Kinder Surprise
Encyclopedia
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren, it has the form of a chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
egg containing a small toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
, often requiring assembly.
Overview
Kinder Surprise originated in 1972 in Italy as Kinder Sorpresa. The German word "Kinder" in the name came about because in 1967, Ferrero's German subsidiary introduced Kinder ChocolateKinder Chocolate
Kinder Chocolate is a confectionery product of the Italian chocolate manufacturer Ferrero SpA; it is known in Germany as Kinderschokolade. The German offspring of Ferrero SpA, Ferrero oHG mbH, also formerly known as Assia GmbH, founded in 1956, introduced Kinderschokolade to the German market in...
("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 toys are designed by both inside designers and external freelancers (for example the French artist André Roche
André Roche
André Roche, born in 1952 in France, is an artist, an illustrator and an author of comics and children's books.- Biography :André Roche received a Bachelor’s degree of Tourism, Hotel Administration and Culinary Arts from the Lycée Hôtelier Alexandre Dumas in Strasbourg...
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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
The United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act , is a set of laws passed by Congress in 1938 giving authority to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to oversee the safety of food, drugs, and cosmetics. A principal author of this law was Royal S. Copeland, a three-term U.S. Senator from...
prohibits embedding "non-nutritive items" in confections. Additionally, the Consumer Product Safety Commission
Consumer Product Safety Commission
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is an independent agency of the United States government created in 1972 through the Consumer Product Safety Act to protect "against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products." The CPSC is an independent agency that does...
issued a recall on the eggs in 1997 (mostly via import shops).
In Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
they have become a minor cult phenomenon among adults. There is even a thriving collector
Collecting
The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world...
's market for the toys. This is especially true in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where the manufacturer includes higher-quality toys than those available elsewhere. 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), which are said to be in every seventh egg (ad slogan: "Jetzt in jedem siebten Ei"); cartoon characters (sometimes called "stick figures", which is a mistranslation of the German "Steckfiguren"); 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
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, and assorted barnyard animals) found around Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, and the huge ones found at Easter (extremely popular in Italy).
A relatively new innovation, triggered by the advent of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, 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.
Classification and identification
Classifying and identifying Kinder Surprise toys is a rather complex exercise. There are several different lines, and a number of different numbering systems have been used over the years. Until the 1990s, the toys were seldom numbered at all, which can make identification difficult (although some early toys, especially hand-painted figurines, have a FerreroFerrero SpA
Ferrero SpA is an Italian manufacturer of chocolate and other confectionery products, founded by confectioner Pietro Ferrero in 1946 and based in Alba, Piedmont, Italy. The company achieved success headed by Pietro's son Michele Ferrero, then Michele's son Pietro , who oversaw global business...
mark). Kinder history can be broadly split into two periods: pre-2004 and post-2004. The pre-2004 toys were made by Ferrero. But in 2004, a Luxembourg-based company called MPG (which stands for Magic Production Group) took over toy production, although Ferrero continues to make Kinder Surprise chocolate. Prior to 2004, but after 1990, three distinct lines emerge:
Pre-2004: German line
The German line of Kinder Surprise toys was sold only in Germany before 1992, and in Germany and Austria after 1992. In general, this line is regarded by Kinder aficionados as being superior in quality to other lines. The instruction papers for German toys are quite large and usually contain the name of the series on one side, and frequently, the name of the toy on the other side, which also has the assembly instructions. In addition, each German paper has a six-digit number that is unique to the specific toy. The toys themselves do not have these numbers, but almost always have a Ferrero mark. There does not appear to be any particular pattern to the German numbering system, but the first digit is always either 6 or 7.Pre-2004: West European line
Until the early 2000s, this line (made by Ferrero Italy) was sold and distributed in all countries except GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and countries where Kinder Surprise eggs are illegal (such as the USA) or simply not available. From about 2001 however, it was restricted mainly to Western Europe, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. The main distinguishing feature of this line is the use of "K numbers" (e.g. K96 No. 1), which are found on both the toys and instruction papers. The two digits after the K represent the year of issue, while the subsequent number is the number of the specific toy. So K96 No. 1, for instance, would be toy No. 1 in the series issued in 1996. Toys with "K numbers" are sometimes referred to as "K toys". The toys tend to be less sophisticated than the ones in the German line. The papers are also a great deal more basic. They are essentially elongated strips that show the toys in the set on one side and have assembly instructions for the specific toy on the other. Unlike the German papers, they almost never have any writing on them. The "K" papers were accompanied by a separate white strip of paper with a standard safety warning in many languages. The first known "K" series was K91, while the last was K04, after which MPG introduced a brand-new numbering system.
