If you are a fan of ice cream and chocolate, you might have wondered if Hershey’s Ice Cream and Hershey’s Chocolate are made by the same company. After all, they share the same name and logo, and they both produce delicious treats. However, the truth is that Hershey’s Ice Cream and Hershey’s Chocolate are not related at all. They are two separate companies that have a long and complicated history of legal disputes over their trademarks. Here is how it all started and why they are still not affiliated today.
Contents
The Origins of Hershey’s Ice Cream and Hershey’s Chocolate
Hershey’s Ice Cream was founded in 1894 by Jacob Hershey and his four brothers: Isaac, Paris, Ephraim, and Eli Hershey (no relation to Milton S. Hershey of the Hershey Company). They started out as a small dairy farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and soon expanded to making ice cream, sherbet, frozen yogurt, and other frozen desserts. They used metal-lined wooden containers that they designed and built themselves to pack and deliver their products. They also created new flavors of ice cream that they sold to other ice cream makers.
Hershey’s Chocolate was also founded in 1894 by Milton S. Hershey, who was a successful caramel maker in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was inspired by the German chocolate-making machinery that he saw at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. He decided to sell his caramel business and focus on making chocolate instead. He established the Hershey Chocolate Company as a subsidiary of his Lancaster Caramel Company and began producing chocolate bars, cocoa, baking chocolate, and sweet chocolate. He later moved his operations to Derry Township, Pennsylvania, where he built a model town for his workers and a large chocolate factory.
The Trademark Battles Between Hershey’s Ice Cream and Hershey’s Chocolate
The two companies coexisted peacefully for a while, until Milton S. Hershey decided to expand his chocolate business into the ice cream market in the 1920s. He began selling ice cream cones dipped in chocolate at his amusement park in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He also registered the trademark “Hershey’s” for ice cream products in 1926. This angered the Hershey brothers, who claimed that they had been using the name “Hershey’s” for their ice cream products since 1894. They sued Milton S. Hershey for trademark infringement and unfair competition.
The lawsuit lasted for several years, with both sides presenting evidence and arguments to support their claims. The court eventually ruled in favor of Milton S. Hershey in 1931, finding that he had acquired the exclusive right to use the name “Hershey’s” for ice cream products through his trademark registration and extensive advertising. The court also found that there was no likelihood of confusion between the two companies’ products, since they used different logos and packaging designs.
The Hershey brothers appealed the decision, but lost again in 1934. They were ordered to stop using the name “Hershey’s” for their ice cream products and to pay damages to Milton S. Hershey. However, they did not comply with the court order and continued to use the name “Hershey’s” for their ice cream products. They also changed their logo to make it more similar to Milton S. Hershey’s logo.
This led to another lawsuit in 1940, in which Milton S. Hershey accused the Hershey brothers of contempt of court and trademark infringement. The court again ruled in favor of Milton S. Hershey and ordered the Hershey brothers to stop using the name “Hershey’s” for their ice cream products and to pay damages to Milton S. Hershey.
The legal battles did not end there, however. The two companies continued to sue each other over various trademark issues throughout the years, such as the use of the name “Hersheys” without an apostrophe, the use of slogans like “The Great American Chocolate Bar” and “Real Ingredients. Real Ice Cream.”, and the use of colors like brown and silver for their packaging.
The Current Status of Hershey’s Ice Cream and Hershey’s Chocolate
The most recent lawsuit between the two companies was settled out of court in 1995, with both sides agreeing to respect each other’s trademarks and avoid confusion among consumers. According to Wikipedia, as part of the settlement agreement, Hershey’s Ice Cream agreed to add a disclaimer to its ice cream products stating that it is not affiliated with The Hershey Company or any of its subsidiaries.
Today, both companies are still operating independently and successfully in their respective markets. Hershey’s Ice Cream is now owned by the Holder family, who acquired it from the Hershey brothers in the 1920s. It has about 450 employees and operates 30 distribution centers in 28 states across the Eastern and Northeastern United States. It produces ice cream, sorbet, sherbet, frozen yogurt, and other frozen desserts under the brands Hershey’s, Hershey’s Mix-Ins, Hershey’s Gold, Hershey’s Real Ice Cream Cakes, and Hershey’s Real Ice Cream Smoothies.
Hershey’s Chocolate is now a global leader in the chocolate and confectionery industry, with more than 80 brands and products available in over 60 countries. It has about 16,000 employees and operates more than 70 manufacturing facilities worldwide. It produces chocolate bars, kisses, nuggets, miniatures, syrup, baking chips, cocoa, and other chocolate products under the brands Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kit Kat, Almond Joy, Mounds, York, Twizzlers, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers, and many more.
Conclusion
Hershey’s Ice Cream and Hershey’s Chocolate are not related at all. They are two separate companies that have a long and complicated history of legal disputes over their trademarks. They have settled their differences and agreed to respect each other’s trademarks and avoid confusion among consumers. They are both successful in their respective markets and produce delicious treats for millions of people.
