Hershey to acquire Brookside Foods

HERSHEY, Pa. — Hershey has set its sights on a privately held confectionery company based in Canada.

The chocolate giant said that it has reached an agreement to acquire Brookside Foods, which is based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, which primarily sells its product line in the United States and Canada. Brookside's annual net sales are approximately $85 million Canadian dollars, the companies said.

“The acquisition of Brookside is an opportunity for Hershey to expand our portfolio in this category,” Hershey president and CEO John Bilbrey said. “Brookside pairs dark chocolate with exotic fruit-juice centers, such as goji, acai, blueberry and pomegranate, to create great-tasting treats, while delivering the benefits of flavanols and antioxidants. We look forward to building Brookside by leveraging Hershey’s scale at retail.”