Hershey plans to close plants, offices and other expenses in order to pay its pre-tax charges

Global snacking giant Hershey’s India unit has collaborated with leading ice cream brand Baskin Robbins to launch an exciting assortment.

The delightful blend of Hershey’s chocolates and cocoa powder combined with Baskin Robbins ice cream brings out some lip smacking flavors through Hershey’s Chocolate Overload Ice Cream, Hershey’s Kisses Caramel Ice Cream, Nutty Affair Sundae, Chocolate Heaven and Thick Shake.

“We are delighted to announce our collaboration with one of the leading ice cream brands, Baskin Robbins. With 125+ years of chocolate heritage and expertise, this is a strategic collaboration for Hershey India which brings together one of the best in chocolates with one of the best in ice cream,” shared Herjit Bhalla Vice President, India and AEMEA, The Hershey Company  by adding that brand Hershey’s is consistently on the journey to delight the consumers with innovative offerings.

The five variants are a perfect combination of the bestselling flavors from Baskin Robbins and the premium taste of Hershey’s chocolates.

“Baskin Robbins India is committed to offer product experiences to consumers that are way beyond the ordinary. Our association with Hershey India has allowed us to skilfully blend our expertise in developing cutting edge ice cream flavours, beverages and Ice cream cakes with high quality and consumer loved ingredients from Hershey India,” added Mohit Khattar, CEO, Graviss Foods Pvt Ltd who believed that the resultant products are amongst the finest and will endear Baskin Robbins to a whole new generation of consumers.

The new flavors are available across all Baskin Robbins outlets pan India and through delivery apps as well.

Hershey India, a part of The Hershey Company, one of the world’s leading snacking giants, has partnered with delivery apps, Swiggy and Dunzo.

Hershey has launched their online brand store Hershey Happiness Store on these two online delivery apps. Shoppers can now choose from a wide range of Hershey products such as HERSHEY’S Kisses, HERSHEY’s Bar, BROOKSIDE chocolates, HERSHEY’S Syrup, HERSHEY’S Milkshake, HERSHEY’S Cocoa Powder, HERSHEY’S Spreads, SOFIT Soy Milk, SOFIT Almond Milk, SOFIT Protein Cookies and SMART COOK Tomato Puree just by clicking a button.

Swiggy and Dunzo will deliver Hershey’s much-loved brands and products to the shopper’s doorstep in select cities.

The partnership with Swiggy is operational in New Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad, while the partnership with Dunzo is live in Bangalore and Hyderabad. Hershey is looking to scale up these associations to more locations over the next few months.

“We are in unprecedented times and it is imperative that we find innovative ways to bring our loved brands toour consumers. We are happy to have partnered with both Swiggy and Dunzo to bring the goodness of the Hershey range of products to our consumer’s doorstep, in a safe and convenient way,” said Herjit Bhalla, Managing Director, Hershey India.

The Hershey Happiness Store addresses the challenges faced by shoppers due to the current lockdown.Families are increasingly cooking delightful snacks at home with Hershey’s products and the online store is an additional avenue for consumers to access Hershey’s loved products, in addition to existing retail stores and e-commerce platforms.

Hershey India, a part of The Hershey Company, has introduced Sofit Protein Cookies, marking its entry into the premium 'Better for You' segment in the biscuits category.

These cookies will be available in three variants like natural cocoa with flax seeds, mango with real almond bits, and raisins with flax seeds in premium packs. The 100g pack will be priced at Rs 45 while the 150g pack will be priced at Rs 65.

Herjit Bhalla, Managing Director, Hershey India said, "It is a unique proposition. We believe Sofit cookies are different from others because they have the goodness of protein, Omega-3, fibre and vitamins and are made from multi-grains, including wheat, oats and soy. They are trans-fat-free and contain no maida."

"Bringing a unique and consumer-relevant product such as a cookie with the goodness of protein into the $2.8-billion biscuit category is a perfect next step for the Sofit brand. Sofit is well regarded among consumers as a brand that provides protein and other nutrients. Sofit Protein Cookies makes it easy and convenient to have a crunchilicious snack that is better for you," he added.

