Hershey's Dives Into Premium Chocolate Race With Deluxe Kiss

Hershey's Kisses don't change much. The flat-bottomed teardrop with the famous paper plume has looked almost exactly the same since about 1921.

Which is maybe why The Hershey Co. has called its new Hershey's Kisses Deluxe its biggest innovation in 25 years. The Deluxe is about double the size of a normal Kiss and features a hazelnut center with tiny rice crisps sprinkled throughout the chocolate.

A senior manager for Hershey's told USA Today: "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."

Yeah, no kidding.

The Hershey Co., the largest chocolate brand in North America, experimented with Hershey's Kisses Deluxe two years ago in China where the Hershey's Kisses brand passed $100 million in annual sales for the first time ever outside of the U.S.

Hershey's dive into premium chocolate comes right on the heels of its largest competitor, Nestle, taking a similar step.

Nestle's premium chocolate brand Cailler will be offered outside its home in Switzerland for the first time in its nearly 200-year history.

Both of these launches come just in time for the holiday season. The Hershey's Kisses Deluxe will be offered in-stores and online in boxes of three all the way up to 75.