The Hershey Company announced that it has purchased Ripple Brands Collective LLC – better known to consumers as the maker of barkTHINS snacking chocolate. Hershey said it acquired the business to expand its mass premium offerings in the ever-expanding specialty chocolate category.
“This acquisition is a great addition to our Hershey chocolate portfolio,” said Michele G. Buck, President of North America at The Hershey Company, in a report with Business Wire. “barkTHINS is a very attractive and uniquely crafted brand that essentially created a new form of chocolate snacking.”
Buck attributed barkTHINS' success to the company’s commitment to using simple ingredients, fair-trade cocoa, non-GMO certification, and no artificial flavors or preservatives. “barkTHINS addresses key consumer trends, such as premium, high quality ingredients and snacking,” continued Buck. “We look forward to building barkTHINS by leveraging Hershey’s scale at retail.”
The folks at barkTHINS have expressed similar optimism about the acquisition. “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 CEO of Ripple Brand Collective.
According to Business Wire, annual net sales of the business in 2016 are expected to be in the $65 million to $75 million range. The barkTHINS brand is largely sold in the United States in take-home resealable packages, and is distributed through its club channel and at select natural and conventional grocers.
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