Hershey Creamery Company facts for kids
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| Public | |
| Traded as | Expert Market: HRCR |
| Industry | Ice cream manufacturer |
| Founded | 1894 in Lancaster, U.S. |
| Founders | Jacob Hershey Isaac Hershey John Hershey Paris Hershey Eli Hershey |
| Headquarters |
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U.S.
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Area served
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Northeastern and Eastern United States |
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Key people
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George Holder, president Walter Holder, vice president of manufacturing Tom Holder, vice president of sales and marketing Robert Campbell, controller |
| Products | Ice cream, sherbet, ice cream cake, frozen slab, smoothies |
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Number of employees
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450 |
Hershey Creamery Company, also known as Hershey's Ice Cream, is an American company that makes delicious frozen treats. They produce ice cream, sorbet, sherbet, frozen yogurt, and other cool desserts. These include smoothies and special frozen slab-style ice cream mixers.
The company was started in 1894 by Jacob Hershey and his four brothers. Later, in the 1920s, the Holder family took over the business. Hershey's Ice Cream was one of the first companies to sell ice cream in handy pre-packaged pints.
Today, this family-owned business has about 450 employees. They run 30 distribution centers in 28 states across the Eastern and Northeastern United States. Even though it's a public company, its shares are mostly traded among a small group. In 1998, the company updated its factories to make things more efficient.
It's important to know that Hershey Creamery Company is not connected to The Hershey Company, which makes chocolate candy. Both companies started in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in the same year. They have had some disagreements over their names in the past. In the mid-1990s, they agreed that Hershey Creamery Company would add a note to its ice cream products. This note explains that they are not linked to the chocolate company.
Contents
How Hershey's Ice Cream Began
The Hershey Creamery Company was founded in 1894 by five brothers: Jacob, Isaac, John, Paris, and Eli Hershey. They started their business right from their family farmhouse in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
The brothers designed and built special wooden containers lined with metal to pack their ice cream. These containers were loaded onto trucks with ice packed around them. This kept the ice cream fresh and cold during delivery. Salesmen drove daily routes to deliver their tasty products to customers nearby.
In the 1920s, the Hershey Creamery Company joined with the Holder family's Meyer Dairy Company. This company was based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. They decided to keep the Hershey name for the combined business. By 1926, people loved their ice cream so much that the farmhouse was too small. So, the company built its first ice cream plant in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
During the Great Depression, Hershey's Ice Cream became the first company to sell its products in pre-packaged pints. They also started creating new ice cream flavors. They even sold these new flavors to other ice cream makers. After World War II, people wanted more convenient foods. Hershey's Ice Cream started offering easy-to-eat items like ice pops and ice cream sandwiches. In the 1960s, the Holder family became the full owners of the company.
As the company grew, it split its production work. The Harrisburg location mixed the ice cream. A new facility in Lower Swatara Township, Pennsylvania was used for hardening and packaging the products. Local orders were still delivered by small Hershey's Ice Cream trucks. But most ice cream was moved by large refrigerated tractor trailer trucks. This allowed them to sell their products beyond Pennsylvania.
They also expanded their distribution centers. Eventually, they had 22 co-owned distribution centers. This helped them ship products faster after orders came in. It also meant less travel time for the ice cream, keeping it fresh and high quality. In the summer, they hired many more workers and rented extra cold storage. This was because orders were prepared by hand.
In 1998, the company modernized its operations. They bought land in nearby Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. There, they built a huge, modern warehouse. This new warehouse helped them work much more efficiently. It reduced the need for so many summer workers. It also cut down on product loss from hand orders and old packing systems. The new warehouse also improved how they managed their inventory and made orders more accurate. This helped the company continue to grow.
Why the Hershey Companies Disagreed
Hershey Creamery has had several legal disagreements with The Hershey Company. The chocolate company was founded around the same time by Milton S. Hershey in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Even though they started close by, Milton Hershey was not related to the Hershey brothers who founded the creamery.
The first problems started when Hershey Creamery began making chocolate candy and cocoa. Milton S. Hershey found out about these candies in 1919. He sent someone to look for cases where people were confusing the two companies' products. This person found that the creamery's chocolate packaging looked like Hershey Chocolate's. Retailers in many cities were confusing the products. Sometimes, they even swapped the more expensive Hershey Company chocolates for the creamery's products on purpose. In Harrisburg, a display of Hershey Creamery "Hershey Kisses" was found. These were small chocolate drops similar to the chocolate company's famous candies.