Hershey India Pvt Ltd, a part of The Hershey Company, has introduced its iconic 'Hershey's Kisses' chocolate brand in India

'Hershey's Kisses' Milk Chocolate will be available in 36 gram and 108 gram packs priced at Rs 50 and Rs 140, respectively.

In the beginning, Hershey's Kisses will be launched only in South India. It will be available in modern trade, large general trade and e-commerce in South India.

Herjit Bhalla, Managing Director, Hershey India, said, "We want to launch in South India because one-third of the chocolate market of India is in South. Then gradually we will take it to other parts of the country. "

"We have a manufacturing plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh and the other two are run in Gujarat and Telangana (Hyderabad). We will look at more manufacturing facilities to grow our presence," Bhalla added.

The Hershey Company, the fourth-largest confectioner maker in the world, will be investing $50 million in India over the next five years. The investment will be made by the company to scale up its operations in the country.

Michele Buck, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Hershey Company, said, "We will be investing $50 million during the next five years as we focus on growing and expanding our presence in India and mainly because India is one of our key International focus markets and our investments are to build this important business."

Taking a cue from the sweet success of Sofit in India, Hershey's has introduced the brand in its home country.

Company also plans to launch Sofit, positioned in the snacking category in the US, in other countries. The US snacking market is worth $103 billion and PepsiCo commands a share of nearly 15%.

Hershey's, the second-largest player, has about 8%. The introduction of Sofit nutritional bars by the $7.4-billion Hershey highlights CEO Michele Buck’s plan to take the company beyond chocolates and make it an innovative snacking powerhouse.

Hershey's is the latest multinational consumer products company to launch an Indian brand in the Western market. In the past, Unilever (Fair & Lovely, Lakme, Bru, Kissan), PepsiCo (Kurkure) and Nestle (Maggi Masala), among others, have taken India-developed products, either in its original or modified form, to other global regions.

Hershey's hopes Sofit to work in North America (including Canada. About 85% of the sales come from North America. The remaining 15% comes from international markets.

Buck is betting on emerging economies like India, Brazil and Mexico to boost Hershey’s international revenues. The company, which entered India through a joint venture with Godrej from 2008-2012, will be investing $50 million to scale up its local operations. The plan is to focus on its premium offerings even as it looks to discontinue low margin products.

 “We are in the process of evolving our portfolio in India. We will not invest in commoditised and low-margin products (referring to acquired brands Jumpin and Nutrine). At the same time, we will evaluate launching some of our US brands in India” Shared Steven Schiller president-international, Hershey.

The US candy maker Hershey's Co said it would buy SkinnyPop popcorn maker Amplify Snack Brands in a deal valued at $1.6 billion, including debt, to gain a firmer footing in the fast-growing market for healthy snacks.

The maker of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Hershey's Kisses said it would pay $12 per Amplify share, a 71.4 percent premium to the stock's close on Friday. Amplify's shares were at $11.96 in premarket trading, while Hershey fell 1 percent to $113.

Big U.S. food companies are snapping up smaller brands as they try to maintain dominance with consumers increasingly moving to smaller, healthier or more artisanal brands. Over the past two years, Hershey has acquired brands such as Krave meat jerky and Ripple Brand Collective's barkTHINS.

Amplify Snack owns brands such as SkinnyPop popcorn and Paqui chips which claim to have no artificial ingredients or transfats and come in dairy-free cheese and naturally sweet flavours that are popular among millennial consumers.

Hershey's Chief Executive Michele Buck said “Hershey's snack mix and meat snacks products, combined with Amplify's Skinny Pop, Tyrrells, Oatmega, Paqui and other international brands, will allow us to capture more consumer snacking occasions by creating a broader portfolio of brands.”

Hershey's offer values Amplify's equity at $920.95 million and it will also take on the company's debt, which was $590.5 million as of Sept. 30. Hershey will also incur a make-whole payment of $76 million related to a tax receivable agreement that Amplify entered into when it went public in 2015.

