The Hershey Company facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This page is about the chocolate manufacturer. For the ice cream company also known as Hershey's, see Hershey Creamery Company. For other uses, see Hershey's.

Quick facts for kids
The Hershey Company

The original Hershey's factory in 1976
Trade name	Hershey's
Formerly	Hershey Chocolate Co. (1894–1927) Hershey Chocolate Corporation (1927–68) Hershey Foods Corporation (1968–2005)
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: HSY S&P 500 component
ISIN	ISIN: [https://isin.toolforge.org/?language=en&isin=US4278661081 US4278661081]
Industry	Food processing
Predecessor	Lancaster Caramel Company
Founded	February 8, 1894; 131 years ago (1894-02-08) (as Hershey Chocolate Company) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Founder	Milton S. Hershey
Headquarters	19 E. Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, Pennsylvania , U.S.
Number of locations	19 plants (2022)
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Michele Buck (Chairman, President and CEO) Steven Voskuil (Senior VP, Chief Financial & Accounting Officer)
Brands	List of The Hershey Company brands
Revenue	US$8.97 billion (2021)
Operating income	US$2.04 billion (2021)
Net income	US$1.48 billion (2021)
Total assets	US$10.41 billion (2021)
Total equity	US$2.76 billion (2021)
Owner	Hershey Trust Company (minority owner but owns the majority of the voting stock)
Number of employees	16,620 (Full-time) (2021)

The Hershey Company, often called Hershey or Hershey's, is a big American company that makes candy. Its main office is in Hershey, Pennsylvania, in the United States. This town is also home to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World. Hershey is one of the largest chocolate makers in the world. They also make baked goods like cookies and cakes, and sell drinks like milkshakes.

Milton S. Hershey started The Hershey Company in 1894. It was first called the Hershey Chocolate Company. It began as a smaller part of his Lancaster Caramel Company. The Hershey Trust Company owns a small part of Hershey. But it has most of the voting power in the company.

Hershey's chocolate is sold in 60 countries. The company has large places to store and send out its products. Hershey is also part of the World Cocoa Foundation. This group helps cocoa farmers around the world.

The Hershey Company is not connected to the Hershey Creamery Company. Both companies started in the same area of Pennsylvania in the same year. They have had some disagreements about their names. In the 1990s, they agreed that Hershey Creamery Company would say on its ice cream that it is not linked to The Hershey Company.

History of Hershey's

How it all started

Milton S. Hershey, the company's founder

Milton S. Hershey learned about making candy in 1873. He then opened a candy shop in Philadelphia. This business did not work out. He tried again in Chicago and then in New York City, but those also failed.

Hershey returned to Pennsylvania. In 1883, he started the Lancaster Caramel Company. This company made tasty caramels. In 1894, he created the Hershey Chocolate Company. It was a part of his caramel business.

In 1896, Hershey built a plant to process milk. He wanted to make his own special milk chocolate. By 1899, he found a way to make milk chocolate that was not as picky about milk quality. In 1900, he began selling the famous Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar.

Growing in the 20th century

Hershey's chocolate wrapper in 1903

Using fresh milk in his caramels was a big success. In 1900, Hershey sold his caramel company for $1,000,000. He had seen chocolate-making machines at a big fair in Chicago in 1893. He decided to focus only on chocolate. He believed chocolate was a lasting product, unlike caramels which he thought were just a trend.

In 1903, Hershey started building a chocolate factory. It was in his hometown of Derry Church, Pennsylvania. This town later became known as Hershey, Pennsylvania. The town was a good place for workers to live cheaply. The factory was built without windows so workers would not get distracted. To make workers happy, Hershey offered fun activities. This led to the creation of what is now Hersheypark. The milk chocolate bars from this factory became very popular. The company grew quickly.

