Giovanni Buitoni

Bacio chocolates came on the Italian market in 1922. Initially they had the distinctly unflattering name of Cazzotto, which literally means 'punch-up' and derived from their irregular, squat shape. It was Giovanni Buitoni who re-christened the chocolate Bacio. The famous entrepreneur took a malicious pleasure in making consumers ask for a kiss instead of a punch-up at the sweetshop.

Some say that Buitoni was also responsible for introducing the paper scrolls, while others claim it was Federico Seneca, the art director at Perugina at the time, who had the remarkable idea of adding a little something extra to the pleasure of eating the chocolate: little paper scrolls with printed messages of affection, warmth, or friendship: basically, messages that ran the whole gamut of love. Federico Seneca also designed the blue and silver box with the couple kissing under a rain of stars. The design is immediately recognisable to Italian consumers, as it evokes the 1859 painting by Francesco Hayez called simply Il Bacio.

Love Legends

Since then, the Bacio box has kept company with the changing ‘love legends’ of the times, with surprising flexibility: Rudolph Valentino, Clark Gable, Frank Sinatra and Vittorio Gassman all starred in Perugina’s TV advertising. Then in the 1970s Perugina Bacio chocolates appeared in Love Story, the archetypal love film of that time. A special box was even designed to combine the book and the film’s soundtrack with the famous chocolates.

The real Bacio revolution arrived in the 1980s, however. The language changed, becoming more modern and relaxed to reach a younger target and, in the same vein, Perugina introduced the tube: a packaging that satisfied the tastes of teenagers who, as a result of the TV advertising campaign, even started using the verb tubare (‘to tube’), meaning to have fun.

The Windowed Cylinder & BaciBall

The 1980s also saw the advent of the windowed cylinder, a package introduced to meet the new trend where Bacio chocolates became products bought by consumers for themselves. But without doubt it was the 1990s BaciBall that opened the doors to the Christmas market for Perugina Bacio chocolates, which perfectly expressed the desire to convey love at the year’s most wonderful festival. At the same time Perugina brought out Voglia di Baci (literally, 'desire for kisses'), a cube filled with mini-Bacio chocolates that when opened became a convenient, flower-shaped container, designed for family consumption just like the advertising slogan said: "At home they’re just waiting for a Bacio".

Innovative Packaging

Today we see an array of innovative packaging, from exquisite heart shaped boxes & exciting Champagne bottles full of Baci to more simple, but no less delicious, tubes and bags. There’s a package to suit any & all occasions.