Dear Mr Hershey

Are your consumers that silly & confused ?

Lits look HERE.

On behalf of the U.S., I apologize for the stupid greed and insecurity of Hershey's. The article is absolutely right. British ex-pats aren't enough of a market to even bother with this. I suspect that they're only going after the British imports because they can't go after who they really want to go after—all the other chocolate makers who have and are taking away shares of the business. They're picking on the only one they can pick on, like a bully on a playground picking on the weakest kid because the stronger one aren't beatable.

I predict a thriving black market on such imports soon

3113 said:

I predict a thriving black market on such imports soon

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YES! Chocolate speakeasies! Little sliding doors in side streets where you can ask in a whisper for 'the real brown' and be directed to a candle-lit dive full of anxious-looking chocoholics decanting Dairy Milk into Babe Ruths...

Oh, please make it happen.

Even in the UK, Cadbury's have changed the recipe for cream eggs, using generic Cadbury's chocolate for the outer, not Dairy Milk that they used last year.

They've also sneakily changed the multi-pack from six eggs to five.

Watch this space, chocolate lovers. There is a world shortage of chocolate on the way. Expect all your chocolate products to be downsized, up-priced and the quality reduced.

Or stock up now. Ignore sell by dates if you store your chocolate properly.

This is just the continuation of the decline of Hershey's over the last decade. They are ready, willing and able to bludgeon the Hershey community through the Hershey Trust, claiming tax breaks and such, while at the same time abusing the goodwill Mr. Hershey built up over the decades.

The current board is vowed and determined to drive the Hershey name into the ground, whatever the cost, so long as they get their bonuses.

Hershey sucks. They and other american "Chocolate" makers managed to get the laws changed. Now in the US Cocoa Butter is NOT required for a product to be called "chocolate".

I noticed it years ago when the taste of symphony bars and M&Ms lost that chocolate flavor, they're sweet but not chocolate. I used to buy cadbury's milk chocolate, but now I live in a small town and they aren't available.

My guess is that Hershey's doesn't like the competition tasting better.

For my real chocolate fix now I drive 90 minutes to the closest Trader Joe's and get huge bars of their Belgian Milk, dark, and semi sweet choco. There's also a delish Swiss milk chocolate bar just the size to share with my wife on the trip home. My wife uses those huge Belgian bars in making desserts as well.

Of course that town is also one of the few places in the area with good nigiri shushi. And there's other delights at TJ's we love. So the trip isn't all about chocolate.

Hershey's doesn't deserve to be called chocolate. Even Godiva's taste is not worth the price. Belgian, Swiss, Ecuadorean, etc... plenty to choose from.

Chocolate speakeasies... YES!!!

Aren't there supposed to be free trade agreements between the US and the EU? How can they legally block imports of foreign chocolate provided it meets federal health and safety requirements?

I do wonder, if Dairy Milk is too darn flavoursome for these Hershey's execs, what they would make of Artisan du Chocolat?

DesEsseintes said:

Aren't there supposed to be free trade agreements between the US and the EU? How can they legally block imports of foreign chocolate provided it meets federal health and safety requirements?

I do wonder, if Dairy Milk is too darn flavoursome for these Hershey's execs, what they would make of Artisan du Chocolat?

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I just fell off my diet by looking at that link... no willpower when it comes to chocolate and whisk(e)y.

Fuck Hershey. Especially fuck Nestle, the baby-killers. You want chocolate? Make your own.

I know I've said this before but Hershey's actually smells and tastes like dog shit.


Those Reese things aren't so bad though.

DesEsseintes said:

Aren't there supposed to be free trade agreements between the US and the EU?

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Oh, Cadbury can import chocolate, just not certain types (essential the ones with bigger market appeal like Kit-Kat bars). What they're up against isn't the trade agreement, but copyright laws. Hershey's says that "Kit-Kat"—both name and recipe--is theirs and so Cadbury can't sell "Kit-Kat.'

I do wonder, if Dairy Milk is too darn flavoursome for these Hershey's execs, what they would make of Artisan du Chocolat?

