HERSHEY, Pa. -- The Hershey Co. has purchased Ripple Brand Collective LLC, a privately held company that owns the barkThins snacking chocolate brand.
The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal.
“This acquisition is a great addition to our Hershey chocolate portfolio and enables us to expand our mass premium offerings into this growing and on-trend category,” said Michele G. Buck, president for North America for The Hershey Co. “Since its launch in 2013, barkThins has quickly become a favorite snack brand due to its commitment to using simple ingredients, fair trade cocoa, non-GMO certification and no artificial flavors or preservatives."
She continued, "barkThins is a very attractive and uniquely crafted brand that essentially created a new form of chocolate snacking. Made with high-quality dark chocolate, nuts and other ingredients, barkThins addresses key consumer trends, such as premium, high-quality ingredients and snacking. We look forward to building barkThins by leveraging Hershey’s scale at retail.”
“We’re proud of the rapid development of the brand since our launch in 2013 and look forward to the next phase of accelerated growth that Hershey can provide,” said Scott Semel, founder and chief executive officer of Ripple Brand Collective. “Our unique proposition, brand equity and outstanding team give us confidence that there is tremendous upside for barkThins with a confectionery leader like Hershey.”
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 range of $65 million to $75 million.
Hershey, with headquarters in Hershey, Pa., is a global confectionery leader known for its chocolate, sweets, mints and other candy and snacks. It has more than 80 brands around the world that drive more than $7.4 billion in annual revenues, including iconic brand names such as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers and Brookside.
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