Online Chocolate Sales
Retail Websites That Sell Hershey Chocolate Products
Hershey's markets its world famous brands of chocolates & candies on the Internet while expanding its operations in China.
The Hershey Company doesn’t just make chocolate Kisses, Reese’s peanut butter cups, Swizzles licorice, Mounds and Kit Kat chocolate bars. With snacks like Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds, North America’s largest manufacturer of chocolate and sugar candies is also a leader in the fast-growing premium dark chocolate and gourmet chocolate markets. Other Hershey products are grocery items such as baking chocolate, chocolate syrup, cookies, hard candies, ice-cream toppings and snack nuts.
Although Hershey’s annual revenues exceed US$5 billion, overall sales growth has slowed to around 4% per year. This has forced the company to rethink the marketing of its products to an international trade audience.
Hershey’s International Sales
North American sales in America, Canada, Mexico and Brazil account for 90% of total company revenues. Remaining sales come from international markets in 50 countries led by Japan, Korea, the Philippines and China.
Traditionally, full-time sales representatives and food brokers sell Hershey kisses and similar convenience foods to wholesale distributors and clubs, mass merchandisers, concessionaires, vending companies, grocery and drug store chains as well as other retailers. Over 25% of Hershey’s net sales in 2006 were to giant American wholesale distributor McLane Company, a leading distributor for WalMart.
To stimulate its maturing sales, Hershey’s has built a chocolate factory near Shanghai and will use Chinese retailers to sell Hershey’s and Reese’s brands by August 2007. A joint venture with Korea’s Lotte Confectionary, the new Hershey chocolate factory in China shows that Hershey’s is ready to explore larger-scale opportunities throughout Asia.
Hershey’s Online Chocolate Sales
Back in America, Hershey’s is expanding its foray into online chocolate and candy sales. The company’s Internet gift store and catalogue at hersheygifts.com offers direct-to-consumer products like tins of chocolate covered pretzels, personalized gourmet chocolate gifts and giant 5-pound Hershey chocolate bars. America's largest candy maker is intent on using the Internet to become one of the world's best gourmet chocolate companies.
Hershey’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Artisan Confections Company, also sells premium chocolate offerings at artisanconfection.com. This e-commerce site targets wealthy baby boomers who demand premium dark chocolate for its rich taste and healthy flavenol antioxidants. At the Artisan site, consumers can buy online:
- ScharffenBerger high-cocao dark chocolate products
- Joseph Schmidt handcrafted chocolate gifts
- Dagoba high-quality natural and organic chocolate bars (also sold in American natural food and gourmet stores).
Currently, Hershey’s online sales are limited to residents of the U.S. However, this past March the company signalled its plans to enhance its e-commerce offerings by signing a multiyear deal with technology experts GSI Commerce. GSI has been charged to build up Hershey’s sales in the online retail specialty foods marketplace.
Boasting well-developed global manufacturing, distribution and marketing networks, Hershey’s is strongly positioned to benefit from blossoming operations in fast-growing Asian markets like China. The company can significantly expand its global trade footprint if entrepreneurs can popularize Internet candy stores and virtual Web candy machines from which Hershey gourmet chocolate products can be bought from anywhere in the world.
Sources For This Article
This article presents independent calculations and insights based on data drawn from source material on hersheys.com, including Hershey’s 2006 annual report.
