Mon Chéri is an internationally known brand name of the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 Ferrero company for 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...

 confectionery.

The Mon Chéri is a single-wrapped combination, consisting of a "heart" of cherry

Cherry

The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....

, floating in a special liqueur

Liqueur

A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...

 and contained in a plain chocolate housing. Each Mon Chéri contains 46 calories and is packaged in a red/pink wrapper. There is no disclaimer on the packaging denoting the liqueur center, and unsuspecting tasters expecting a sweet treat may be in for an unfavorable surprise.

Mon Chéri actually comes from French and means "My darling". Mon chéri is produced since 1960 and first introduced to French, Belgian and UK markets and a year later to the German market. The Mon Chéri name was chosen as a reference to the French way of life and rapidly selected as brand name for every markets in the world.

The cherries used to make Mon Chéri have their origin near Fundão, in Cova da Beira rural area, Centro Region, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

. Every year Ferrero buys 150,000 ton

Ton

The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...

s of fruit to produce this candy.

Mon Chéri was the first major product with which the company's German subsidiary in Stadtallendorf

Stadtallendorf

Stadtallendorf is a town in Marburg-Biedenkopf, Hesse, Germany, which lies about east of Marburg.- Location :Under the German system of Naturräume, Stadtallendorf lies in the West Hesse Depression Zone which is divided into basins and ridges...

 (near Marburg

Marburg

Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...

) became successful after its start in 1956.

In the American market, Mon Chéri was actually filled with hazelnut

Hazelnut

A hazelnut is the nut of the hazel and is also known as a cob nut or filbert nut according to species. A cob is roughly spherical to oval, about 15–25 mm long and 10–15 mm in diameter, with an outer fibrous husk surrounding a smooth shell. A filbert is more elongated, being about twice...

s and did not contain liqueur, similar to the Ferrero Küsschen that is sold 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...

 and Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. After more than 20 years in production, this variety was discontinued by Ferrero, except in Puerto Rico where it is imported from Germany as "Mon Cheri". Most other markets, however, still sell the cherry-filled Mon Chéri.

External links

• Ferrero (UK) (product description, advertisement)