Hershey's Kiss Of Death Decision Bites Milton's Company In The Ass

Why is this Hershey's kiss suicidal?


Here's the "official" story...

Hershey Profit Falls 66% as Costs Increase

Hershey on Thursday posted a 66 percent drop in quarterly profit, hit by higher costs for ingredients such as milk, restructuring charges and falling sales amid aggressive competition from Mars.

Hershey shares were down about 4 percent Thursday, as earnings from operations were below analysts' estimates and the company also said 2008 will continue to be challenging.

--Snip--

Sales were hurt by tighter credit conditions for distributors and slower-than-anticipated improvement in convenience store sales, the company said.

Ahem.

Remember this from May?

Archer Daniels Midlands, Nestle’s and Hershey’s are lobbying under the cover name of the The Chocolate Manufacturers Association and The Grocery Manufacturers Association are trying to get the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Department of Agriculture to change definitions and standards of all food products, INCLUDING CHOCOLATE.

To be called Chocolate in today’s food and candy market in the USA the manufacturer MUST use Coco-butter sometimes called Coco Fat, or Cocoa into the product. The more of this put into a chocolate bar, like the Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Bar, (which is 60% Coco Fat,) the richer the flavor. Yes it is expensive but in my opinion it’s worth it when I want a treat.

Now if the FDA goes along with the change the definition of Chocolate (and other foods,) this will allow manufacturers to substitute things like vegetable fat in place of Coco fat if they wish without telling us what is in it. Check out the FDA Appendix C where they stated the following, “use a vegetable fat in place of another vegetable fat named in the standard (e.g., cacao fat).” Oh hell no!

Ahem again.

In 2002 the Hershey Trust attempted to sell the company (but was stopped by public opinion). Currently they are downsizing, consolidating and outsourcing.

Sure, the Bush economy sucks, and everything (including milk) is more expensive; but millions of us are still buying "good" chocolate.

So, let's recap:

The Hershey Trust tried in vain to sell and has done everything possible to cut costs.

The company decided to embrace vegetable fat in place of cocoa butter. (Fortunately, they haven't replaced the cocoa butter yet.)

The Bush economy is further hindering Hershey's stockholder profits because everything costs more now.

How much profit is enough, Hershey's?

You made your fortune by riding piggyback on the American dream for a century.

And Halloween 2007 is less than two weeks away.

Every kid's dream is still the full-size Hershey bar on Halloween.

Stop the greed, Hershey's!

Enough is enough.



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.