Following a four-year apprenticeship with a Lancaster candy maker, in 1873 Hershey established his first candy making business in Philadelphia. This shop was open for six years, after which Hershey apprenticed with another confectioner in Denver, where he learned to make caramel. Returning to Lancaster, PA in 1883, Hershey established the Lancaster Caramel Company, which quickly became an outstanding success.
After seeing German-made chocolate-processing machinery at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, Hershey decided to go into the chocolate business. He bought the equipment for his Lancaster plant and soon began producing a variety of chocolate creations.
In 1894, he incorporates the Lancaster Caramel Company and establishes Hershey Chocolate Company as a subsidiary. Two years later, in 1896, Hershey built a milk-processing plant so he could create and refine a recipe for his milk chocolate candies.
In 1900 he sold the caramel company to a competitor and began the manufacture and launch of Hershey's Milk Chocolate bars. 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.
In 1903 he began construction on what was to become the world's largest chocolate manufacturing plant. The facility, completed in 1905, was designed to manufacture chocolate using the latest mass production techniques.
In 1907 began producing a flat-bottomed, conical milk chocolate candy that Hershey decided to name HERSHEY’S KISSES Chocolates.
In 1908 the Hershey Chocolate Co. was incorporated, and in 1927 it was reorganized as the Hershey Chocolate Corporation, a publicly traded company.
In 1921, Hershey begins using mechanical Kiss wrapping machine. Kisses are now wrapped with trademarked Plume. By 1931, 30 years after the company was established, Hershey was selling $30 million worth of chocolate a year.
By the end of the war, more than a billion Ration D bars had been produced and the company had earned no less than five Army-Navy “E” Production Awards for its exceptional contributions to the war effort.
During the 1960s Hershey bought the manufacturer of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and two pasta businesses. In recognition of its diversification, the company was renamed Hershey Foods Corporation in 1968. Today, The Hershey Company is the leading North American manufacturer of chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery and grocery products.
The Hershey Company - One of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world