In recent years, there have also been reproductions of older K toys, which Kinder collectors frequently refer to as "recasts". These "recasts" first appeared in Poland, but soon spread to other Eastern European countries and eventually to Canada, Mexico, South America, Australia and New Zealand. They have very similar papers to the original releases, but the numbering is slightly different. For example, a "recast" of K93 No. 81 is simply numbered "No. 81". Both the toys and papers have this altered numbering. Recasts are not very popular with collectors, but they are nevertheless sought after by completists.
Pre-2004: Argentine/Brazilian line
This line only began in the earliest years of the 21st Century after Ferrero Argentina became a much bigger player on the Kinder Surprise scene. "Argentine" toys, as they are generally known, are basically K toys, but with some significant differences from their West European counterparts. The Argentine line is distributed in South America, Mexico, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It is also sold in Brazil, but Brazilian papers are different from the standard Argentine versions (see below). Although the "Argentine" line mostly resembles the West European line, there are often differences in how the toys are made. For instance, where a West European animal or character toy would have the eyes painted on, the Argentine equivalent would have eye stickers. Some Argentine toys have even been exclusive and never released in the West European line. For example, the jigsaw puzzle numbered K01 No. 122 was only ever released in the Argentine line and never issued in the West European line. It is consequently quite highly sought-after by European Kinder Surprise collectors. In more recent years, a series of jigsaw puzzles based on the Monster Hotel hand-painted series was also exclusive to the Argentine line.Up to 2004, Argentine papers showed the toy series and assembly instructions on the same side, while the opposite side contained the multi-lingual safety warning that is printed on an entirely separate paper in the West European line. Initially, the papers were of rather poor quality and tore easily, but from the K02 series onwards, they were thickened up a bit, although they were still rather less robust than their European counterparts.
Post-2004: European MPG line
After MPG took over the production of Kinder Surprise toys, the German and European lines were merged so that the same toys were now distributed in all European countries. The numbering system was changed, as were the toys and papers. Instead of a "K" number or six-digit number, all toys now had a new type of number. In the first MPG year, toys were numbered C-x (e.g. C-1, C-2 etc.). In the second MPG season, the C was replaced by an S (so toys were now numbered S-1, S-2 and so forth). In the third and current season of MPG toys, S has been replaced by 2S (2S-1, 2S-2 etc.). The papers were made somewhat larger. The toys had the new numbering and an MPG mark instead of a Ferrero one.But although the toy lines were merged, the papers have retained some significant regional differences. German papers still contain the series name, and often the toy name, in German. West European papers have no writing, but do contain a Magicode logo. East European papers are much the same as West European papers, but have no Magicode logo.
Post-2004: Argentine/Brazilian MPG line
Notwithstanding the merger of the German and European lines, there continues to be a separate Argentine line. MPG toys are included in this line, but sometimes have differences to their European counterparts, most notably in their stickers and the papers. The new Argentine papers are much bigger than before. In fact, they are the same size as the European papers. On one side, they show the toys in the series. The reverse side has two distinct parts: the assembly instructions (across the top) and the multi-lingual safety warning (bottom half). The Brazilian papers are much the same, but the safety warning section is yellow rather than white. Interestingly, some "K" toys (mainly from the K04 series, but also a set of speedboats from the K01 series) have been released in the Argentine/Brazilian line with MPG-style larger papers. Another curious feature of the Argentine line has been the release of a small number of "recasts" of old German toys. The papers are in the original Argentine pre-2004 style, but have the German six-digit numbers. The toys are much the same as the German originals, but in some cases, the colours have been changed.Limited editions
In addition to the regular collectible toys, Kinder Surprise series generally contain special limited-edition sets. These sets tend to vary greatly between countries, with many variations in toys, but more especially papers, which tend to be unique to the specific countries in which the sets are released. Some sets are released in many countries, while others are only issued in one or two. A few types of limited editions are discussed below.Hand-painted figurines
Hand-painted figurines are solid toys that generally do not require assembly. They are very popular with collectors. They can be broadly divided into two types: animal themes and cartoon characters. One of the earliest known hand-painted sets is the Super-Mini-Schlumpf-Parade (Super Mini Smurf Parade), issued in Germany in 1983. Hand-painted sets issued prior to 1990 tend to be very highly sought after, especially if, as in the case with the Smurfs, other collector groups are also interested. The earliest sets were released only in Germany and Italy, but after about 1993, they were released in many different countries, with papers unique to those countries. Even so, a small number of sets were only released in Germany, while others (such as the 1994 Panda Party) were issued in several European countries but not Germany. It is fair to say that some sets have seen wider distribution than others. For example the "Happy Hippo"-characters, created 1987 especially for the Kinder Surprise egg by the French designer André RocheAndré Roche
André Roche, born in 1952 in France, is an artist, an illustrator and an author of comics and children's books.- Biography :André Roche received a Bachelor’s degree of Tourism, Hotel Administration and Culinary Arts from the Lycée Hôtelier Alexandre Dumas in Strasbourg...
