New Zealand chocolate giant Whittaker’s is set to celebrate Māori Language Week by translating one of their most well-known flavours to te Reo Māori.
The simple yet effective Creamy Milk chocolate flavour will be renamed Miraka Kirīmi and released nationwide as part of the company’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori celebrations.
Whittaker’s has translated the Creamy Milk into te Reo Māori since 2020, but it’s only ever been available through social media competitions.
This year, with Māori Language Week starting on the 12th of September, Whittaker’s will be releasing the translated block in stores nationwide starting on the 22nd of August for a limited time only.
The Co-Chief Operating Officer at Whittaker’s, Matt Whittaker, said in a press release that the company is stoked to be celebrating Māori Language Week even more than usual this year.
“We are delighted to extend our celebration this year by making our limited edition Miraka Kirīmi label more widely available, as well as through a number of other staff initiatives,” he said.
“We’re pleased to take part in this week of celebration to help revitalise te Reo Māori, and we hope that Whittaker’s Chocolate Lovers will enjoy sharing a block of Miraka Kirīmi with their friends and whānau,” he finished.
Huge shoutout to Whittaker’s for getting behind Te Wiki o te Reo Māori and making the translated block available around Aotearoa.
Māori Language Week has been celebrated since 1975 and came to be after many New Zealanders in the 70s thought that the language was losing popularity and its rightful place in life in Aoteroa.
After 30,000 people signed a petition, the government eventually made a Māori Langage Day, which was soon turned into Māori Language Week.
We believe keeping te Reo alive and a part of our country is massively important and every little bit can help in doing so.
