The Hershey Company
The Hershey Company, often called just Hershey or Hershey's, is an American multinational confectionery company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, which is also home to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World. The Hershey Company is one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world; it also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milkshakes, as well as other products. The Hershey Company was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 as the Hershey Chocolate Company, originally established as a subsidiary of his Lancaster Caramel Company. The Hershey Trust Company owns a minority stake but retains a majority of the voting power within the company.[6]
This article 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.Hershey's
- Hershey Chocolate Co. (1894–1927)
- Hershey Chocolate Corporation (1927–68)
- Hershey Foods Corporation (1968–2005)
February 8, 1894Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.[1]
(as Hershey Chocolate Company) in19 plants[2] (2022)
Worldwide
US$8.97 billion[5] (2021)
US$2.04 billion[5] (2021)
US$1.48 billion[5] (2021)
US$10.41 billion[5] (2021)
US$2.76 billion[5] (2021)
Hershey Trust Company (minority owner but owns the majority of the voting stock)
16,620 (Full-time)[5] (2021)
Hershey's chocolate is available in 60 countries.[7] It has three large distribution centers with modern labor management systems.[8] In addition, Hershey is a member of the World Cocoa Foundation. It is also associated with the Hersheypark Stadium and the Giant Center.
The Hershey Company has no affiliation to Hershey Creamery Company, though both companies were founded in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in the same year. The companies have had a tumultuous relationship marked by multiple legal battles over trademark issues. In the mid-1990s, the companies settled their most recent legal battles out of court, with Hershey Creamery Company agreeing to add a disclaimer to its ice cream products to note that it is not affiliated with the Hershey Company.[9]
Manufacturing plants[edit]
The first plant outside Hershey opened on June 15, 1963, in Smiths Falls, Ontario, and the third opened on May 22, 1965, in Oakdale, California.[55] In February and April 2007, Hershey's announced that the Smiths Falls[56][57] and Oakdale[58][59] plants would close in 2008, being replaced in part by a new facility in Monterrey, Mexico. The Oakdale factory closed on February 1, 2008.[60] Hershey chocolate factory in São Roque, Brazil, was opened in August 2002. Hershey's Asia operations were largely supplied by their plant in Mandideep, India.[2]
Hershey also has plants in Stuarts Draft, Virginia, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Hazleton, Pennsylvania, Memphis, Tennessee, Robinson, Illinois, and Guadalajara, Mexico.
Visitors to Hershey can experience Hershey's Chocolate World visitors center and its simulated tour ride. Public tours were once operated in the Pennsylvania and California factories, which ended in Pennsylvania in 1973 as soon as Hershey's Chocolate World opened,[61] and later in California following the September 11, 2001, attacks, due to security concerns.[59]
On September 18, 2012, Hershey opened a new and expanded West Hershey plant. The plant was completed at a budget of $300 million.[62]
On March 9, 2018, Hershey broke ground to expand its Kit Kat manufacturing facility in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania. The expansion project has a $60 million budget and is expected to create an additional 111 jobs at the facility.[63]
On August 17, 2023, it was announced that Hershey repurchased their plant in Smiths Falls, Ontario for $53 million. The plant was previously owned by cannabis company Canopy Growth.[64]
Decarbonization[edit]
In October 2022, the company's Scope 1 and 2 emissions were "48% lower than they were in 2018". Scope 3 emissions had gone down 18%.These reductions were achieved by investments in three solar farms.[68]
Philanthropy[edit]
Hershey has made large contributions to education. One of their most notable contributions was to the honors program at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.[74] The program was established in 1999 and is funded partially through the endowment.
In 2015, Hershey announced a commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative to help build a sustainable supply chain to support basic nutrition for children in Ghana.[75]
Hershey's long-term focus on children and families has yielded long-standing partnerships with organizations such as Children's Miracle Network, Ronald McDonald House, and United Way (UW). In 2016, the company donated more than $486,200 to those organizations.[76]
Perception outside the U.S.[edit]
The presence of butyric acid in Hershey's chocolate, due to the use of controlled lipolysis in the production process, results in a flavor unfamiliar to those accustomed to chocolate from other parts of the world. In the UK, this has often been compared to the smell and taste of vomit.[85][86][87][88]