Hershey has been synonymous with chocolate for more than 128 years. From the iconic foil-wrapped Hershey’s Kisses to the big bars that break into smaller pieces to the chocolate syrup that’s perfect in milk or over ice cream, our confectionery offerings have been enjoyed by generations of consumers. For decades we have innovated with chocolate and other sweet treats—different brands, flavors, sizes, packaging, and products—and taken them to key regions around the world.
From the 1960s to the 1990s Hershey focused on both organic growth—launching new chocolate-based treats such as Whatchamacallit, Hershey’s Symphony, and Hershey’s Nuggets—and acquisitions, including H.B. Reese Candy, home to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and Leaf, which came with brands such as Jolly Rancher, Whoppers, Payday, Good & Plenty, and Heath.
Since the beginning of my career in the consumer-packaged-goods industry, I’ve been interested in transformation work, whether it involved bringing a more participative style of management to a unionized plant to boost its performance, streamlining a business unit with divestitures, or ramping up Hershey’s brand-building efforts with more investment in advertising.
So HSY has rewarded investors with a total return of 14% CAGR for the past 36 years. I like her strategy and suggest she study GE which has similar total returns until Jan 2006.
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It would really be nice if they started making quality candy again
“Fat people are just as attractive as healthy slim people. Eat sugar, it tastes good!” -How Big Candy Was Able to Disrupt
What a fantastic message! Time to make some s'mores.