Infrastructure09/24/2026@BuildDesk
Ferrero Opens Its First North American Chocolate Factory in Bloomington
Ferrero Chocolate Processing Facility, 2501 Beich Road, Bloomington, Illinois 61705, United StatesFerrero
Starts 05/07/2024 4:38PMCONFIRMED 90% CONFIDENCE2.4 years agoThe release stamped May 07, 2024, 12:38 ET says Ferrero North America 'today celebrated the opening of its first chocolate processing facility in North America and third globally'.^[1]
A 70,000 sq ft, $75 million chocolate processing plant on Ferrero's Bloomington, Illinois campus, the group's third chocolate factory worldwide and its first outside Europe, making chocolate for Kinder, Ferrero Rocher, Butterfinger and Crunch.
$75M
0.74
Food09/24/2026@ConsumerDesk
Reese's Oreo Cup and Oreo Reese's Cookie Go on Sale
Hershey…19 East Hershey Building, 19, East Chocolate Avenue, Spring Creek Manor, Hershey, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 17036, United States
Starts 08/18/2025CONFIRMED 86% CONFIDENCE1.1 years agoStated as firm in Hershey's release (30 Jul 2025): "The new REESE'S OREO Cup will be available for presale on The Hershey's Store starting August 18" and "The OREO REESE'S Cookies will be available for presale starting on August 18".^[1]
Hershey and Mondelez's two-way mash-up of America's No. 1 candy and No. 1 cookie opened for presale on The Hershey's Store, reaching stores nationwide in September; the cup became Reese's top innovation of 2025.
0.72
Food09/24/2026@ConsumerDesk
Hershey Vows to Put Real Chocolate Back in Reese's After Backlash
Hershey…19 East Hershey Building, 19, East Chocolate Avenue, Spring Creek Manor, Hershey, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 17036, United States
Starts 03/31/2026CONFIRMED 84% CONFIDENCE177 days agoStated as firm, per Deseret^[1] News (2 Apr 2026): "Hershey announced Tuesday it will return to using 'classic milk and dark chocolate recipes' in all Reese's and Hershey's products by 2027. CEO Kirk Tanner told [Bloomberg] on Tuesday" - Tuesday was 31 March 2026; NBC News^[4] (1 Apr) has Brad Reese reacting "on Wednesday".
After Brad Reese, grandson of the cup's inventor, accused Hershey of swapping milk chocolate for cheaper compound coatings, CEO Kirk Tanner said the company will return to classic milk and dark chocolate recipes by 2027.
0.71
Labour09/24/2026@EconDesk
Hershey's AAA Automation and Job-Cut Programme Wraps Up
Hershey…19 East Hershey Building, 19, East Chocolate Avenue, Spring Creek Manor, Hershey, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 17036, United States
Starts 12/31/2026ESTIMATED 59% CONFIDENCEin 98 daysEstimated from the year: Hershey's Q2 2026 10-Q says the AAA Initiative's costs run "from inception through 2026" and "At the conclusion of the program in 2026, ongoing annual savings are expected to be approximately $400,000" (thousands); a bare year is taken as its last day.^[1]
Hershey's Advancing Agility & Automation Initiative, which cut jobs and automated processes from 2024, is due to finish at the end of 2026 at a cost of $200-250 million. It is expected to leave about $400 million of annual savings.
$225M
0.70
Food09/15/2026@BuildDesk
Heinz Opens Its Kitt Green Factory in Wigan
Kitt Green, Orrell, Wigan WN5 0LU, UKHeinz
Starts 05/21/1959CONFIRMED 78% CONFIDENCE67.3 years agoWikipedia's^[3] H. J. Heinz, Wigan article dates the Kitt Green factory's opening to 21 May 1959.
H.J. Heinz opens its Kitt Green factory near Wigan, which grows into the company's largest food processing plant in the world and Europe's biggest.
0.70
Food09/24/2026@ConsumerDesk
Reese's Minis and Fast Break Switch Back to Real Milk Chocolate
Hershey…19 East Hershey Building, 19, East Chocolate Avenue, Spring Creek Manor, Hershey, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 17036, United States
Starts 01/01/2027ESTIMATED 69% CONFIDENCEin 99 daysEstimated from NBC News^[1] (1 Apr 2026): "Starting next year, Tanner said candies inspired by the originals - like the 'mini Reese's cups and shapes,' as well as the Reese's Fast Break candy bar - will also be made with real milk chocolate"; a change starting in 2027 takes its first day, and Fox Business^[3] says the transition comes "by 2027".
From 2027 Hershey says mini Reese's cups and shapes and the Fast Break bar will be coated in real milk chocolate instead of compound coating, the change promised after Brad Reese's recipe complaint.
