Whittaker's chocolate praised for new packaging detail
<p dir="ltr">A popular New Zealand chocolate brand is helping to revitalise te reo, the official Māori language, one block at a time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">To celebrate Māori Language Week, Whittaker's revealed it was introducing special edition packaging for one of its most popular blocks, which has gone down a treat with Kiwi shoppers.</p>
<p dir="ltr">From August 22, the packaging of Dreamy Milk blocks will be translated into te reo to read Miraka Kirīmi.</p>
<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-8e5769e7-7fff-9968-a51b-e49f16b43c58">Matt Whittaker, the brand's chief operating officer, said the family-run business hoped the label would contribute to "revitalising" te reo, which is <a href="https://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/3571" target="_blank" rel="noopener">considered endangered</a> and has only 127,000 native speakers worldwide according to the Endangered Languages Project.</span></p>
<p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/08/whittakers-choc.jpg" alt="" width="740" height="996" /></p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Whittaker’s announced it would translate the packaging of its Dreamy Milk chocolate bar into te reo for Māori Language Week. Image: Twitter</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">“As a family-owned business that makes all of its world-class chocolate at its one factory in Porirua New Zealand, we are proud to celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week),” Mr Whittaker said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“The label has been translated into te reo with support and guidance from our friends at the Māori Language Commission, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Our hope is that the label contributes to revitalising te Reo in New Zealand, and we hope chocolate lovers in New Zealand enjoy a block of Miraka Kirīmi with their friends and whānau (extended family).”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Though there has been some opposition to the move, including right-wing commentator Cam Slater, it has been greatly outweighed by support.</p>
<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-2622949c-7fff-c2d2-f669-ce4eb61c394a"></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">Those who were upset took to social media to claim the wrapper was a “step too far”, with others responding that they would buy extra bars to annoy the “racist haters”.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Huge shoutout for Te Taura Whiri for continuing your mahi to normalise our reo, the latest being the Whittaker’s Miraka Kirīmi.</p>
<p>Thank you both for sticking your necks out on the line while racists and bigots slam you from all directions with hate and disgusting comments.</p>
<p>— Te Matahiapo (@HynesSafari) <a href="https://twitter.com/HynesSafari/status/1559414028820107265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p dir="ltr">“Whittaker’s, you’re a class act. Love this,” one fan wrote on Instagram.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Why are people mad about te reo chocolate wrappers? I think it’s sick AF. In fact I will be stockpiling the te reo Whittaker’s bars and keeping the outer wrappers in perfect condition so I can buy new bars and replace the outer layer with a te reo one every time,” another shared on Twitter.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I particularly like Whittaker’s Miraka Kirimi and am thrilled by the chance to mark Maori language week by eating chocolate,” a third said.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-13c2a534-7fff-dfa2-9f5f-cfa52d113ae9"></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">Māori presenter and content creator Sonny Ngatai dubbed the decision as “awesome”, adding that he hoped it would prompt more brands to use te reo on products in supermarkets.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">Professor Rawinia Higgins, the Māori Language Commissioner, also welcomed Whittaker’s move, adding that those who claimed it was woke or a “step too far” don’t realise that te reo is already an accepted part of New Zealand’s identity.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“For those who have complained that this is a step too far for our country: The reality is that the rest of New Zealand has already taken that step,” she told <em><a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/300662596/chocolate-lovers-stand-up-against-racist-backlash-to-whittakers-miraka-kirmi?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stuff NZ</a></em>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We know that eight in 10 of us see te reo as part of our identity as a Kiwi while one in three of us can speak more than a few words of Māori.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Young New Zealanders are helping to drive change. They are not threatened when they see or hear te reo; they see te reo as absolutely normal.”</p>
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<p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Twitter</em></p>
