WILLIAMS SONOMA CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ORIGINAL PEPPERMINT BARK ON NATIONAL PEPPERMINT BARK DAY

December 1^st Marks the Annual Celebration of One of the Holiday Season’s Most Iconic Confections Originated by Williams Sonoma 25 Years Ago

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Williams Sonoma, a portfolio brand of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM), the world’s largest digital-first, design-led and sustainable home retailer, announced today, the 25^th Anniversary of The Original Peppermint Bark and the third annual celebration of National Peppermint Bark Day. After 20 rounds of recipe testing, in 1998, Williams Sonoma founder Chuck Williams and the Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen team developed the signature recipe for The Original Peppermint Bark that sparked a food trend that is celebrated by chocolate enthusiasts around the world during the holiday season. The signature recipe for Williams Sonoma’s iconic Peppermint Bark combines a custom blend of light and dark Guittard chocolate layered with triple-distilled peppermint oil, to create a seasonal confection that is often replicated, but never matched in quality or flavor to the Williams Sonoma standard.

Those who eagerly await the annual arrival of Williams Sonoma Peppermint Bark contribute to the consumption of over one million pounds of Guittard chocolate and 65,000 pounds of peppermint candy pieces. From start to finish, each batch of Williams Sonoma Peppermint Bark takes more than 24 hours to make, and it takes Williams Sonoma’s chocolatiers over 12 weeks to produce enough Peppermint Bark to satiate the demand from customers. The popularity of Peppermint Bark has prompted Williams Sonoma to also carry 35 different Peppermint Bark flavored products this year ranging from Peppermint Bark Pretzels and Cookies to a Peppermint Bark flavored Espresso Martini Mix.

To celebrate the 25^th anniversary of The Original Peppermint Bark, Williams Sonoma, together with Visa, has launched “A Chance To Win With Every Tin” campaign. There are over 1,500 gift cards hidden inside select The Original Peppermint Bark tins with one tin containing a grand prize of a $1,000 Williams Sonoma gift card.

“We are proud to be the originators of the Peppermint Bark trend having developed a flavor profile that has become as synonymous with the holidays as pumpkin spice is to Fall,” said Williams Sonoma President, Felix Carbullido. “For 25 years our customers have celebrated the start of the holiday season with our signature Peppermint Bark, and we are excited to offer a commemorative tin this year in recognition of this anniversary.”

The complete Williams Sonoma Peppermint Bark collection is now available at all Williams Sonoma stores and on the Williams Sonoma website.

For more information on the collection, please visit:
www.williams-sonoma.com/peppermintbark.

About Williams Sonoma

Since its founding by Chuck Williams in 1956, the Williams Sonoma brand has been bringing people together around food. A member of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM) portfolio of brands, Williams Sonoma is a leading specialty retailer of high-quality products for the kitchen and home, providing world-class service and an engaging customer experience. Products include cookware, cooks’ tools, cutlery, electrics, bakeware, food, tabletop and bar, outdoor, cookbooks, as well as furniture, lighting and decorative accessories. Each store offers cooking classes and tastings conducted by expert culinary staff. A comprehensive gift registry program for weddings and other special events is available in stores and online. On williams-sonoma.com customers can find recipes, tips, and techniques that help them create delicious meals. Williams Sonoma can also be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube. Williams Sonoma is also part of The Key Rewards, a free-to-join loyalty program that offers members exclusive benefits across the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. family of brands.

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