Supply Chain · Profile from Supply Chain Research Companion
Hershey
The Hershey Company, of Hershey, Pennsylvania — the largest US chocolate and confectionery maker by most measures (company claim; Mars and Ferrero are private, so shares are estimates), founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 and controlled since 1918 by the Hershey Trust, which runs the Milton Hershey School and holds the majority of shareholder votes. It sells Hershey's, Reese's, Kisses, Kit Kat (US rights licensed from Nestlé, verify terms), Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers and Ice Breakers, and since 2017 a salty-snacks business (SkinnyPop, Dot's Pretzels, LesserEvil). In FY2025 it reported net sales of $11,692.6m (+4.4%), adjusted EPS of $6.31 (−32.7%) and reported EPS of $4.34 (−60.3%) as record cocoa prices and tariffs crushed margins (company release, 5 Feb 2026); in Q3 2026 net sales were $3,275.5m (+3.0%), the adjusted gross margin recovered to 42.7% (+1,090 bp) and adjusted EPS doubled to $2.64 as cocoa costs fell (company 8-K, Oct 2026). Its supply-chain story turns on the flow-equation factor of reliability: the company's most famous failure is the July 1999 go-live of a ~$112m SAP-based system that left it unable to ship ~$100m of Halloween orders (reported), and its biggest recent test was a cocoa price shock — New York futures peaked near $12,931/t in Dec 2024 (Barchart, reported) — that turned procurement and hedging into the main driver of earnings.
At a glance
- Founded
- 1894, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as the Hershey Chocolate Company (a unit of Milton Hershey's Lancaster Caramel Company, from memory, verify); main factory and company town built at Derry Church (renamed Hershey) from 1903
- Headquarters
- Hershey, Pennsylvania
- Ownership / structure
- Listed (NYSE: HSY); dual-class shares; the Hershey Trust Company, as trustee for the Milton Hershey School Trust, controls the majority of votes (~80% of voting power is the commonly cited figure, from memory, verify against the latest proxy) while holding a minority of the economic interest
- Leadership (2026)
- Kirk Tanner, president and CEO since 18 Aug 2025 (ex-Wendy's CEO; ex-PepsiCo Beverages North America CEO); Michele Buck (CEO 2017–2025) retired (company, proxy)
- Segments
- North America Confectionery; North America Salty Snacks; International (company reporting segments)
- Scale
- Plants in Pennsylvania and other US states, Mexico, Brazil, India and Malaysia (verify current list); ~18,000+ employees (verify); products sold through mass merchants, grocery, convenience, club, dollar and drug channels and e-commerce
- Financials
- FY2025: net sales $11,692.6m (+4.4%; organic constant currency +4.2%), reported net income $883.3m, reported EPS $4.34 (−60.3%), adjusted EPS $6.31 (−32.7%) (release 5 Feb 2026). Q3 2026: net sales $3,275.5m (+3.0%; organic +0.8%), adjusted EPS $2.64 (+103.1%), adjusted gross margin 42.7%; FY2026 net sales growth guided ~5%, reported EPS growth 84–90% (company 8-K)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Factory town and trust (1903–18); the ERP go-live before Halloween (1999, failure); the trust's aborted sale to Wrigley (2002); Mondelez's rejected ~$23bn approach (2016); Amplify and the salty-snacks pivot (2017–25); the cocoa shock and hedging (2024–26); the second ERP go-live (SAP S/4HANA, Apr 2024); CEO change, tariffs and the margin reset (2025–26)
8 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1903
Factory Town and the Hershey Trust
Founding / network build (factory and company town); ownership structure (trust endowment)
1999
ERP Go Live Before Halloween
Technology bet (ERP, planning and CRM replacement) — failure
2002
Hershey Trust Sale Attempt
Acquisition attempt (sale of control by the controlling shareholder) / regulatory and legal action
2016
Mondelez Approach Rejected
Acquisition attempt (unsolicited approach) — defence
2017
Amplify and the Salty Snacks Pivot
Acquisition (series) / strategy pivot
2024
Cocoa Price Spike and Hedging
Disruption and response (commodity shock); pricing; procurement and hedging
2024
Second ERP Go Live and Shipment Timing
Technology bet (ERP upgrade to SAP S/4HANA; whether it was phased by module or site not checked)
2025
CEO Change Tariffs and the Margin Reset
Leadership change / regulatory and trade exposure / strategy reset