The paper strip in a Hershey’s Kiss is officially called a “plume.” Hershey’s has used this term since the candy was first introduced in 1907, and it remains the brand’s own word for it. Many people call it a “flag,” a “tag,” or simply a “strip” — all informal names that are widely understood — but plume is the correct, brand-designated term. The plume originally served two practical purposes: it identified the candy as a genuine Hershey’s product, and it acted as a pull-tab to help unwrap the foil cleanly. Today it also carries the word “Kisses” printed in small repeating text along its length. This article covers everything worth knowing about the plume, the full history of Hershey’s Kisses, how they are made, why they are called Kisses, and some genuinely surprising facts about one of America’s most beloved candies.

What Is the Paper in a Hershey Kiss Called?

The paper is called a plume. That is the official Hershey’s term, confirmed in brand communications and used consistently since the candy entered production in 1907.

Why Is It Called a Plume?

The word “plume” refers to a feather — specifically the decorative, upright feathers historically used in hats, crowns, and military helmets. The paper strip sticking out of the top of a Hershey’s Kiss resembles this shape: narrow at the base, flared slightly at the top, standing upright from the wrapped candy. The name is a visual metaphor, not a technical term. It stuck because it fits.

Some people argue that “flag” is a more intuitive description — the strip does wave slightly like a small flag when you pick up the candy. Both names have circulated widely, but Hershey’s itself has always used plume in its official materials.

Does the Plume Have a Practical Purpose?

Yes — three of them, in fact.

When Hershey’s Kisses were first produced in the early 1900s, the confectionery market was filled with imitation products and unlabelled sweets. The plume served as a visual authentication mark — a signal to buyers that the candy was genuine Hershey’s, not a knockoff.

Its second function is practical: pulling the plume tab causes the foil wrapping to split open in a controlled way, allowing the candy to be unwrapped without fumbling. It is genuinely useful design.

Third, since 1924 when foil wrapping became standard, the plume has carried printed text — originally the Hershey’s brand name, and today the word “Kisses” repeated in small lettering along the full length of the strip.

✦ The plume is not decoration — it is a functional design element that has served three distinct purposes since 1907.

What Is the History of Hershey’s Kisses?

When Were Hershey’s Kisses Invented and Why?

Hershey’s Kisses were introduced by Milton S. Hershey in 1907, making them one of the longest continuously produced chocolate candy products in American history — over 115 years of uninterrupted production, with one notable exception.

During World War II, the United States government rationed aluminium foil as part of the wartime materials effort. Because Hershey’s Kisses require aluminium foil wrapping, production was completely halted from 1942 until the end of the war in 1945. It is one of the most specific and memorable facts about the candy — a three-year gap in a product that had otherwise run continuously for nearly four decades.

When production resumed in 1945, demand surged. The postwar period saw Hershey’s Kisses become a staple of American candy culture, appearing in holiday candy bowls, gift bags, and eventually Valentine’s Day displays across the country.

Why Are They Called “Kisses”?

This is one of the most commonly asked questions about the candy — and the honest answer is that Hershey’s has never officially confirmed a single explanation.

Two theories are widely cited. The first is that the candy was named after the sound it made during production — as the chocolate was deposited onto the conveyor belt, it produced a light smacking or “kissing” sound. This is the explanation most often cited by food historians.

The second theory is visual: the shape of the candy, with its flat base and tapered peak, resembles a puckered set of lips or a small kiss mark — the kind left on a page by a lipstick impression.

Both explanations are plausible. Hershey’s has referenced both in different marketing materials over the years. The ambiguity is part of what has kept the question alive and widely searched for over a century.

✦ Whether named for a sound or a shape, Hershey’s Kisses became one of the most recognisable candy names in American history — and the question of why is still genuinely unanswered.

How Are Hershey’s Kisses Made?

What Goes Into Each Hershey’s Kiss?

The basic ingredients in a standard milk chocolate Hershey’s Kiss are: milk chocolate (sugar, milk, chocolate, cocoa butter, milk fat, lecithin, and natural flavour). The formula has remained largely consistent since 1907, though production methods have been significantly modernised.

The manufacturing process begins with the chocolate being melted and tempered — a process of heating and cooling to specific temperatures that gives the chocolate its characteristic snap and glossy finish. The tempered chocolate is then fed through a “depositor” machine that drops precise amounts of chocolate onto a moving conveyor belt in the distinctive Kiss shape. The deposits are then cooled in a tunnel before being automatically wrapped in foil with the plume inserted.

Hershey’s produces approximately 70 million Kisses per day at its facilities. To put that in perspective: if you lined up 70 million Hershey’s Kisses end to end, the row would stretch approximately 2,800 miles — roughly the distance from New York City to Los Angeles.

The wrapping process is fully automated. A machine inserts the paper plume into each candy before the foil is wrapped around it — the plume is placed first, not added afterward.

✦ Seventy million Kisses produced every single day is a production scale that makes Hershey’s Kisses one of the highest-volume individually wrapped chocolates on earth.

What Are the Most Popular Hershey’s Kiss Flavours?

The original milk chocolate variety remains the bestselling Hershey’s Kiss by volume — it outsells every other variety combined and has done so consistently since the product’s introduction.

Beyond the classic, Hershey’s has produced dozens of flavour variations over the decades. The most commercially successful include:

Hugs — white chocolate swirled with milk chocolate, introduced in 1993. The name plays on the candy’s kiss identity — hugs and kisses, the universal symbol pair.

Dark Chocolate — introduced for consumers who prefer a richer, less sweet chocolate. Now a permanent line item in Hershey’s Kiss portfolio.

Caramel-filled — a soft caramel centre inside a milk chocolate shell, one of the most popular limited-run varieties.

