By Richa Sharma
Back in Time is ED’s newspaper type column that reports an incident from the past as though it has happened just yesterday. It allows the reader to re-live it several years later, on the date it had occurred.
For this incident, we go back in time to 1894.
Pennsylvania, February 9th, 1894: Milton Hershey – confectionery businessman and owner of Lancaster Caramel Company – is expanding his production. Mr. Hershey will be starting another company to enslave the sweet tooth of his customers. Hershey’s Chocolate Company will be manufacturing chocolate (in case the name was not self-explanatory).
Since the age of fourteen, Mr. Hershey has been in the sugar-business. After having experienced a failure of two ventures across America, he returned here to local county (and his birthplace) of Lancaster in 1886. Ever since, his fresh-milk caramel recipe has brought him a fortunate business. Now an employer of nearly 1400 employees, the company ships its products across U.S. and to Europe.
Last year, Mr. Hershey purchased German chocolate making machinery. He initially used it to produce a chocolate coating for his caramels. The same machine is now being used to manufacture chocolates for the new company. This company aims to introduce products such as Hershey chocolate caramels, breakfast cocoa, sweet chocolate and baking chocolate in the near future.
Hershey’s Chocolate Company seems promising in bringing a revolution in chocolate manufacturing. Mr. Hershey aims at making chocolate available to all not only the elites. Perhaps it’s a tad bit ambitious, but we won’t complain if there will be more chocolate!
Post Scriptum:
All across the globe, the name “Hershey” is synonymous to mouth watering sinful bars of heaven. In Pennsylvania, the town where the Chocolate factory was set up, has been named “Hershey”. The Founder also established a school to which he donated most of his wealth in the future.
In 1900, Hershey’s Chocolate Company became the first in America to develop a formula to manufacture milk chocolate. It not only tasted good but also remained fresh for a longer time. Mr. Hershey proved his skills by making the milk chocolate bar such that it did not create a hole in anybody’s pocket. They marketed this product with the slogan: “a palatable confection and a most nourishing food.”
Since then several new products have been introduced by Hershey Chocolate Company. Even today, after 122 years, the Hershey Company continues to introduce new products which have made them the trendsetter among chocolate manufacturers.
What’s your favourite Hershey’s product?
