The Hershey Company
CorpDigest
The Hershey Company
Company History
Founded 1894 in Hershey, Pennsylvania
Last reviewed: 2026-06-06 · By Swet Parvadiya
The Hershey Company generated exactly $11.36 billion in net sales for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, representing a 2.1% increase from the prior year and marking the successful culmination of the company’s strategic transformation from a pure-play chocolate manufacturer into a diversified, global snacking powerhouse. The company’s financial architecture is anchored in a highly efficient Direct Store Delivery (DSD) network and a proprietary pricing power model that has allowed it to pass through unprecedented commodity inflation to consumers without suffering catastrophic volume erosion, resulting in a gross margin of 43.5% despite cocoa prices surging past $12,000 per metric ton. Under the leadership of CEO Michele Buck, Hershey successfully executed a massive capital deployment strategy, authorizing over $2.5 billion in acquisitions to integrate high-growth, non-chocolate brands like Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels, ONE Brands, and SkinnyPop into its portfolio, fundamentally altering its revenue composition and reducing its reliance on pure-play chocolate. The company’s competitive moat is built upon unparalleled brand equity, a century-old manufacturing legacy, and a unique corporate governance structure controlled by the Hershey Trust Company, which holds roughly 70% of the voting power and insulates the company from short-term activist pressure. By controlling its supply chain, elevating its salty snack portfolio, and harnessing the emotional connection consumers have with its legacy chocolate brands, Hershey has successfully repositioned itself from a traditional candy maker to a comprehensive, multi-category snacking platform, generating $2.1 billion in free cash flow in FY2024 and returning significant capital to shareholders through aggressive dividend increases and a $1.5 billion share repurchase authorization. As the global snacking market continues to consolidate and shift toward savory and better-for-you alternatives, Hershey’s focus on portfolio diversification, operational excellence, and international expansion positions it for sustained, profitable growth in the broader packaged foods sector, despite the existential threats posed by the West African cocoa crisis and the rapid adoption of GLP-1 weight-loss medications.
Milton S. Hershey, born in 1857 in Derry Township, Pennsylvania, was an American confectioner and philanthropist who founded The Hershey Company and the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania. After experiencing multiple business failures in Philadelphia and New York City, Hershey found success with the Lancaster Caramel Company, utilizing fresh milk to create creamy caramels. However, his true passion lay in chocolate, and after witnessing German cocoa processing machinery at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, he purchased the equipment and began experimenting with milk chocolate formulations. In 1900, he sold the Lancaster Caramel Company for $1 million and focused entirely on chocolate, perfecting a process to integrate fresh milk into chocolate without spoilage. He built a massive, state-of-the-art factory in his hometown and established the model town of Hershey to provide his workers with a high quality of life. Hershey’s introduction of the Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar and the Hershey’s Kiss revolutionized the American confectionery market, making chocolate an affordable, everyday treat. He also founded the Milton Hershey School in 1909, providing free education and housing to disadvantaged children, and established the Hershey Trust Company to fund the school, which today controls the majority of the voting power in The Hershey Company. Hershey’s legacy is defined by his relentless innovation, his commitment to his workers, and his creation of a brand that remains a cultural icon over a century later.
Milton S. Hershey founded the Hershey Chocolate Company as a subsidiary of the Lancaster Caramel Company, initially producing chocolate coatings for his caramels before recognizing the massive potential of solid milk chocolate.
Milton S. Hershey sold the Lancaster Caramel Company for $1 million to focus entirely on the chocolate business, retaining the chocolate department and the rights to the milk chocolate formula he had developed.
Construction began on the massive Hershey Chocolate factory in Derry Township, Pennsylvania, designed to be the most advanced chocolate manufacturing facility in the world, utilizing continuous-flow production systems.
The company launched the Hershey’s Kiss, a small, teardrop-shaped piece of chocolate that was individually wrapped in a thin strip of foil, becoming one of the most iconic and recognizable confectionery products in history.
Hershey launched Mr. Goodbar, a milk chocolate bar packed with roasted peanuts, which became a massive commercial success and established the company’s dominance in the combination chocolate bar category.
The company introduced Krackel, a milk chocolate bar with crisped rice, expanding its portfolio of everyday chocolate bars and leveraging its manufacturing expertise in rice processing.
While Reese's was founded earlier, Hershey acquired the brand in 1963, a move that would eventually create the company's largest and most profitable franchise, generating over $3 billion in annual retail sales today.
Hershey acquired Leaf Inc., adding iconic brands like Jolly Rancher, Whoppers, and Milk Duds to its portfolio, significantly expanding its presence in the non-chocolate confectionery market.
Michele Buck was appointed CEO, initiating a rigorous strategic transformation plan focused on portfolio diversification, manufacturing modernization, and supply chain resilience, which drove the company's success in navigating record cocoa inflation.
Hershey acquired Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels for $1.2 billion, a transformative deal that significantly expanded the company’s presence in the high-growth salty snack category and reduced its reliance on pure-play chocolate.
The company generated exactly $11.36 billion in net sales for FY2024, representing the successful culmination of the portfolio diversification strategy and demonstrating the resilience of its pricing power in a highly inflationary environment.
Hershey acquired Amplify Snack Brands to enter the better-for-you salty snacks category through its flagship brand SkinnyPop, one of the fastest-growing popcorn brands in the United States. The acquisition reflected Hershey strategy to diversify beyond seasonal chocolate into snacking occasions that occur year-round.
Hershey acquired Dot's Homestyle Pretzels and Pretzels Inc. to further build its presence in salty snacks. Dot's had become the fastest-growing pretzel brand in the United States through its distinctive seasoned pretzel twists that offered a flavor-forward alternative to traditional salted pretzels.
Hershey acquired Lily's Sweets, a leading better-for-you confectionery brand that uses stevia-based sweeteners instead of sugar, to enter the sugar-free and low-sugar confectionery segment. Lily's had built a loyal following among diabetics, keto dieters, and health-conscious consumers who avoided traditional sugar-sweetened candy.