Chocolate
History
After an apprenticeship to a Lancaster confectioner in 1873, Milton S. Hershey opened a candy shop in Philadelphia.
The venture failed, and so did a subsequent one in Chicago.
After a third failed business attempt in New York City, Hershey returned to Pennsylvania, where he founded the Lancaster Caramel Company in 1883.
The Hershey Chocolate Company was founded in 1894 as a subsidiary of Lancaster Caramel Company.
In 1896, Hershey built a milk-processing plant so he could create and refine a recipe for his milk chocolate candies.
In 1899, he developed the Hershey process, which is less sensitive to milk quality than traditional methods. In 1900, he began manufacturing the Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar.
20th century
The use of fresh milk in caramels proved successful,[and in 1900, after seeing chocolate-making machines for the first time at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Hershey sold his caramel company for $1,000,000(equal to $36,624,000 today), and concentrated on chocolate.
To people who questioned him, he said, "Caramels are just a fad, but chocolate is a permanent thing."
In 1903, Hershey began construction of a chocolate plant in his hometown of Derry Church, Pennsylvania, later known as Hershey, Pennsylvania.
The town was an inexpensive place for the workers and their families to live, though the factory was built without windows, so that employees would not be distracted.
To increase employee morale, Hershey provided leisure activities and created what would later become Hersheypark. The milk chocolate bars from this plant proved popular, and the company grew rapidly.
In 1907, he introduced a new candy: bite-sized, flat-bottomed, conical pieces of chocolate that he named Hershey's Kiss.
At first, each was wrapped by hand in a square of aluminum foil. The introduction of machine wrapping in 1921 sped up the process and added a small paper ribbon to the top of the package, indicating that it was a genuine Hershey product. Today, over 70 million candies are produced daily.
Other products introduced included Mr. Goodbar (peanuts in milk chocolate) in 1925, Hershey's Syrup in 1926, semi-sweet chocolate chips (a mixture of milk and dark chocolate) in 1928, and the Krackel bar with crisped rice in 1938.
Chocolate
History
After an apprenticeship to a Lancaster confectioner in 1873, Milton S. Hershey opened a candy shop in Philadelphia.
The venture failed, and so did a subsequent one in Chicago.
After a third failed business attempt in New York City, Hershey returned to Pennsylvania, where he founded the Lancaster Caramel Company in 1883.
The Hershey Chocolate Company was founded in 1894 as a subsidiary of Lancaster Caramel Company.
In 1896, Hershey built a milk-processing plant so he could create and refine a recipe for his milk chocolate candies.
In 1899, he developed the Hershey process, which is less sensitive to milk quality than traditional methods. In 1900, he began manufacturing the Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar.
20th century
The use of fresh milk in caramels proved successful,[and in 1900, after seeing chocolate-making machines for the first time at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Hershey sold his caramel company for $1,000,000(equal to $36,624,000 today), and concentrated on chocolate.
To people who questioned him, he said, "Caramels are just a fad, but chocolate is a permanent thing."
In 1903, Hershey began construction of a chocolate plant in his hometown of Derry Church, Pennsylvania, later known as Hershey, Pennsylvania.
The town was an inexpensive place for the workers and their families to live, though the factory was built without windows, so that employees would not be distracted.
To increase employee morale, Hershey provided leisure activities and created what would later become Hersheypark. The milk chocolate bars from this plant proved popular, and the company grew rapidly.
In 1907, he introduced a new candy: bite-sized, flat-bottomed, conical pieces of chocolate that he named Hershey's Kiss.
At first, each was wrapped by hand in a square of aluminum foil. The introduction of machine wrapping in 1921 sped up the process and added a small paper ribbon to the top of the package, indicating that it was a genuine Hershey product. Today, over 70 million candies are produced daily.
Other products introduced included Mr. Goodbar (peanuts in milk chocolate) in 1925, Hershey's Syrup in 1926, semi-sweet chocolate chips (a mixture of milk and dark chocolate) in 1928, and the Krackel bar with crisped rice in 1938.