Bad Economy Means Bad News For Hershey Lovers

[OhioChick]

Price Of Hershey Bar To Rise 11 Percent

POSTED: 6:15 pm EDT August 15, 2008
UPDATED: 9:00 pm EDT August 15, 2008

Hershey Co. said it plans to raise prices on its products by an average of 11 percent as it tries to stem the impact of soaring commodities costs, and trimmed its projections for 2008 and 2009.

The candy company known for its chocolate bars and bite-sized Kisses said the immediate increase was necessary to offset "significant increases" in the cost of raw materials such as sugar, cocoa and peanuts - up as much as 45 percent since the start of the year -- as well as the growing cost of fuel, utilities and transportation.

The Hershey-based chocolatier said its commodities costs will grow by more than $110 million this year -- a figure that could double in 2009.

Meanwhile, Hershey also narrowed its 2008 earnings and revenue guidance because of the price hikes.
http://www.newsnet5.com/money/17204098/detail.html

I thought that Hershey closing the Pa. plant and opening the one in Mexico was supposed to save big $$$$?

[Occam Bandage]

1. Glad you said "Hershey lovers" and not "chocolate lovers." nt

[TomInTib]

3. Right on the money, O B.

I haven't touched anything that was labeled "Hershey" since I realized what real chocolate was all about.

[marmar]

14. Leonidas chocolates from Belgium.....

.... I'm not even a chocoholic and I'd give a kidney for a box of Leonidas chocolates.

[Canuckistanian]

2. They're closing the Canadian plant, too

In a couple of months, it'll be gone.

400+ people out of work.

[Lorien]

4. They moved out of Hersey, PA

and I moved my business to Lindt!

[Tangerine LaBamba]

8. Not exactly

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/hersheys.asp

[Lorien]

10. Bad enough. n/t

[OhioChick]

11. Sure?

Hershey's Chocolate Is Moving Some Operations from the U.S. to Mexico-Truth!


Summary of the eRumor:
The eRumor laments that the American Hershey company that makes Hershey chocolate products is moving to Mexico.

The Truth:
There is a significant move by Hershey from the United States to Mexico in what the company calls a "global supply-chain transformation." Not all the operations are making the move but according to a June, 2007 article in the Los Angeles Times about 3,000 of the company's 13,000 employees will be cut.

About 900 workers are to lose their jobs in the company's home town of Hershey, Pennsylvania and the Hershey plant in Oakdale, California, is closing down. Operations there are being moved to Monterrey, Mexico.

The times quotes Hershey CEO Richard Lenny as saying that labor costs in Mexico are 10 percent less than in the U.S. and that by 2010 the changes will save shareholders $190 million.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/h/hershey.htm

Do a Google search on the topic and you'll see many reputable news agencies reporting the same, especially those coming out of Pa.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

15. The operative word

is "some."

I'm from PA, not far from Hershey, and I know there were cutbacks at the Hershey plant, but it wasn't closed down. I doubt that will ever happen.

So, it pays to read with care, because sometimes just a google search won't get you the accurate story.

[OhioChick]

16. I do read with care.....

However, it does make me think when I hear differently as to what is going on with Pa.'s Hershey plant from my family there. :shrug:

[Tangerine LaBamba]

17. The Hershey plant is still operating

Did your family tell you that it had closed? Because there were layoffs, but the plant continues to operate.

[OhioChick]

18. I know that it's operating.......

I heard "barely."

[Tangerine LaBamba]

26. Well, then,

that's very different from the original contention that implied that Hershey had moved all its operations out of the U.S.

There's a real danger in that kind of sloppy language and thinking.

[OhioChick]

27. I Made Absolutely No Implication

"That Hershey had moved all its operations out of the U.S."

You're right....There's a real danger in that kind of sloppy language and thinking.

[ihavenobias]

28. Perfect

:)

[Tangerine LaBamba]

32. Sorry, but you did

And hence the ensuing exchange.

That's all right. It's been cleared up now.

[Canuckistanian]

24. They're DEFINITELY moving ALL the Canadian operations to Mexico

And I've heard it from the soon to be laid off workers here.

