Kinder Surprise - Overview

Overview

Kinder Surprise originated in 1973 in Italy as Kinder Sorpresa. The German word "Kinder" in the name came about because in 1967, Ferrero's German subsidiary introduced Kinder Chocolate ("Kinderschokolade") to the German market, and in 1968 that product was introduced to Ferrero's native Italy, establishing the "Kinder" brand there, prior to the introduction of the Kinder Sorpresa chocolate eggs. Kinder Surprise eggs were introduced to the German market in 1974, and for many years this was the largest market for the product. The concept of intruducing a toy in a chocolate seems to have originated in Argentina in 1962, with the introduction in the market of "Jack" chocolate by the FelFort company

The toys are designed by both inside designers and external freelancers (for example the French artist André Roche based in Munich) and manufactured by many companies worldwide, such as Produzioni Editoriali Aprile, a small company based in Turin, Italy, run and founded by two brothers, Ruggero and Valerio Aprile.

Kinder Eggs are sold all over the world excluding the United States, as the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act contains a section highlighting that a confectionery product with a non-nutritive object, partially or totally imbedded within it, cannot be sold within the United States, unless the FDA issues a regulation that the non-nutritive object has functional value. No such regulation has been issued.

In 1997, the staff of the CPSC, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, examined and issued a recall for some Kinder Surprise illegally brought into the US with foreign labels.

In Europe they have become a minor cult phenomenon among adults. There is even a thriving collector's market for the toys. There are many types of toys available, but some of the most popular with collectors include the ever-changing series of small hand-painted figures (some have to be assembled); cartoon characters; metal figures and jigsaw puzzles. Seasonal eggs are introduced around the holidays, such as the limited-edition creche collections (featuring such characters as the three kings, baby Jesus, and assorted barnyard animals) found around Christmas, and the huge ones found at Easter (extremely popular in Italy).

A relatively new innovation, triggered by the advent of the Internet, is the introduction of "Internet surprises". Accompanying the toy is a small slip of paper containing a "Magicode". This code gives access to games at the Magic Kinder website, some for downloading, some for playing online.