Chocolate egg FERRERO Kinder surprise. Nostalgia for the nineties

Good day, dear readers of the Nostalgia for the Nineties blogs. Who among you didn't love Kinder Surprise? I think such people are unlikely to be found and therefore the topic of today’s article will be about this delicacy. The history of its creation, a few facts that you probably didn’t know, and of course a photo selection of Kinder Surprise toys from the nineties.

Let's start, of course, with the creation of this miracle and the conqueror of all our children's hearts in the nineties.

In the children's toy market, Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs are a special case. Here there is joy, and surprise, and a toy, and chocolate. 107 joys in one. Moreover, not only children, but also adults are interested in these toys. This is an excellent material for an unusual collection that can be replenished throughout your life.

From an Italian bakery to a global confectionery company

There would be no toys, no collections and no “Kinder surprises” if a small family bakery had not initially opened in Turin, Italy. Here, rolls, long loaves, and flat cakes were quietly and peacefully baked. And in 1930, the store was inherited from father to son Pietro Ferrero. It was at this moment that the story of a toy that had never even existed began.

Senor Ferrero was famous among his neighbors for his light, cheerful character, optimism and rare resourcefulness. He loved soft rolls, but his imagination extended far beyond baking sheets with loaves of bread. He was a great experimenter by nature and his research activities concerned unique recipes for sweet dishes. So very soon the ordinary bakery turned into a full-fledged pastry shop, where Pietro “worked magic” together with his wife Piera.

True, the Second World War forced the couple to move from their hometown to the north. But even there, sweet dreams haunted the Ferrero family, and already in 1942 the couple again opened a confectionery store, which a few years later was transformed into a confectionery factory. Here, in Alba, the Ferrero spouses expected great success, and very soon the sweet products of confectioners spread throughout the world.

Let's now meet the heir to the confectionery empire Ferrero Michele. Son Pietro I hated milk as a child, like most of his friends. Therefore, having joined the family business, he immediately thought of all those kids who, like him, were not fans of cow's milk. Michele decided to release a chocolate with a high content of milk, so that the child could get all the nutrients that are in milk, and at the same time, so that he would be tasty. Michele called this series of chocolate “Kinder”.

It would not be true to say that the idea of ​​a sweet with a surprise belongs to the Ferrero family. In our country before the war, the so-called chocolate bombs, inside of which tiny nesting dolls, hearts, jugs and other small things for kids were hidden. And in Italy itself there has been a pleasant tradition since ancient times. Parents baked egg-shaped cakes for their children for Easter and hid small surprises or coins inside.

Michele Ferrero decided to combine his children's chocolate with this fun tradition, and this is how Kinder Surprise came about. It was decided to make a capsule for the toy in the form of a real yellow egg yolk. But the idea of ​​​​a tiny toy produced in series was proposed by the Swiss designer Henry Roth.

Kinder mania

In 1974, the first batch of Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs left the assembly line, went to store shelves and ... was sold out in just one hour. Already after this name, many adults and children turned into real maniacal collectors buying eggs.

Some toys from Kinder Surprises are hand-painted, which is why they are valuable and have no analogues. So collectors are willing to pay up to 500 US dollars for some copies. And some rare toys are valued at 1000 euros. In 2007, a collection of 90 thousand Kinder toys was sold on eBay for 30,000 euros.

imitators

Many are trying to imitate the success of confectioner Ferrero. The founder of the Landrin chocolate brand, Igor Markitantov, was the first in Russia to launch his “own” chocolate eggs for sale. He began his activity in the chocolate field with the sale of original Kinder Surprises. And when an enterprising young man decided to open his own business, he released domestic chocolate eggs “Chudiki” into Russian stores. True, initially the eggs were purchased in Italy, and the toys were made in China. But the characters for the toy series were the most like ours, heroes of domestic cartoons (“Well, wait a minute!”, “Winnie the Pooh”, “Prostokvashino”, “The Kid and Carlson”...).

Kinder facts

All products of children's chocolate go under the name "Kinder". Therefore, in every country, the first word of the name of a chocolate egg is authentic – “Kinder”. And the second word is translated into the national language. That’s why in Russia the egg is called “Kinder Surprise”, in Norway and Sweden it is called Kinderoverraskelse, in Brazil and Portugal – Kinder Surpresa, in Spain – Kinder Sorpresa.

In hot countries, a chocolate egg would certainly melt before reaching the store. So for them, Ferrero release a variation on the theme of an egg with a surprise - Kinder Joy. A plastic egg, in one half of the egg there is chocolate with a spoon, in the other there is a toy.

Kinder Surprises are not sold in the USA. And all because since 1938 it has been prohibited to put foreign objects into food products.

A Kinder egg weighs 35 grams including the toy.

In Kinder Surprise, the milk content reaches 32%.

Within 30 years from the date of production, Ferrero sold 30 billion chocolate surprises.

