Carrot cake Hershey’s Kisses are set to carve out a new flavor in the long tradition of the Easter basket mainstay.
As is usually the case with any re-imagining of classic candies, the announcement that Hershey’s Kisses will be going carrot cake has sparked a mixture of amusement and outrage across the internet. The new flavor will be arriving just in time to land in the Easter baskets of lucky — or unlucky depending on your views — American children. Hershey’s spokesperson Lauren Aardewijn told Buzzfeed News that the new product is meant to reflect the upcoming season.
“Easter season, you think about carrots, you think about bunnies. There is nothing more symbolic than carrot cake.”
While it might seem odd for Hershey’s to re-flavor their Kisses as a dessert that’s far from universally loved, it’s actually a reflection of how important social media debate has become in advertising. Selecting something that is bound to get everyone riled up equals loads of free advertising across Twitter and Facebook. Furthermore, those debates are much more likely to stick with consumers than the typical banner ad that many people have blocked anyway. Even if they won’t be dabbling in carrot cake, they’ll still have Hershey’s Kisses on the brain.
Of course, that’s all hearsay, but statements from Aardewijn seemed to reflect that the company was aware carrot cake Hershey’s Kisses were a bit of a risk.
“Whenever you develop a new product you’re going to have people who love it and people who aren’t going to like it. On a personal note, carrot cake wasn’t something I thought I really wanted to try. But it’s a little bit of a surprising flavor!”
With just over a month until Easter hits, Hershey’s may have landed a goldmine with the new development. Thousands of people have already starting aligning themselves with “Team Carrot Cake” or “Team That’s Nasty.” The grand majority of those people seemed to lean a bit more toward the latter classification, with some seeming to be outright furious that these new Easter Kisses would be coming their way.
@jamesjawa Right?? I like carrot cake too, but only it carrot cake form.
— H (@astrisong) February 17, 2016
@liahaberman I’m not sure if this a good idea or a horrifying one. Didn’t M&Ms do a carrot cake flavor?
— Lauren Hug (@LaurenHug) February 17, 2016
carrot cake flavored hershey kisses? HOW DARE YOU
— H (@astrisong) February 17, 2016
@bgardnerfanclub I like carrot cake, but these flavored things always just end up tasting like chemicals.
— Heather Hummel (@hhummel4) February 17, 2016
@WxLadyKatie I like carrot cake but I don’t think I want a carrot cake kiss. I like your laugh. Thank you for your wx reports.
— Kenneth A Fuller (@a_theologyman) February 17, 2016
Um what? No thanks RT @mashable : Hershey’s Carrot Cake Kisses are the new thing for spring https://t.co/mpT8PGdqmZ pic.twitter.com/M2lFIRlEw4
— Dark Knight (@ShadowOftheBat) February 17, 2016
That’s not to say that everyone is ready to grab their pitchforks and make their way to Hershey’s headquarters to air their confectionary grievances. Carrot cake is beloved by many for a reason, and some people are ecstatic that they’ll be able to get their hands on it in candy form — including a cream cheese frosting center.
I used to hate carrot cake but now I love it sooooo I am definitely here for this. https://t.co/ORWqe5zlb0
— Ricky Spanish (@ashliegee) February 17, 2016
THERE ARE CARROT CAKE HERSHEYS KISSES ITS TIME 2 BUY EVERY SINGLE BAG BC CARROT CAKES THE ONLY CAKE I LIKE SDFFJDJFJD
— Harrison Copeland (@DigitalGoon) February 17, 2016
What do you think of the Carrot Cake Hershey’s Kisses new flavor rollout? Easter candy genius or marketing trolling?
[Image via Yevgeniya Shal /Shuttershock and Spencer Platt/Getty Images]