In 1907, Hershey made a new candy. These were small, flat-bottomed, cone-shaped pieces of chocolate. He called them Hershey's Kiss. At first, people wrapped each Kiss by hand in foil. In 1921, machines started wrapping them. This made the process faster. A small paper ribbon was added to the top. This showed it was a real Hershey product. Today, over 70 million Kisses are made every day!

Other new products came out later. These included Mr. Goodbar (peanuts in milk chocolate) in 1925. Hershey's Syrup came out in 1926. Semi-sweet chocolate chips (a mix of milk and dark chocolate) were introduced in 1928. The Krackel bar, with crisped rice, came out in 1938.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Harry Burnett Reese created Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. He started his own candy company in 1923. After Reese passed away in 1956, his six sons took over the company. In 1963, the H. B. Reese Candy Company joined with the Hershey Chocolate Corporation.

Just six years later, in 1969, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups became Hershey's best-selling candy. By 2012, Reese's was the top-selling candy in the United States. It was also the fourth best-selling candy brand worldwide.

Working together and challenges

In the late 1930s, Hershey faced challenges with its factory workers. A group called the Congress of Industrial Organizations tried to help workers form a union. There were some disagreements in 1937. By 1940, a different group, the American Federation of Labor, successfully helped Hershey's workers form a union. This union still represents Hershey's workers today.

Milton Hershey also tried making other products. From 1938 to 1952, he tried making toilet soap and other hygiene items. He opened a shop in Atlantic City that sold cocoa butter soap. This shop was successful for many years.

M&M's and other candies

M&M's button-shaped chocolates (left) were developed by Hershey and Mars in the 1930s, while Rolo bonbons (right) were produced by Hershey under license.

Before World War II, Bruce Murrie, whose father was a president at Hershey's, made a deal with Forrest Mars. They wanted to create chocolate with a hard sugar shell. These candies were called M&M's (for Mars and Murrie). Murrie owned a part of the product. Hershey chocolate was used to make M&M's during the war when food was limited. In 1948, Mars bought out Murrie. Mars then became a main competitor to Hershey.

Kit Kat and Rolo

In 1969, Hershey got permission from a UK company called Rowntree's. This allowed Hershey to make and sell Kit Kat and Rolo candies in the United States. Later, another company, Nestlé, bought Rowntree's. But Nestlé still had to let Hershey keep making Kit Kat and Rolo in the U.S. This agreement would only end if Hershey itself was sold.

Cadbury products

In 1988, Hershey gained the rights to make and sell many Cadbury products in the United States. (This did not include gum and mints). In 2015, Hershey took legal action to stop British Cadbury chocolate from being imported. Some customers were not happy about this.

New products and companies in the 21st century

In 2002, the Hershey Trust Company said it wanted to sell its main ownership in Hershey Foods Corporation. Many people, including the media and local officials, were against this sale. The company decided not to sell. Some of the people on the Hershey Trust board had to leave. New members were appointed.

In 2004, Hershey bought the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corp., which makes macadamia nuts.

The Hershey's Chocolate World store in Times Square in Manhattan in 2008

Hershey Store located in the Falls Avenue Entertainment Complex in Niagara Falls, Canada in 2005

In 2005, Hershey bought two smaller chocolate makers: Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker and Joseph Schmidt Confections. In 2006, they bought Dagoba Organic Chocolate.

Around 2006, Hershey changed some of its chocolate recipes. They used vegetable oil instead of cocoa butter in some products. This was done to lower costs. Some people said the taste was different. The company said that in taste tests, about half of people liked the new versions. Because of this change, some products were renamed from "milk chocolate" to "chocolate candy."

Hershey continued to buy other snack companies. In 2011, they bought Brookside Foods, which makes chocolate-covered fruit. In 2016, they bought barkTHINS, a chocolate snack company. In 2017, Hershey bought Amplify Snack Brands, which makes SkinnyPop popcorn. In 2018, they bought Pirate Brands, known for Pirate's Booty snacks. These purchases showed Hershey was expanding beyond just candy.