, appeared not less than in 8 German series, the most popular of them having been "The Hipperium" (a send-up of the "Star Wars"-trilogy authorized by George Lucas) and the "Happy Hippo Talent Show", presented in over 20 European countries as a persiflage of the world wide popular TV casting shows. Until the advent of the MPG era, hand-painted sets were not numbered. However, MPG limited-edition sets have MPG numbers on both the toys and papers.
"Steckfiguren"
The toys known in Germany as "Steckfiguren" are based primarily on cartoon characters. Some English-speaking collectors call them "stick figures", but this is not really a correct translation. A more accurate translation would be something like "put-together figurines" or "snap-together figurines". What is meant by this term is that these are figurines which come in kit form inside the egg. So unlike hand-painted figurines, they are not a single piece, but have to be assembled. As with hand-painted figurines however, they were originally issued in Germany only. In the European and Argentine lines, they were assigned K numbers, but tend to be harder to find than other "K" toys and can command a similar premium to hand-painted figurines. This is especially true of the early German releases, which were usually based on Disney characters like Mickey MouseMickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
and Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
. Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
characters like The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
and Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear is a fictional bear who appears in animated cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show. Yogi Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera, and was eventually more popular than...
tended to feature in the "K" series, although there were also two Peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
sets (in the K94 and K00 series) and two Smurfs sets (in the K97 and K02 series).
Metal figures
There have been many sets of metal figures, the majority of them being soldiers, issued since late 1970. Most of these were issued in Germany, but some found their way to the West European line, where they were assigned "K" numbers. The last known metal figure set in the "K" line was a set of medieval figures released in the K98 series. There have been no metal figures issued since MPG took over the manufacture of Kinder Surprise toys.Prohibition on sale or import into the United States
While Kinder eggs have been available in Canada since 1975, the product has never been allowed into the US for several reasons. In 1993 the Ferrero Group (the maker of Kinder eggs) applied to have the eggs sold in the USA, but was turned down because of a prohibition against having an inedible item inside an edible object. Products like Cracker JackCracker Jack
Cracker Jack is a U.S. brand of snack consisting of strong molasses flavored candy-coated popcorn and peanuts, well known for being packaged with a prize of nominal value inside. Some food historians consider it the first junk food...
that contain inedible toys in the same package are not subject to the ban because the toy is in the box, not in the food. More recently, the US Consumer Products Safety Commission determined in 2008 that the product did not meet the small-parts requirement for toys for children under the age of three, creating a choking and asphyxiation hazard in young children. Since 1991, at least 7 children worldwide have died of choking after swallowing the toy inside the Kinder egg.
On January 10, 2011, it was reported that a Kinder egg was seized from a woman's car during a random inspection while entering the United States from Canada. She was informed that bringing the egg into the United States could result in a $300 fine. Seizures such as that one, and even the prohibition of the product itself, have been cited on political blogs and web forums as an example of an overzealous application of law and an intrusion upon personal liberty. The rationale against a ban of the product also takes the form that deaths have been too few for it to be considered a serious danger. Additionally, the argument is made that there should be a consistent standard in place, as several worse dangers are not regulated.
Other Kinder Surprise egg types
In addition to the main line of Kinder eggs, giant-sized Kinder eggs known as "Maxi eggs" are also manufactured. They include toys bigger than the regular-sized ones.In warmer climates, such as in Italy during summer, Kinder Eggs are not sold because of too high temperatures; the Kinder Merendero may then take the place of the Kinder Egg during these periods. They are sold under the name of Kinder Joy in Brazil, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Poland, Romania, Portugal, South Africa, Singapore and Ukraine.
Video games
There have been two Kinder Surprise computer games. They are:- Discover a World of Wonder (An educational game, tailored to the National Curriculum course, whilst featuring the forthcoming Kinder Surprise toy range. This was offered to schools in the UK.)
- K.S.-n-KickinK.S.-n-KickinK.S.-n-Kickin is a 3D puzzle/adventure computer game made by ARTWORLD and Big Future Ltd. for Kinder Surprise, with music licensed from Telstar Records. The game was designed to work on Windows 95 and 98...
External links
- Magic Kinder Official website.
- Open Directory Kinder Surprise section
- Kinder Eggs prohibited in the United States