1983 -2023. Happy Birthday, Little Surprises!

by Graziella Carbone

Happy Birthday, Little Surprises!
So, year after year and piece after piece, our “Sorpresine” (Little Surprises) turned 40 years! Forty years since Mulino Bianco started to put a little cardboard box inside the pack, containing a small surprise dedicated to the kids. 
It was immediately clear that this was a phenomenon that would last and develop over time
The shape of the box itself suggested its collectability. On the front, the image of Valle Felice (Happy Valley). Inside, a small leaflet – a common thread throughout the entire promotion – this phrase was reported in addition to the game instructions: “There are many fun surprises to play with. Start looking for them in the Mulino snacks”.
So, year after year and piece after piece, in 1983 up to 1990, starting from card 1, the so called “Card wins and card loses”– more than 750 basic subjects of Sorpresine have been created, followed by several variants.
A long list of rubbers, origami, stencils, crayons, calendars, riddles, mini board games to play alone or in company, small stationery personalized with the Piccolo Mugnaio Bianco (Little White Miller – also named Piemmebi), shoelaces – made in tens of millions of copies – as well as the most wanted reproductions of the iconic Mulino Bianco, such as the alarm clock, the radio and the “Mills of Secrets and Wonders” available from the very first collecting points. All this contributed to creating and constantly maintaining over the years a strong emotional and playful bond between Mulino Bianco products and its little consumers.
The success of Sorpresine, since the launch of the first collection in 1983, has been certified also by a survey made by AstraRicerche on behalf of Mulino Bianco: at that time, 75% of Italian people collected them and one out of two still preserves one pieace, somewhere, at home.
After an AstraRicerche survey, it was found out that the most loved Sorpresine were rubbers (49,7%), followed by adhesives (11,9%), snakes and ladders (11%) and wax pastels (9,4%).
At the end of January I received a phone call by the Mulino Bianco Mktg Direction: “As we are thinking about celebrating Sorpresine birthday, we would love to have you telling the story”.
So on March 19th I found myself in front of a big audience, some were known faces and some others new, but they all were very attentive and deeply curious. I had brought with me some Sorpresine, MaxiSorpresiere, Mulino Bianco of various types…
By touching and playing for a few moments with Sorpresine brought the attendees back to some childhood memories, as going back to being children makes us happy. 
What’s better than dedicating a space to this event on the Mulino Bianco website? 
Here you are: www.mulinobianco.it/sorpresine

The Archive of Top 100 Sorpresine
The first developed part was the Archive of Sorpresine – A journey into the iconic Mulino Sorpresine: The 100 Top Sorpresine, divided by Type of game, Rarity and The most famous ones. To make it happen, thanks to the exquisite courtesy and availability of Historical Archive Cuartor and his co-workers, a a photographic set has been installed in the Barilla Historical Archive. Three days spent in the Archive together with a crew of professionals to shoot some Sorpresine I personally selected, pulled out of the huge drawers specifically for that occasion. At the same time, I wrote the story of each single Sorpresina, full of details and curiosities. It is available by clicking on “Scopri di più” (Discover more) where you can get more information such as the production year, the quantity produced and the identification code.

Reusing the little boxes of Sorpresine
The second part was dedicated to the preparation of the section of the website where some of my creations are available:
“Free creativity with Sorpresine and reuse the Little Boxes taking inspiration from our creative ideas. Get inspired and prepare unique and surprising ideas”.
It had a lot of fun creating some of them!
Here you are some examples:

The Little Picture of Mulino – Add a touch of happiness to your home with some colorful hanging pictures.
The Drawer of Mulino – Transform the boxes into nice drawers to store smaller objects.
The Mill – Create a nice version of the Mulino to use as a pencil holder!

By clicking on “find out more” there are the descriptions of the materials, the time needed to create them and a whole series of steps to be able to make your own creation.

The most emotional part – The video with Mia.
In December, the Company received a letter from Mia, a 10-year-old girl from Siena. As a child, her father played with Mulino Bianco Sorpresine and Mia does the same today. They both wish they still existed, to make happy all the boys and girls, of yesterday and today. After reading the letter, Mulino Bianco decided to involve me to tell Mia many curiosities and… also a secret. What was it?
Watch the video Mia and Mulino Bianco Sorpresine and find out how it went! 
Interview to Graziella it took two intense and exciting days to shoot the video at the Historical Archive, with the result of millions of views!

And the future?
Will it be possible to relive the success of our beloved Sorpresine? What is the secret I told Mia?

2023 – Sorpresine are back!

The new Sorpresine
For those who were children in the 1980s – or for those who had a small child in those years – the news made heart skip a beat: the legendary Mulino Bianco Sorpresine were back. 40 years after their debut, Mulino Bianco decided to celebrate the anniversary with a new collection. So here is the secret I told Mia in the video.
How can you get the new Sorpresine? By collecting the codes in some packs thanks to which you can access the digital collection to receive them directly at home.
These are the products involved:
There is the possibility of collecting 3 sets for a total of 18 rubbers of different shapes.
From bees to flowers, up to the miniatures of the product packaging contained within the iconic and irresistible matchbox.
It doesn’t end there. The initiative is being told through a multi-channel campaign with the claim “Tornare bambini ci rende felici” (Becoming children again makes us happy) with lots of activities:

  • A treasure hunt on Facebook in search of hidden Sorpresine
  • A contest to try to win a weekend in the Bakery Factory to discover how Mulino Bianco products are made and enjoy them fresh out of the oven
  • An exciting interview with a Tuscan girl and Graziella Carbone, inventor of many Sorpresine, as main characters
  • A limited edition of the products involved in the initiative
  • A nice and cute TV commercial telling of a moment of game and complicity between father and son
  • Three exciting augmented reality games that can be activated thanks to the QR code on each box
  • A music video with influencers and creators who are passionate about Sorpresine

Hello, bye bye
I am so happy and honored to have retraced together with each of you the historic and ingenious success of our Sorpresine… and today to celebrate their birthday.
On behalf of myself and you, thank to Mulino Bianco for making all this possible.
I am sure that our Sorpresine will continue to accompany the passing of our days, full of surprises and… Sorpresine.

With love
Graziella