In Belgium, enterprising butcher Fontaine has released a surprise sausage egg. Mr. Fontaine motivated his action by the fact that a salami egg turns out to be much larger than a chocolate one, and a larger toy can be hidden in it.

And as always, a bonus Gallery of Kinder Surprises from the nineties.

Are you Kinder lovers as much as I love them? My love has passed through the years. I don’t think it’s a love for figurines, but rather a thirst to once again experience that same feeling of wonder and impatience with which you open the treasured “yolk” of a chocolate egg.

My husband brought me back to this joyful feeling. He fulfilled my childhood dream and gave me a box of kinders. And he repeated this five times. I ate chocolate with pleasure, looked at the toys, putting them in a large jar. And then she suffered from grief when she decided to give them away for free.

Where can I buy?

Treasured eggs with a toy are sold everywhere from fixed price to METRO.

Now you can buy kinders inexpensively in Auchan.

Price from 44 (Auchan) to 70 rubles.

I remember the times when, barely reaching the counter, after school I spent my grandmother’s pension on one Kinder and eagerly carried it home.

And although the price for disappointment that comes from opening modern kinders is great, the hand itself reaches out for them. More often than not it’s my daughter’s hand.

I adore Kinder chocolate, and even though lately I only get crumbs from my eggs, I will probably never stop loving it.

Package

Crispy wrapper. If you don’t rush to crush it beyond recognition, you may find out in advance what’s inside the kinder by studying the barcode and armed with life hacks from the Internet.

The image of the collection on the wrapper does not at all guarantee that you will find the figure you need, even if it is drawn. Moreover, buying kinders by the box, I couldn’t even collect one complete collection.

Chocolate consisting of two halves has recently become not only a sweet that children and some adults gobble up on both cheeks. It can also serve as a surprise box. If you can carefully open the foil, open the halves and replace the contents of the container with a note or small gift, you will get a cool, original gift.

Insert.

It is both an assembly instruction and a “tease” that shows how many more toys are in the series.

Toy

As a child, I hated when I came across puzzles, card games and all prefabricated toys. I craved action figures. And I had them, but not enough.

A bunch of identical sharks, a couple of elephants, my favorite shapeshifters. My friends and I tried to change repetitions, but our grandmothers watched vigilantly. As soon as the guest got ready to go home, the figurines were returned to the owners. Bummer. Why, you ask?!

Even now I am very happy when we come across a figurine. And even though the hippos are no longer the same, I still fold them carefully.

Let's compare the Kinder series from the 90s and modern ones?

I came across these two hippos in the new series. I bought two eggs in their signature wrapper and there were two hippos. Fantastic!

Each figurine is made of plastic. They are light. Not whole, although they come already assembled. I don’t like their strange faces when compared to the hippos from childhood. But it’s better than the 50th Iron Man.

The collection of kinders from childhood did not live up to my ahem... maturity., but as it turned out, this was not a problem. You can buy complete series from collectors. And they will look like they were just taken out of eggs. I found them on Avito.

The figurines were neatly folded into bags, all their personal belongings were neatly laid out separately, and they didn’t even forget about the inserts.

My collection of Kinder Surprise toys.

It's funny, but it was the earbuds that gave me a sharp pang of nostalgia.

Although I never understood why they were needed before. this time they worked for me. I was able to correctly distribute the accessories among the figures.

Elephants on the beach.

There are 10 figures in total.

From the series with elephants, I had only two elephants. Like these ones.

And a lot of them are repeated. They were their uncles and aunts.

As a child, I would have gone crazy over this elephant surfer.

Here is the elephant photographer.

And a funny baby elephant with a tiny mouse on the rug.

Elephants in the circus.

There are 10 of them in total. They come with a whole package of props.

They are wonderful, magical and completely enchanting.

Look at this juggler!

He simultaneously tries to handle the rings, the ball and the bottles. If he stands, all this looks quite successful, but if you put him on his stomach, it seems that he is confused in all this.

This circus princess is something unique. At first I thought that part of the capsule was there to protect small parts from deformation or loss. but no, everything is much more interesting.

A very funny elephant who is afraid of a mouse and hid from it on a stool.

Egyptian kittens.

There are 11 figures in the series and a bunch of cool, very unusual accessories.

Perhaps this is one of the most thoughtful and interesting series. It is so touching and so thoughtful that it does not require any decorations for games.

I just want to play with them!

The very unusual coloring resembles clay products covered with glaze.

What is the price of a cat that fries pizza in a pyramid?

A mother who nurses her baby.

Pharaoh lounging on his throne. His catness.

Cotocleopatra.

How do you like cotomumia?

A kid who collects a pyramid.

Priest frozen in a heart-rending “Meow!”

Porters. You can easily transfer figures onto them.