In 2019, Hershey bought One Brands LLC, a company that makes protein bars. They also worked with Yuengling to make a chocolate-flavored beer. In 2021, Hershey bought Lily's, which makes low-sugar chocolates. Later in 2021, they planned to buy Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels.

In 2023, Hershey started making plant-based chocolates. These use dairy alternatives. They are called Plant Based Extra Creamy and Plant Based Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Hershey's Brands

Kisses bonbons

Hershey's brands are mostly chocolate or candy. The Hershey Company also makes gum. Their main sales areas are the U.S. and Canada.

Milton Hershey School

Milton S. Hershey and his wife could not have children. So, in 1909, Milton Hershey started the Hershey Industrial School. It was for orphaned boys. In 1918, after his wife passed away, Milton Hershey gave about $90 million to the school. He also gave 40% of the Hershey Company's stock. The school first taught young men trades. Later, it focused on preparing students for college.

Many parts of the school look like Hershey chocolate products. For example, the street lights look like Hershey Kisses. Milton Hershey was involved with the school until he passed away in 1945. The school was renamed the Milton Hershey School in 1951.

Hershey's Factories

The first Hershey factory outside of Hershey, Pennsylvania, opened in 1963 in Canada. Another opened in California in 1965. In 2007, Hershey announced these plants would close. New facilities were planned, including one in Mexico. The California factory closed in 2008. Hershey also has factories in Brazil and India.

Today, Hershey has plants in several U.S. states. These include Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Tennessee. They also have a plant in Mexico.

Visitors to Hershey, Pennsylvania, can go to Hershey's Chocolate World. This center has a fun, simulated tour ride. Public tours used to be offered at the actual factories. But they stopped in Pennsylvania in 1973 when Chocolate World opened. Tours in California stopped after the September 11, 2001, attacks for safety reasons.

In 2012, Hershey opened a new, larger factory in West Hershey. In 2018, Hershey started expanding its Kit Kat factory in Pennsylvania. This project cost $60 million and created new jobs. In 2023, Hershey bought back its plant in Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada.

Product Safety and the Environment

Product recalls

In July 1998, some milk chocolate bars were recalled. They might have had small amounts of almonds not listed on the package.
In November 2006, a factory in Canada temporarily closed. Some products were recalled because of concerns about bacteria called Salmonella. This was possibly found in an ingredient used in their production line.

Caring for the environment

Cocoa farming in Ghana, a supplier for Hershey

Making chocolate uses ingredients that grow in specific parts of the world. These ingredients can be affected by climate change. Growing cocoa and other candy ingredients can impact the environment. For example, the process of breaking down cocoa pod husks can add to carbon in the air. Also, transporting products uses energy. Growing cocoa uses a lot of water. Packaging materials also affect the environment.

Hershey Company is working to address these environmental concerns. They have goals to reduce their carbon footprint. One goal is to cut down on greenhouse gases from their factories and operations. They also want to reduce gases from their supply chain. To do this, Hershey focuses on using energy more wisely. Each Hershey location has an "Energy Champion" to help meet energy goals.

Hershey is also working to improve its packaging. They want to use less packaging material. They aim to reduce packaging weight by 25 million pounds by 2030. Hershey also plans to switch to sustainable and recyclable plastic packaging by 2030. They are working with groups in Ghana to fight against deforestation. They want to make sure their suppliers do not harm forests.

Helping others

Hershey has given a lot to education. They have supported a special program at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania since 1999.

In 2015, Hershey promised to help build a sustainable supply chain. This would help provide basic nutrition for children in Ghana.

Hershey also works with groups that help children and families. These include Children's Miracle Network, Ronald McDonald House, and United Way. In 2016, the company gave over $486,200 to these organizations.

Taste differences around the world

Some people outside the U.S. find that Hershey's chocolate tastes different. This is because of a special process Hershey uses. This process can create a flavor that people not used to Hershey's might find unusual.