The Hershey Co. has formed Artisan Confections Co., a subsidiary that will market premium chocolates, and will buy San Francisco chocolatier Joseph Schmidt Confections to expand the division.
Hershey completed its purchase of Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, the cornerstone of its wholly owned Artisan division; dark-chocolate specialist Scharffen and gift-chocolates creator Schmidt together have about $25 million in annual sales. The combined purchase price for Scharffen Berger and Schmidt will be between $46.6 million and $61 million, Hershey said.
“The Scharffen Berger and Joseph Schmidt acquisitions are great strategic opportunities for Hershey to capitalize on the high-growth, on-trend premium chocolate segment,” said Hershey President-CEO Rick Lenny in a statement. “These companies provide two distinct platforms to broaden our presence in the $1.7 billion premium segment. We look forward to capturing the immense growth potential of Scharffen Berger and Joseph Schmidt as we further extend Hershey’s leadership position in the U.S. confectionery market.”
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