others blamed it on outsourcing.  “Many of us thought the kisses were made outside of the U.S., but we came to find out that Hershey Kisses are still American made,” Ms. Magone wrote on the page.

As an olive branch of sorts, the company has offered Ms. Magone the rare opportunity of touring the plant in Hershey, and she said she’s going to take them up on it.  In turn, the group has invited Ms. Lingeris to attend the group’s second “Wedding Cookie College” on May 5 at Southpointe, as well as to another bigger, yet-unnamed event on Aug. 8.

As for the mea culpa? Ms. Magone believes social media is what gave voice to a relatively small group of consumers who otherwise wouldn't have been able to make themselves heard. “The bakers were angry, the media picked up on it, and Hershey solved a problem,” she said. Peanut butter blossoms are back in business “and the bakers are thrilled.”

Gretchen McKay: gmckay@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1419 or on Twitter @gtmckay.

First Published: February 1, 2019, 6:35 p.m.

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Hershey Kisses are known for their iconic curly tip on top. But something has been amiss for awhile. Cookie makers say their bags of candy were showing up with the tips lopped off.  (Gretchen McKay/Post-Gazette)
Gretchen McKay/Post-Gazette
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