Hershey acquires barkTHINS snack chocolate

HERSHEY, Pa. -- The Hershey Co. is expanding its snack offerings with the acquisition of Ripple Brand Collective, a privately held company based in Congers, N.Y., that owns the barkTHINS snacking chocolate brand.

“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,” said Michele G. Buck, president, North America, the Hershey Co. “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 flavors or preservatives. 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.”

The barkTHINS brand is largely sold in the United States in take-home resealable packages and is available in the club channel as well as select natural and conventional retailers.