Amplify's largest stockholder, TA Associates, and key company insiders who collectively represent about 57 percent of outstanding shares have agreed to back the deal.

Hershey, US based chocolate confectionary firm investing USD 50 million in India over the next five years to increase its operation in India.

Parveen Jakate, Hershey India Chairman and Managing Director said “We anticipate an investment of about USD 50 million during the next five years as we focus on growing and expanding our presence in India. India is one of our key International focus markets and we are investing to build this important business. We are excited about the future of our great brands and products in India. Our investments over the next several years will help us to further build upon our positive momentum.

Hershey had entered India through a joint venture with Godrej Group in 2008, but dissolved it four years later, buying out the entire stake. India is among the four key markets for the company globally outside North America.

Hershey India's product portfolio includes brands like Hershey's Syrups, Hershey's Milk Booster, Hershey's Spreads, Hershey's Milk Shakes, Sofit, Jolly Rancher, Brookside Chocolates, Jumpin, Nutrine and Smart Cook.

Hershey Company Chief Financial Officer Patricia Little said “Constant currency net sales in India increased 16 per cent and slightly exceeded our plan. Growth in the brands we are investing behind continues to be solid. Our transition of the India portfolio is enabling a higher margin business, and we are on track to expand gross margins here by 1,000 basis points in 2017. This is enabling adjustments in the local marketplace that should result in a sustainable operating model”.

Pennsylvania-headquartered firm, which recently announced its third quarter global earnings, had said that India has emerged as the fastest growing market, clocking a net sales growth of 16 per cent.

One of the leading chocolate manufacturers The Hershey Company has announced its quarter3 global earnings and revenue.

According to a statement by the company, Hershey India has recorded a strong double digit constant currency net sales growth. Among its global earnings, the constant currency net sales for Brazil in the third quarter increased by 3.3 per cent, while for Mexico net sales increased by 10 per cent. India has registered the highest net sales growth of 16 per cent, exceeding plan.

Outside of North America, India is one of only four focus markets for The Hershey Company (Other focus markets China, Brazil and Mexico).

Michele Buck, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Hershey Company said, “We're making measured investments in our core markets of Mexico, Brazil and India, where we're seeing solid marketplace gains. Combined constant currency net sales growth in these markets was 8 per cent, and we're improving on operating income trends at the same time. I'm pleased with our progress in this segment.”

Hershey India has multi category portfolio that includes Hershey milk shake, Hershey sofit, Milk booster etc.

Patricia A. Little, CFO, the Hershey Co, said, “Constant currency net sales in India increased 16 per cent and slightly exceeded our plan. Growth in the brands we're investing behind continues to be solid. Our transition of the India portfolio is enabling a higher margin business, and we are on track to expand gross margins here by 1,000 basis points in 2017. This is enabling adjustments in the local marketplace that should result in a sustainable operating model”.

Hershey India Private Limited offers its consumers its premium chocolate 'Brookside'.

After having internationally spun it's magic for over 50 Years, Brookside is Hershey India's venture into premium range of chocolates. It is another addition to the new products launched by Hershey's like, Hershey’s Milk Booster, Hershey's Milk Shakes and Hershey's Spreads.

Brookside chocolate will be available in three exotic fruit flavours namely Blueberry and Acai, Raspberry snd Goji and Pomegranate.

Praveen Jakate, MD, Hershey India Pvt Ltd said, "These are exciting times for us at Hershey's India. Over the past few months, we ventured into several attractive categories like milk additives, milk shakes and chocolate spreads, through differentiated products offering delicious taste and fortification, under the Hershey's brand. We have now entered the growing premium chocolate category with our globally acclaimed brand Brookside. Brookside is an extraordinarily delicious chocolate with an intriguing combination of dark cocoa rich chocolate and exotic fruit flavors. We are confident that chocolate lovers would simply fall in love with its amazing taste experience."

Brookside will be available in large stores in select cities across India. It is priced at Rs.50 for 33.3g single consumption pouch and Rs.140 for 100g multi-consumption re-sealable pouch respectively.