Whittaker’s is running back their Miraka Kirīmi (Creamy Milk) special edition chocolate block for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2023.
The block is simply the classic Creamy Milk flavour but with Te Reo packaging. They’ll be available from Monday 21st August for a limited time only, well before Māori Language Week starts on 11th September.
Last year there was a bit of a ruckus when the blocks were announced as a few people were not happy with the Māori translation.
When Whittaker’s announced the block on their Facebook page there were unfortunately some racist comments popping up: customers threatening to never buy from the chocolate brand again, people “sick of Te Reo being pushed at them”, and some dude named Brian letting it known it was a “BAD MOVE WHITTAKER’S”.
The majority of the comments were fine with chocolate block, poking fun at anyone complaining about it and just being pretty wholesome.
Holly Whittaker, the chocolate company’s Co-Chief Operating Officer, says that Whittaker’s is keen to keep on embracing Te Reo.
“Like many others across New Zealand, Whittaker’s is on a journey with Te Reo and, as part of that, we are proud to help raise awareness around Te Wiki o te Reo Māori by making Miraka Kirīmi for this annual celebration,” she said.
“We’ve produced a bit more Miraka Kirīmi this year so there is more available for Whittaker’s Chocolate Lovers who want to share a block with their friends and whānau but it will only be available until stocks of this special edition block run out.”
I’m SURE this year will be completely fine with no controversy as we’ve definitely moved on as a country to the point where a bit of Te Reo on a chocolate bar will not make anyone mad.
