New Zealand candy, delivered to California
New Zealand candy, chocolate and biscuits shipped from Auckland to California by DHL Express, usually 3 to 5 business days. What to order depends on whether you are coastal or inland.
- Carrier
- DHL Express
- Typical transit
- 3 to 5 business days
- You shop in
- USD
- Dispatched
- 1–2 business days
California is the one state where the usual advice breaks down.
Everywhere else, the honest answer to “will the chocolate be alright” is a question about the month. In California it is a question about the address, and the difference between the two ends of the state is bigger than the difference between most countries we ship to.
Coastal or inland
The coastal strip, roughly San Diego up through Los Angeles, the Bay Area and on to the north, stays mild enough that a Whittaker’s block arrives in good condition for most of the year.
Inland is a different state altogether. The Central Valley, the Inland Empire and the desert run hot for months at a time, and a parcel sitting on a porch in Sacramento in July is not somewhere chocolate wants to be. Nothing about how fast DHL moves changes that, because the last few hours are the ones that matter.
So if you are inland and it is summer, order biscuits, lollies and spreads, and come back for the chocolate in October.
The time difference works in your favour
New Zealand is 19 to 21 hours ahead of Pacific time, which sounds inconvenient and mostly is not. An order placed on a Sunday evening in California arrives in Auckland on a Monday morning, so it goes into the week’s first packing run rather than sitting over a weekend.
The flip side is worth remembering when you are counting days to a birthday: a Friday in California is already Saturday in New Zealand.
Where to start
If you have been to New Zealand and are trying to find the thing you ate there, the Kiwi Classics aisle is the short answer. If you are new to all of it, the glossary on the United States page translates the aisle names first, because nothing here is labelled the American way.
What changes when it is California
- California is two climates, so the advice changes by address
- A summer delivery to San Francisco and a summer delivery to Fresno are not the same parcel. The coast stays mild enough for chocolate most of the year. Inland, from the Central Valley through to the desert, summer runs hot enough that chocolate is a gamble no matter how fast it moves.
- You are about twenty hours behind Auckland
- New Zealand is 19 to 21 hours ahead of Pacific time depending on the season, which runs the other way to how it feels. An order placed on a Sunday evening in California lands on a Monday morning in Auckland, so it is packed at the start of the New Zealand week rather than waiting out a weekend.
Chocolate and the weather
The coast and the valley need different orders.
Parcels travel unrefrigerated. For a coastal address, chocolate is fine most of the year. For anywhere inland in summer, send biscuits, hard lollies and spreads instead, and save the blocks for October through May.
Read our heat-sensitive products policyWhat to send to California
Picked for this trip, not a bestseller list. One line on each says why it earns its place in the box.
Jam rather than chocolate, so it does not care what the Central Valley is doing in August.
A sealed jar travels through any Californian summer without flinching.
The one to try first. Chocolate coated, so pick a cooler month if you are inland.
Coastal addresses can order this year round. Inland, wait for autumn.
Ordered most often to California
Built from real orders sent to California, refreshed daily. No names, no numbers, just what leaves Auckland for here most often.
One rate covers the first 2 kg
Your DHL Express rate follows the weight of the box, not where in the United States it is going. A half full box costs the same to send as a full one, so the trick is filling it well. Above 2 kg a step rate applies per 0.5 kg, and the exact figure shows at checkout once you enter your address.
Import charges are set by the United States, not by us
They are the same everywhere in the United States, and they do not change because your address is in California. We never add them to your price and we do not try to predict them. The only reliable source is U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Shipping to California
How long does delivery to California take ＋
Typically 3 to 5 business days with DHL Express once your order leaves Auckland, with dispatch inside 1 to 2 business days of payment. These are carrier estimates rather than guarantees, and customs processing can add a day or two.
Will chocolate survive a Californian summer ＋
On the coast, usually. Inland, often not. Parcels travel unrefrigerated and we cannot control temperatures after dispatch, so chocolate sent to the Central Valley or the desert between June and September may arrive soft or melted, and melted chocolate is not refunded. Biscuits, hard lollies and spreads travel well anywhere in the state at any time of year.
Do I pay more to ship to California than to the East Coast ＋
No. The rate is the same across the United States because it follows the weight of the box, not the distance inside the country. One rate covers the first 2 kg, then a step rate applies per half kilogram above that.
When should I order to arrive for a specific date ＋
Allow the 1 to 2 business days of dispatch plus the 3 to 5 business days of transit, then add a couple of days for customs. Working back about two weeks is comfortable. Remember New Zealand is a day ahead, so a Friday in California is already Saturday in Auckland.
Send a taste of home to California
Packed in Auckland, on its way in 1–2 business days, with DHL Express tracking the whole way.