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Milk Duds
Milk duds logo.png
2019-11-01 10 25 02 Milk Duds in the Dulles section of Sterling, Loudoun County, Virginia.jpg
Chocolate covered Milk Duds
Type Candy
Owner Highlander Partners / Iconic IP Interests
Country United States
Introduced 1928; 96 years ago (1928)
Markets Worldwide
Previous owners
Tagline Chocolatey, Caramely, and Rich with Milk
Chewy. Not Gooey.

Milk Duds are a brand of candies made with chocolate, created in 1928 by Hoffman and Company of Chicago and now produced and marketed by The Hershey Company, under license from owners of the brand, Highlander Partners, a Dallas-based global private equity firm.

The candy, marketed in a yellow-orange theater-style box, is an irregularly shaped caramel disk with a confectionery chocolate coating of cocoa and vegetable oil.

At its original naming, according to Hershey, "milk" referred to the product's initial milk ingredient, and "dud" referred to failed attempts to create a spherical shape.

Milk Duds
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 1,823 kJ (436 kcal)
71.8 g
Sugars 51.3 g
Dietary fibre 0 g
15.4 g
Saturated 9 g
Trans 0 g
Protein
2.6 g
Vitamins Quantity
%DV
Vitamin A equiv.
0%
0 μg
Vitamin C
0%
0 mg
Minerals Quantity
%DV
Calcium
10%
102.6 mg
Iron
0%
0 mg
Sodium
17%
256.4 mg

Amounts converted and rounded to be relative to 100 g serving. Hershey's listed serving size is 39 g or 13 pieces (above amounts are ~2.5641 servings or ~33 pieces).
Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: MILK DUDS candy - Hershey's

History

In 1928, Hoffman and Company of Chicago tried to manufacture a spherical, chocolate-covered caramel candy. Because they were unsuccessful in achieving the spherical shape, the candies were called "duds". This inspired the candy's name, "Milk Duds". In the same year, Holloway took over Hoffman and Company and the production of Milk Duds.

In 1960 Holloway sold Hoffman and Co. to Beatrice Foods.

In 1986, Leaf purchased the Milk Duds business. In 1992, production of Milk Duds candy was moved to Leaf Candy Company's Robinson, Illinois plant.

In 1996, Leaf's North American confectionery operation was acquired by Hershey Foods Corporation of Hershey, Pennsylvania.

In 2018, Huhtamäki Oyj, a Finland-based food and beverage packaging company, sold ownership of Milk Duds to Highlander Partners, who licenses the candy to Hershey.

In 2022, Milk Duds launched a web-based marketing campaign where the official website became a small overlay to view different social media sites in the main area.

Ingredients

In 2008, the Hershey Company eliminated the recipe's relatively expensive cocoa butter, substituting cheaper oils in order to retain its then current price.

Hershey's changed the description of the product and altered the packaging slightly, along with the ingredients. According to United States Food and Drug Administration food labeling laws, these modified recipes that do not contain cocoa butter can not be legally described as candy-coated in milk chocolate and are instead described as "chocolate candy," as having "chocolate coating" or as "candy made with chocolate and caramel."

2024 ingredients

Corn Syrup
Sugar
Vegetable Oil (one or more of the following)
Palm Oil
Shea Oil
Sunflower Oil
Palm Kernel Oil
Safflower Oil
Dextrose
Nonfat Milk
Reduced Protein Whey
Chocolate
Contains 2% or Less of:
Brown sugar
Mono and Diglycerides
Whey
Baking Soda
Confectioner’s Glaze
Salt
Tapioca Dextrin
Lecithin
Vanillin (artificial flavoring)

See also

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