The History of the Hershey Milk Chocolate Candy Bar

The history of Hershey milk chocolate candy cannot be told without the history of its founder, Milton Hershey. He did not come from a history of wealth or chocolate but rather from a difficult and unstable childhood. His father, considered by many to be a dreamer, forced the family to move around a great deal so that Hershey never finished school. Despite this, the best known candy bar in American culture became his legacy. Hershey's candy bars in their familiar brown wrapper have seen little change in decades. In fact, for many decades, they sold at the same price of a few cents.

History

The founder of Hershey's chocolate stumbled upon the confection and chocolate business after a failed apprenticeship as a printer. Milton Hershey wanted to please his father who had set up the apprenticeship. He tried printing but did not gain success. Hershey's mother then set up an apprenticeship with a confectioner or candy maker. There, at the age of 15, Hershey finally found something at which he could succeed.

Significance

At the age of 19, having established himself as a skilled candy maker, Hershey opened his own candy making company with the help of funding from his mother and aunt. This first business failed and he went out west with his father to try a candy business there. Though his business there failed as well, he managed to learn some new candy making techniques that he eventually put to practice when he returned to his childhood home. Though this business started out slowly, he was successful, received huge orders and became a millionaire selling caramels, baking chocolate and cocoa.

Function

In 1893, Hershey visited an exposition in Chicago where he became fascinated by chocolate production. Foreseeing a future demand for chocolate and with an idea of making it affordable to all, he purchased some German chocolate making machinery. Soon he established the Hershey Chocolate Company. For the next seven years, he worked to perfect a milk chocolate candy recipe. In 1900, he sold his caramel making business and turned to his newfound chocolate making business. Hershey's goal, aside from a successful business, was chocolate that would be affordable to all.

Time Frame

In 1900, the Hershey Milk Chocolate bar went on sale to the public. For the next several decades, his chocolate bar sold for a nickel. It was nicknamed the "nickel chocolate bar." Milton's goal was to take chocolate from the luxury class it was in and make it affordable to everyone. Though it shrank in size several times due to the cost of production, the company managed to sell the bar for a nickel from 1903 to 1970. The bar continues to fluctuate in size with the cost of production to this day but the company is quick to point out that it does in fact sometimes increase in size as well.

Types

Hershey's milk chocolate bar has seen several variations over the years. In 1908, the milk chocolate bar with almonds became available. In 1980, the Big Block and King Size versions of the bar were first manufactured. Today several other new versions of the Hershey's milk chocolate bar exist including miniatures, no-sugar added, Hershey's sticks, mixed-nuts and black cherry with almond.