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Any type of chocolate is too flavorful for them

There's a whole new market that's been happening in the U.S. for exactly those sorts of chocolates you mentioned. It's been increasing steadily over the last twenty years. Upscale, expensive, artisanal. Adult candy stores are opening all over the place featuring not only very dark handmade chocolates, but chocolates with an adult kick (i.e. liquor).

It's akin to the upscale coffee places, also opening all over the place and serving very expensive coffee from the best beans, roasted in house.

Not that these new U.S. chocolate makers have anything on Hershey's—any more than the upscale coffee places have anything on Starbucks. Most chocolate consumers in the U.S. are totally ignorant of good chocolate and happy enough with the faux stuff put out by Hershey's/Nestles. BUT upscale and far better chocolate has taken a small bite out of their monopoly. And apparently, Hershey's doesn't like that.

We cut out most of those types of chocolate due to the wife's soy allergy, most of it is made with soy lecithin.

Currently we get chocolate from Theo, no emulsifiers and tastes pretty darned good. Bonus being they make her favorite, dark chocolate peanut butter cups.

legerdemer said:

Hershey's doesn't deserve to be called chocolate. Even Godiva's taste is not worth the price. Belgian, Swiss, Ecuadorean, etc... plenty to choose from.

Chocolate speakeasies... YES!!!

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First time I went to the USA as an adult, a friend promised to introduce me to Godiva's. She was so enthusiastic about it, I didn't have the heart to say what my taste buds thought of it...

DesEsseintes said:

Aren't there supposed to be free trade agreements between the US and the EU? How can they legally block imports of foreign chocolate provided it meets federal health and safety requirements?

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My understanding is it's being done on trademark grounds: Hersheys have the US rights to trade as "Cadbury" and some of the UK products have packaging that's close to stuff that's trademarked in the USA.

Getting sued is the price of doing business in the US. It is unavoidable.

someoneyouknow said:

This is just the continuation of the decline of Hershey's over the last decade. They are ready, willing and able to bludgeon the Hershey community through the Hershey Trust, claiming tax breaks and such, while at the same time abusing the goodwill Mr. Hershey built up over the decades.

The current board is vowed and determined to drive the Hershey name into the ground, whatever the cost, so long as they get their bonuses.

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As a central PA native, I've watched in amazement and disgust as that changing board at Hershey has done incredibly stupid things. These assholes are supposed to be trustees in service for the Foundation, which started as an orphanage for boys and has gone co-ed in recent years, and also helps distressed single-parent children--it truly is a Good Thing. The Company serves the Foundation as their primary income and support. This kind of cutthroat business is utterly unnecessary. The board's decisions over the years have hurt the Foundation and the town. I think Mr. Hershey would be furious with the board these days.

The bizarre thing about some of this? KitKat is made by Hershey under license from Cadbury. I'm no lawyer but couldn't Cadbury just withdraw the license from Hershey? Oh, apparently not, because Cadbury is under siege by Nestle for the same thing.

Hershey tried to buy Cadbury in 2010. I can't help but wonder if this is the corporate version of sulking.

redzinger said:

I know I've said this before but Hershey's actually smells and tastes like dog shit.


Those Reese things aren't so bad though.

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Most folks don't remember anymore, but Reese's started as an entirely separate business. They bought "reject" chocolate from Hershey, literally just down the street, and used it to coast their peanut butter. (Totally self-serving side-note, I dated one of the grandsons briefly in high school. Nice guy! I think he's a lawyer now.)

I will say, the town smells heavenly during certain parts of processing.

JagFarlane said:

We cut out most of those types of chocolate due to the wife's soy allergy, most of it is made with soy lecithin.

Currently we get chocolate from Theo, no emulsifiers and tastes pretty darned good. Bonus being they make her favorite, dark chocolate peanut butter cups.

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I will have to look into this. It's available in the US? My personal tragedy is being horrendously allergic to milk chocolate. I have a tolerance of about 2 Hershey Kisses (theoretical volume, it seems...I'm disinclined to test much). I learned to live without chocolate, for the most part, but later discovered that I can tolerate much more dark chocolate. Still don't want to push my luck much, but a dark chocolate PBC sounds wonderful!