This holiday season, consumers can look forward to simpler ingredients in their favorite Hershey chocolates.
Hershey's Kisses Milk Chocolates and Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars are set to become some of the first products from Hershey to transition to simpler ingredients. The transition comes on the tail of an commitment announced by The Hershey Co. earlier this year to use ingredients with which consumers are already familiar.
The company announced in February that it would focus on using well-known ingredients like fresh milk from local farms and roasted California almonds. It promised to be transparent with its products, sharing ingredients, sourcing, manufacturing, and labeling with its consumers. It also said it would continue to ensure that the cocoa and palm oil used in its products are 100 percent certified and sustainable.
To that end, the new Hershey's Kisses Milk Chocolates and Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars will be made with fresh milk from local Pennsylvania farms, cocoa beans sourced responsibly from West Africa, pure cane sugar, and natural flavor.
To ensure greater transparency, the packaging will also pilot the SmartLabel QR code, which consumers can scan with their phones for detailed product information from ingredients and nutrition facts to allergens.
“We started making our great-tasting chocolate in 1894 with ingredients you might find in your pantry, like cocoa, milk, sugar and vanilla, and we’re continuing that tradition today,” says Mary-Ann Somers, v.p. and general manager of U.S. Confection, The Hershey Co. “People want to see ingredients that they know and are familiar with in their foods and we’re listening. Our commitments to simple ingredients and transparency continue with some of our most popular products, Hershey’s Kisses Milk Chocolates and Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars.”