Almond — an almond embedded in the centre of the chocolate, introduced in 1990 and popular enough to become a semi-permanent variety.

Limited Edition and Seasonal Varieties Over the Years

Hershey’s has released over 100 distinct Kiss varieties since the 1990s, spanning seasonal flavours (candy cane, pumpkin spice, cherry cordial), special editions (birthday cake, lava cake, coconut almond), and international varieties that vary by market.

The Valentine’s Day pink foil variety is consistently one of Hershey’s highest-selling seasonal products, ranking in the top five Valentine’s Day candy purchases in the US every year since the 1980s.

✦ The milk chocolate original has outsold every variety Hershey’s has ever introduced — which is a remarkable record across more than a century of competition from its own innovations.

Why Are Hershey’s Kisses Associated With Romance and Love?

Hershey’s Kisses in Valentine’s Day and Dating Culture

The connection between Hershey’s Kisses and romantic affection is not accidental — it was built deliberately into the candy’s identity from the beginning.

The name itself carries the association. A kiss is one of the most universal symbols of affection in human culture. Giving someone a Hershey’s Kiss is a small, tangible way to offer that symbolism in edible form. The candy’s size — small enough to be given casually, sweet enough to feel like a gesture — makes it ideal for expressing low-key affection.

By the 1950s, Hershey’s Kisses had become a Valentine’s Day staple in the United States. Today, Valentine’s Day is consistently the biggest sales period for Kisses each year, ahead of even Christmas and Halloween. Americans purchase hundreds of millions of Hershey’s Kisses in the two weeks surrounding February 14 alone.

The candy also appears in romantic gestures beyond Valentine’s Day — left on pillows, tucked into lunch bags, scattered across tables at weddings. The small, foil-wrapped Kiss has become a physical shorthand for “I am thinking of you.”

For anyone curious about what makes a kiss — the real kind — so meaningful, our article on why do people kiss covers the science and psychology in full detail.

And if the romance angle has you thinking about meeting someone new, our roundup of the best dating apps covers the most effective platforms for finding genuine connection.

✦ Hershey’s Kisses became a romantic symbol not through advertising alone — the name, the size, and the gesture of giving one did the work organically over more than a century.

Fun Facts About Hershey’s Kisses You Probably Did Not Know

These are real, verifiable facts — not filler:

The foil wrapping was not always aluminium. When Hershey’s Kisses were first introduced in 1907, they were wrapped in tissue paper by hand. Aluminium foil wrapping was not introduced until 1924, and the fully automated wrapping process came later still.

Each Kiss contains approximately 25 calories. A standard milk chocolate Hershey’s Kiss weighs around 4.5 grams. That makes it one of the smallest individually wrapped chocolates by weight of any mainstream candy brand.

The plume was added in 1921. The original 1907 Kiss had no plume — it was a plain foil-wrapped chocolate. The paper strip was added 14 years later as a brand authentication measure, and it has been present on every Kiss produced since.

Hershey, Pennsylvania smells like chocolate. The town where Hershey’s is headquartered is known for its chocolate scent — a result of the cocoa processing facilities nearby. Street names in the town include Chocolate Avenue and Cocoa Avenue.

The candy was used as military rations. During both World War I and World War II, Hershey’s produced specially formulated chocolate ration bars for American soldiers. While standard Kisses were halted during WWII due to foil rationing, Hershey’s chocolate products never left the wartime supply chain entirely.

Hershey’s Kisses were hand-wrapped for the first 44 years. Automated wrapping machinery was not introduced until 1921. Every Kiss produced between 1907 and 1921 was individually wrapped by hand on the factory floor.

For anyone who just learned about the Hershey’s Kiss name and wants to explore what different types of real kisses mean, our guides on what is a French kiss and how to kiss for the first time cover the territory in the same friendly, no-pressure style.

And if you are curious about the wider world of kisses, our article on how to kiss someone and how to French kiss are great starting points for the real thing.

✦ Hershey’s Kisses have been part of American culture for over 115 years — and almost every fact about them is more interesting than you would expect.

FAQ: Common Questions About Hershey’s Kisses

Q1. What is the paper in a Hershey’s Kiss called?
The paper strip that sticks out of the top of a Hershey’s Kiss is officially called a “plume.” Hershey’s has used this term since the candy was first introduced in 1907. Informally, many people also call it a “flag,” “tag,” or “strip” — but plume is the brand’s own designated word for it.

Q2. What is the purpose of the paper plume in a Hershey’s Kiss?
The plume serves three functions: it identifies the candy as a genuine Hershey’s product, it acts as a pull-tab to help consumers unwrap the foil cleanly, and it carries printed text — today the word “Kisses” repeated along its full length. It was first added in 1921, fourteen years after the candy was introduced.

Q3. Why are Hershey’s Kisses called Kisses?
Two explanations are widely cited. The first is that the candy was named after the sound the chocolate made as it was deposited onto the conveyor belt during production — a light, kissing sound. The second is that the candy’s shape resembles a puckered lip. Hershey’s has not officially confirmed one explanation over the other.

Q4. When were Hershey’s Kisses invented?
Hershey’s Kisses were first introduced by Milton S. Hershey in 1907. Production was temporarily halted from 1942 to 1945 during World War II because aluminium foil was rationed for the war effort. Outside of that three-year pause, Kisses have been produced continuously for over 115 years.

Q5. How many Hershey’s Kisses are produced each day?
Hershey’s produces approximately 70 million Kisses per day. Each candy is individually foil-wrapped with its plume inserted before packaging. The original milk chocolate variety remains the bestselling flavour by volume, outselling all other varieties combined.