Hungarian Chocolate Celebrates 100th Anniversary with Special Stamps

In honor of the Szerencs Chocolate Factory celebrating its 100th anniversary, Hungarian Post has issued a special series of stamps that were presented at an event organized for the launch in Szerencs (town in northern Hungary).

Zsófia Koncz, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Energy stressed that “for Hungarian families, Szerencs chocolate carries a very important message for several generations” and plays an important role in the life of the town. She added that thanks to government support, production can now be carried out in one plant instead of three.

The politician underlined that the

Hungarian government attaches great importance to domestic enterprises.

The energy ministry was working to help in the energy crisis caused by the Ukrainian war, she said, adding that from 1 May, natural gas and electricity tariffs had been “more than halved” for some 30,000 customers, two-thirds of them small and medium-sized enterprises and electricity price caps have been introduced in some sectors since 1 July.

According to the state secretary, the centenary will be celebrated in several stages in the city:

an exhibition on the 100 years of chocolate has been opened in Serencs Castle, a book on the history of chocolate is being published and the Arthur Days Festival will be held between 25 and 27 August.

Sára Hegmanné Nemes, Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Hungarian Postal Company, highlighted in her welcome speech that one of the factory’s iconic sweets, the cat’s tongue, will also appear on a stamp to mark the anniversary. She added that the cat’s tongue-shaped self-adhesive stamp was issued in thirty-six stamp-sized sheets, mixed with milk and dark chocolate colors.

The Vice-President said that 36,000 commemorative stamps would be issued, in addition to 6,000 chocolate-flavored stamps. A stamp costs 300 forints (EUR 0.8) and can be used on postcards and envelopes, noted Sára Hegmanné Nemes.

István Takács, managing director of Szerencs Bonbon Kft., pointed out that

the products of the chocolate factory, established in 1923, were sold in the United States after only two years of operation.

He highlighted that in addition to the production of traditional products, the company now also produces diabetic and sugar-free sweets, as well as bark-moulded figures.

The managing director said that from the beginning the company’s mission was to save the recipes of the sweets for posterity, and he called the centenary and the stamps issued a milestone in the life of the chocolate factory.

At the end of the event, the first commemorative envelopes were stamped and signed by Zsófia Koncz, István Takács, Sára Hegmanné Nemes and Tibor Nyiri, Mayor of Szerencs.

Via MTI, Featured image via Pixabay