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Hershey commits to simple ingredients

Hershey has announced it is to begin a transition to simple and easy-to-understand ingredients. This, the company said, builds and expands on Hershey’s ongoing commitment to responsibly sourcing the ingredients it uses in its product portfolio. “As consumers, our relationship with food is changing. We spend more time talking and sharing with others about what […]

Hershey has announced it is to begin a transition to simple and easy-to-understand ingredients. This, the company said, builds and expands on Hershey’s ongoing commitment to responsibly sourcing the ingredients it uses in its product portfolio.

“As consumers, our relationship with food is changing. We spend more time talking and sharing with others about what we eat and why we like certain foods, than we spend actually eating. Food matters and at Hershey, we care deeply about it,” said John P. Bilbrey, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Hershey Company. “We all want and deserve to know what’s in our food. Hershey takes pride in listening to our consumers and customers and understanding what they need. We will continue to make our great-tasting, high-quality iconic brands that people know and love. We also will share more information about what goes into our products in ways that are easy to understand and access.”

Hershey is focusing on three key principles:

Simple Ingredients: The company says it is committed to making its products using ingredients that are simple and easy-to-understand, like fresh milk from local farms, roasted California almonds, cocoa beans and sugar.

Sharing What’s Inside: Taking pride in its products and sharing information about all that goes into them, from the ingredients to sourcing, manufacturing and labelling. Hershey said it will make this information easy to find for those who are interested – whether that’s on packaging, on the website or through new technologies.

Thoughtful and Responsible Sourcing of Ingredients: The company said it will continue to work with its suppliers to responsibly source sustainable ingredients, building on its progress against commitments to source 100 percent certified and sustainable cocoa and certified sustainable and traceable palm oil.

“We will strive for simplicity with all of our ingredients, but we may not achieve it with every product,” said Bilbrey. “This is a journey and it will take time. We are equally committed to sharing what we achieve and what we don’t. For ingredients that may not be as simple, we will explain what they are and why we need them to provide the great flavors, aromas, textures and appearances that our consumers know and love.”

In 2015, Hershey said it plans to introduce in the U.S. new snacking products such as Brookside Dark Chocolate Fruit & Nut Bars, which will feature a lineup of simple ingredients, and transition some of its most popular chocolate brands, including Hershey’s Kisses Milk Chocolates and Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars to simpler ingredients.

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