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">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>
<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChT_HnmFKCF/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14">
<div style="padding: 16px;">
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div>
<div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div>
<div style="padding-top: 8px;">
<div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div>
</div>
<div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;">
<div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 8px;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div>
<div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: auto;">
<div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div>
<div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div>
</div>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChT_HnmFKCF/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by ＳＯＮＮＹ ＮＧＡＴＡＩ (@sonny_ngatai)</a></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<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>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-159d9689-7fff-f891-50b5-e2dfc1ad8da8"></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Twitter</em></p>
