 The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is one of the largest producers of chocolate in North America. It's also home to some of the most well-known candies on the planet!
Headquartered in Hershey, Pa., The Hershey Company offers a wide range of products, including such iconic brands as Hershey's, Reese's, Kisses, Kit Kat, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, and Jolly Rancher. Hershey is also a leader in the premium and artisan chocolate segments, with its Scharffen Berger and Dagoba brands.
Shop for all of your favorite Hershey's candies at Candy.com and enjoy every last bite!
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The Backstory
Following an apprenticeship with a candy maker in Lancaster,
Pennsylvania, Milton S. Hershey was ready to start his own
candy business in Philadelphia in 1876. Despite six years of hard work, it
failed. He then moved to Denver and found work with a confectioner who
taught him how to make caramels using fresh milk.
Soon after, he started up a second candy business in New York City. It also
failed. Undaunted, he returned to Lancaster and once again tried making a
go of the caramel business. This time, it worked. (Three times a charm!) Soon his Lancaster
Caramel Company was shipping all over the United States and Europe.
In 1894, Milton Hershey decided to to produce sweet chocolate as a
coating for his caramels. The new
enterprise was named the Hershey Chocolate Company. By 1900, the company
began producing milk chocolate in bars, wafers, and other shapes. With
mass production, Hershey was able to lower the per-unit cost and make
milk chocolate—once a luxury item for the wealthy—affordable to all.
After opening a new and larger factory in 1905 to accommodate the success of Hershey’s milk chocolate products, Milton Hershey looked for ways to expand his product line. In 1907, a flat-bottomed, conical milk chocolate candy was born and went on to become America's beloved Hershey's Kiss.
Over the next 20 years, more products were added to the
company lineup, including Mr. Goodbar, Krackel, Hershey's Syrup, and Hershey's Chocolate Chips. In 1956, The Hershey Company bought the H.B. Reese Candy Company, and in 1977, it acquired Y&S Candies, the makers of Twizzlers.
Today, the company has net sales in excess of $4 billion and exports its products to 90+ countries. Not bad for a candy maker who was near bankruptcy at the age of 30!
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