Milton Hershey sent letters asking the creamery to stop, but they didn't. So, in 1921, he sued them for using his brand name. In 1926, a judge partly agreed with Hershey Chocolate. The creamery was told they could not use the name Hershey's for chocolate, cocoa, or chocolate products.
In 1958, the creamery officially registered the "Hershey's" name for its ice cream and butter products. Seven years later, the creamery sued Hershey Company again. This was because Hershey Company planned to make ice cream bars with the Hershey's name. The creamery said this was unfair. Hershey Company argued that the creamery's trademark was not valid. The companies settled out of court the next year. The creamery agreed to remove "butter" from its trademark. It also fixed a small error in its registration. Hershey Company was allowed to sell its ice cream bars under certain rules. Hershey Company also agreed not to challenge the creamery's "Hershey's" trademark for ice cream again.
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After this, Hershey Creamery expanded its trademark to include other frozen treats. These included ice milk, sherbet, and water ice. In 1989, the creamery started selling frozen yogurt. They applied for a new trademark for these products. When Hershey Company (then called Hershey Foods) found out, they demanded the creamery stop. They said it violated their trademarks. The creamery dropped its application but kept selling the products.
So, in May 1990, Hershey Company sued again. They wanted to stop Hershey Creamery from selling Hershey's branded frozen yogurt. They also wanted to stop the creamery from using the "Hershey's" name outside its main sales areas. And they demanded that the creamery add a note on all its products. This note would say they were not connected to The Hershey Company. The creamery tried to move the case to a different court, but this was denied.
After three years in court, the two companies settled once more. Hershey Creamery agreed to put a note on all its products, website, and ads. This note simply says, "not affiliated with Hershey's Chocolate."
How Hershey's Ice Cream Works
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Hershey Creamery is a family-run business. Each new generation of the Holder family learns about the company. They often take on important roles after finishing school. As of 2009, George Holder was the president. His younger brothers, Walter and Tom, were vice presidents. Walter handled manufacturing, and Tom managed sales and marketing. The company has about 450 employees.
The company has 22 distribution centers. These centers serve about 22,000 customers in 28 states across the eastern U.S. Florida, Illinois, and the Carolinas were their newest market areas after expanding in 2005. Since 1996, the company has focused on its main distribution center. They haven't expanded much outside their existing areas. In 2003, they started moving operations from the Harrisburg area. This area was prone to floods and didn't have much space. They moved to the Lower Swatara area. They opened a distribution center there in 1998. They plan to move their main office and production facilities there in the future.
Unlike some other ice cream makers, Hershey Creamery owns its delivery trucks, distribution centers, and warehouses. The Holder family believes this is important. It helps them keep the traditions of their "private, conservative" company.
Most of their sales come from ice cream parlors and quick-serve restaurants. They also sell pre-packaged items to convenience stores and food service places. These include schools, hospitals, prisons, military bases, sports stadiums, amusement parks, and assisted living centers. Pre-packaged items are also sold in regional supermarkets. However, these supermarket sales make up a smaller part of the company's total sales.
What Kinds of Products Does Hershey's Make?
As of 2009, Hershey Creamery Company offered 108 flavors of regular, hand-dipped premium ice cream. 31 of these were "super premium gold rim" products. Four flavors were available with no added sugar, using Splenda.
They also offered two flavors of sorbet, three flavors of sherbet, and eight flavors of frozen yogurt. For pre-packaged half-gallons, they had 32 ice cream flavors. This included four no-fat versions and five sherbet flavors. In pints, they offered 13 flavors in their traditional square packaging. They also had 15 flavors in newer round pint packaging. These included two limited edition and two no-sugar added varieties. They also offered three basic pre-made ice cream cakes.
Besides these traditional treats, Hershey Creamery sells many novelty ice cream items. These include ice cream sandwiches, Ice pops, sundae cups, ice cream sticks, squeeze ups, and pre-made cones. They also sell smoothies under their "Tropi-Kool Smoothies" brand. And they offer frozen slab ice cream under their "Creation Station" brand.
They once tried an Energy drink called Banzai Energy Ice. This was a 4-ounce product in a squeeze-up container. It had a citrus flavor and got good reviews. But it didn't sell well and was later stopped.
Images for kids
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1920 advertisement for Hershey's Ice Cream
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Hershey's ice cream shop in Ypsilanti Twp., MI, 2010
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An old Hershey grocery sign in Falmouth, Pennsylvania pictured in 2011
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Hershey's ice cream truck in 2014
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Some Hershey ice cream products for sale at Maryland House, 2009
See also
- List of dairy product companies in the United States