I fell in love with Egyptian kittens at first sight, even though I didn’t have them as a child. The detailing on the figures is such that they will outperform many modern figures. And most importantly, they look more fun and soulful.

Dinosaurs are builders.

All figures are intact and neatly painted. They have vivid emotions on their faces.

They are all busy. There are not many accessories, but they all complement them perfectly.

These dinos add great variety to the construction game.

For us, they are all part of Advent and will be supplemented with bricks and mini cars of special equipment.

Do you know that there were others?

Sea dinosaurs

And Pet Dinosaurs

I am not yet thirty years old, but I already agree that before the grass was greener, the trees were taller, and Kinder Surprise toys were more interesting. Hippos, elephants, winter penguins, dinosaurs on a construction site - toys made from Ferrero chocolate eggs were so thoughtful and well-made that they were passed on to children and grandchildren, and the collections were sold for decent money.

In 2018, I don’t want to buy Kinder surprises: the child opens the foil wrapper in anticipation of a miracle, sees a cheap plastic trinket and throws it away.

And I'm just throwing money away. Kinder collections 2018 are:

• Barboskins - unlike cartoon characters, figures on a stand;
• Natoons animals;
• marsupials and inhabitants of the water, not like real animals;
• kinderino with balls;
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles;
• cartoon characters Masha and the Bear.

Against this background, other brands make more worthy toys, for example, Thomas the Train and Friends.

Or chocolate eggs with funny dogs (Sunny, Sweet box):

In 2018, Kinder Surprise celebrates its 50th anniversary, and in honor of this, the manufacturer is creating a boring collection consisting of Kinderino and other toys from Ferrero.

In my opinion, only in 2014 the company released something worthy - an assortment of figures from the nineties in a new design - hippos, crocodiles, dinosaurs, elephants, penguins...

If you miss the quality of kinders, I suggest you look at my collection of chocolate egg toys, which I happily presented to my child.

Kinder surprises of the early nineties

My acquaintance with Kinder Surprise toys began in 1992, when the “Die Happy Hippos” collection - deck hippos - appeared.

My figures are over 26 years old, their accessories have been lost and the paint has worn off, but they still warm me with the warmth of memories and surprise me with their quality.

Probably the only thing better than these hippos are the hippos in Hollywood from the “Die Happy Hippo Hollywood Stars” series.

A year later, Ferrero released a collection of frogs. Funny amphibians on skates and skis, making snowmen. Remember this frog in a white skirt?

In 1994, a collection of kinders was released that I remember well - bar penguins.

Parents went to the market and exchanged duplicate figures for those that were missing, bought penguins and made their children happy.

The quality of the toys is decent: my penguins are 24 years old, and they still look cute. The chipped paint is a consequence of long games and a careless (unfortunately) attitude: I am sure that careful collectors have kept their figures in perfect condition.

Beach elephants from kinder old collections are lovers of surfing, ice cream and leisurely relaxation on the sand. Next to them are fox detectives, lovers of detective stories and riddles.

The next series of Kinder surprises from 1995: sharks. Bright blue pearlescent predatory fish are like in a fairy tale about Aladdin: rich, calm and peaceful.

Who doesn't remember dinosaur builders? A lazy worker snacking on a sandwich, a sloppy dinosaur who hit his paw with a hammer and a caring nurse, a smart foreman and a hardworking stacker...

Figures of hares during the winter holidays are one of my favorites. Bright, funny, with a mug of hot tea, on skis and sleds.

In my Kinder collection there are many unpaired single figures and different series that I never managed to collect or change:

• hares;
• crocodiles;
• craftsman gnomes;
• happy turtles;
• lions;
• musical instruments;
• Egyptian cats.

But very old toys have been preserved:

• guardsmen;
• schlumpfs;
• double figures.

age test: who remembers

Any kinder toys in my collection are animals with children: dogs, cats, chickens, pandas, rabbits. They are so similar to the real ones that I regret not collecting all the episodes.

Millennium Collection

Since the beginning of 2000, something went wrong, and Kinder Surprises stopped offering interesting toys made from chocolate eggs.

The Happy 2000 series caused disappointment, and the line of Asterix, vampires, Snoopy and pigs dampened the desire to spend money on a kinder surprise.

We began to buy chocolate eggs from other companies more often, for example, Parsley, where we came across funny toys from Soviet cartoons:

• Wait for it;
• Prostokvashino;
• Parrot Kesha;
• Crocodile Gena and Cheburashka.

Soon these collections were replaced by cheap series of new cartoons, and I stopped paying attention to “Petrushka”.

Is it worth buying kinders from the new collections?

Kinder Surprise was created to bring joy to children: it’s not for nothing that chocolate eggs have been produced for fifty years.

I will still occasionally buy this toy for my child, but I would like the quality of the material to return to the formula of the nineties, the figures to become as multifaceted as before, and Kinder chocolate to remain delicious.

What is your favorite collection of kinders from childhood?