[billyoc]

5. Oh, it's saving big $$$$, just not for you.

[Tindalos]

6. Saves big $ for them. Not us.

They probably projected huge profits from moving to Mexico (reduced costs) but rising prices have cut into those profits. If their numbers don't match what was projected, they'll look bad to investors. Therefore, the consumer must pay more to make up the difference. As usual.

[DainBramaged]

7. And they want to eliminate cocoa butter and substitute high fructose corn syrup instead

They re scum, I stopped buying their products when I heard that.

http://consumerist.com/5034753/hersheys-kissables-no-longer-legally-considered-milk-chocolate

Hershey's "Kissables" No Longer Legally Considered "Milk Chocolate"?

The Candy Blog noticed that Hershey's "Kissables" have been reformulated, and can no longer be legally labeled "milk chocolate" because of FDA regulations. The new package looks the same, except for the ingredients and the label which now says "Chocolate Candy" instead "Candy Coated Milk Chocolate."

From the Candy Blog:

The new version is called Chocolate Candy which is code for chocolate-flavored confection, or candy that contains chocolate but can’t be called chocolate because it has other stuff in it that’s not permitted by the FDA definitions (like more oil than actual chocolate).

The ingredients: Sugar, vegetable oil (palm, shea, sunflower and/or safflower oil), chocolate, nonfat milk, whey, cocoa butter, milk fat, gum arabic, soy lecithin, artificial colors (red 40, yellow 5, blue 2, blue 1, yellow 6), corn syrup, resinous glaze, salt, carnauba wax, pgpr and vanillin.

The old ingredients were:

Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, nonfat milk, milk fat, lactose, soy lecithin, PGPR & artificial flavors), sugar, red 40, yellow 5, yellow 6, blue 1 & carnauba wax.

[ThePowerofWill]

35. That would be a bad move.

While i have never been a big Hershey eater i have noticed the quality of the product is pretty low now, why make it worse? It would be hard to even call chocolate at all if they changed even more.

I understand Hershey was never about being the best chocolate. It was supposed to a palatable, decent chocolate that was inexpensive, and affordable. However the last couple bars i tried had descended into trash. They were waxy, and lacked flavor. If they cut back anymore it would be complete garbage.

[ColbertWatcher]

9. When will the captains of industry understand that...

...there are some people who will pay an extra 5 cents for a candy bar to keep the plant in the United States?

[OhioChick]

12. Exactly! n/t

[ColbertWatcher]

21. Thank you, I don't believe I am the only person who believes...

...that you get what you pay for.

[Deja Q]

22. Doesn't matter. They listen to some accountant, salesman, and/or snake oil peddler...

Short term vs long term. It's a big mess.

Isn't there a Devo song of the same title, "Big Mess"?

[Occam Bandage]

25. They do. They also understand that there are even more people who would prefer the cheaper.

[ColbertWatcher]

31. Cheaper being the operative word.

Like I said above: you get what you pay for.

[Phredicles]

13. Sounds like Hershey Highway robbery!

:P:evilgrin::P

[Deja Q]

20. Going the wrong way on the hershey highway!

:hurts:
:scared:

[Deja Q]

19. They need to offset the cost of the move, the accountant's pension, and the CEO's hooker...

Commodities, shommodities...

[OhioChick]

23. ....

:rofl:

[Greyhound]

29. Who gives a fuck? Their "chocolate" sucks and they were planning to fire everyone and close the

plant well over a year ago. The economy has nothing to do with this and their workers were fucked years ago, this is just a smoke-screen to minimize the negative impact of "outsourcing" another source of income for the sheeple that are too stupid to stand up and demand their due.

[SoCalDem]

30. Hershey candy is nasty tasting..

Whatever they did to it since i was a kid, pretty much ruined it..

[DU GrovelBot]

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[old mark]

34. Hershey closed the plant in Reading, PA

with very little warning, throwing hundreds of folks - in some casee entire families - out of work.Some families had three generations working at that plant, and all were terminated abruptly with no time to prepare.
Hershey then moved their candy production to Mexico, and still complain about not being able to make enough money.

I love chocolate, but I have not bought any Hershey products in nearly 3 years, and I won't any time soon.


mark