Hershey Adds Snacking Chocolate to Portfolio
The Hershey Company has purchased Ripple Brand Collective, LLC, a privately held company based in Congers, New York, that owns the barkTHINS snacking chocolate brand.
The acquisition will enable the company to expand its mass premium offerings into this category. The barkTHINS product uses simple ingredients, fair trade cocoa, non-GMO certification, and no artificial flavors or preservatives. Made with high-quality dark chocolate, nuts and other ingredients, barkTHINS addresses key consumer trends, such as premium, high quality ingredients and snacking.
The barkTHINS brand is largely sold in the United States in take-home resealable packages and is available in the club channel as well as select natural and conventional grocers. Annual net sales of the business in 2016 are expected to be in the $65 million to $75 million range. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition will enable the company to expand its mass premium offerings into this category. The barkTHINS product uses simple ingredients, fair trade cocoa, non-GMO certification, and no artificial flavors or preservatives. Made with high-quality dark chocolate, nuts and other ingredients, barkTHINS addresses key consumer trends, such as premium, high quality ingredients and snacking.
The barkTHINS brand is largely sold in the United States in take-home resealable packages and is available in the club channel as well as select natural and conventional grocers. Annual net sales of the business in 2016 are expected to be in the $65 million to $75 million range. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.