Hershey's vs Cadbury's: The Wars of the Chocolates

Hello to 2015 New York style! Yes, I’m still in New York. The last 18 months has been the worse part of my life, health wise, that is. I won’t bore you with the details here, but if you want to hear my story, why don’t you invite me for a meal or send me some Cadbury’s milk chocolate (in that order). To my friends in the UK, please remember my computer has an American spell check and I’ve given up the fight. So down to business. Any observation of late?

What about the War of the Chocolates between Britain and the United States? Keeping abreast of the world events, I tuned in the BBC website and television channel (American news tends to be too local, or they run the same news 24 hours/day), imagine my surprise when I read that the United States’ consumers will soon have trouble finding the "proper" Cadbury chocolate made with the British recipe. Chocolate giant Hershey Inc has successfully blocked the import of many British sweets because, it says, it creates "brand confusion" with Hershey's products. Keep in mind it’s the largest chocolate manufacturer in North America and they are increasing throughout the world. Hershey’s is worth $6 Billion, that’s £4 Billion to you Brits.

So why should I care? I and the expats will face missing out on some of our favorite chocolates, after a ban on the import of Britain's best-loved treats. Chocolates made by York, Cadbury, Kit Kat and Rolo as well as Maltesers. Hang-on, you may say, I can buy these at my local store. Yes, that is because Hershey’s has the rights in the United States to produce and sell all these chocolates. Hershey’s have a lawsuit and claims the sale of British-made chocolates is damaging its business. Rubbish!

George Bernard Shaw once said “England and America are two countries separated by the same language”, well, they are separated by the way they make their chocolates too. Let me explain, Cadbury chocolate varies around the world. In the UK, the first ingredient in a classic Dairy Milk bar is milk. In the United States, where Hershey’s has the license to make and sell all Cadbury products, the first ingredient is sugar. I wouldn’t buy Hershey’s kind of chocolate, (too sweet for my taste), even if it was half price.

Globalization means it's increasingly easy for British expats to buy our creature comforts of home brands - English tea, English scones or my most beloved, Cadbury chocolate. Amazingly I found a local store (10mins from my house) that sold the UK Cadbury chocolate and occasionally I would buy a bar for a treat. Where does all this leave me? I have to start stocking up on my chocolates and I plan to have family and friends in the UK send me Cadbury chocolates.

I hope the custom guys don’t train their dogs to sniff out Cadbury’s chocolate. See you all later. I’m off to Boston now.