Hershey acquires barkTHINS snacking chocolate brand

Hershey Company in the US has acquired Ripple Brand Collective, a New-York-based privately held firm that owns the barkTHINS snacking chocolate brand.

Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Hershey president for North America Michele G Buck said: "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.

"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 flavours or preservatives.

"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."

Ripple Brand Collective founder and CEO Scott Semel said: "We look forward to the next phase of accelerated growth that Hershey can provide.

"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 brand is mostly sold in the US in resealable packages and is available in the club channel, as well as selected natural and conventional grocers.

Its annual net sales in fiscal year 2016 are expected to be in the range of $65m to $75m.