0.68
Food09/24/2026@ConsumerDesk
Hershey Unveils Its Next Generation Snacking Strategy at 2026 Investor Day
Hershey…New York Stock Exchange, 11, Wall Street, Financial District, Lower Manhattan, Manhattan, New York County, New York, 10271, United States
Starts 03/31/2026 4:00PMCONFIRMED 87% CONFIDENCE177 days agoStated as firm: Hershey's release of March 31, 2026 says it "is hosting its 2026 Investor Day today at the New York Stock Exchange" and "The meeting begins at 12:00 p.m. ET" (16:00 UTC).^[1]
At an investor day at the New York Stock Exchange led by CEO Kirk Tanner, Hershey set out its ONE Hershey plan across sweet, salty and protein snacks. It targeted 2-4% organic sales growth, 15-20% adjusted EPS growth in 2027 and 6-8% from 2028.
0.67
Food09/24/2026@ConsumerDesk
Hershey Agrees to Buy Organic Snack Maker LesserEvil
19 East Hershey Building, 19, East Chocolate Avenue, Spring Creek Manor, Hershey, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 17036, United StatesHershey…
Starts 03/31/2025CONFIRMED 89% CONFIDENCE1.5 years agoStated as firm in Hershey's Q1 2025 Form 10-Q: "On March 31, 2025, we entered into a Merger Agreement to acquire LesserEvil, LLC"; the release, datelined "HERSHEY, Pa., April 3, 2025" (PR Newswire, 11:44 ET), announced that Hershey "has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire LesserEvil".^[1]
Hershey signed a merger agreement for LesserEvil, the maker of organic popcorn, puffs and curls cooked in coconut and avocado oil, to add a better-for-you brand beside SkinnyPop, Dot's Pretzels and Pirate's Booty. Hershey paid $769 million in cash at closing; The Wall Street Journal had put the deal at about $750 million.
$769.1M
0.67
Food09/15/2026@BuildDesk
Cadbury Opens Its Claremont Chocolate Factory on the Derwent
100 Cadbury Road, Claremont TAS 7011, AustraliaCadbury
Starts 10/21/1921CONFIRMED 88% CONFIDENCE104.9 years agoThe Glenorchy City Council's centenary history and Wikipedia's^[2] article on the factory both give October 21, 1921 as its official opening date.
Cadbury's first factory outside Britain officially opened at Claremont on Hobart's Derwent River on October 21, 1921, drawn by Tasmania's cheap hydroelectricity and reliable dairy supply. The site still turns local milk and sugar into millions of Easter eggs and bunnies each year.
0.66
Food09/24/2026@ConsumerDesk
Hershey Reports Q3 2026 Results
19 East Hershey Building, 19, East Chocolate Avenue, Spring Creek Manor, Hershey, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 17036, United StatesHershey…
Starts 10/29/2026 10:45AMESTIMATED 70% CONFIDENCEin 35 daysEstimated: Hershey lists no date yet; its Q3 2025 results came on "Thursday, October 30, 2025" (webcast notice) and every 2026 release so far went out on a Thursday at 06:45 ET (5 Feb, 30 Apr, 30 Jul), so the last Thursday of October, 29 Oct 2026, at 06:45 EDT (10:45 UTC).^[1]
Hershey's third-quarter 2026 results, the first test of its narrowed outlook for 4.5-5% sales growth and a 32.5-35% rebound in adjusted earnings per share as cocoa costs ease.
0.66
Food09/24/2026@ConsumerDesk
Hershey Q4 2024: Sales Up 8.7%, Sees 2025 EPS Down Mid-30% on Cocoa
Hershey…19 East Hershey Building, 19, East Chocolate Avenue, Spring Creek Manor, Hershey, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 17036, United States
Starts 02/06/2025 11:45AMCONFIRMED 88% CONFIDENCE1.6 years agoStated as firm: the release is datelined "HERSHEY, Pa., Feb. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/" and stamped 06:45 ET (11:45 UTC) on Hershey's newsroom feed; the 8-K carrying it was accepted by EDGAR at 11:50 UTC.^[1]
Hershey closed 2024 with fourth-quarter net sales up 8.7% to $2.89 billion and adjusted EPS up 33% to $2.69, then warned that surging cocoa prices would cut 2025 adjusted earnings per share by about a third on sales growth of at least 2%.
0.66
Food09/24/2026@ConsumerDesk
Hershey Raises Its Dividend to $1.452 After a Five-Quarter Freeze
19 East Hershey Building, 19, East Chocolate Avenue, Spring Creek Manor, Hershey, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 17036, United StatesHershey…
Starts 02/05/2026 12:00PMCONFIRMED 83% CONFIDENCE231 days agoStated as firm: the release is datelined "HERSHEY, Pa., Feb. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/" and stamped 07:00 ET (12:00 UTC); "The dividends were declared February 4, 2026".^[1]
Hershey lifted its quarterly dividend to $1.452 a share from $1.370, its first increase after holding the payout flat through the cocoa and tariff squeeze of 2025, alongside a forecast of a 30-35% earnings rebound in 2026.
0.66

13 months late

Stated as firm in the Governor's release dated "April 16, 2025": "Today, Governor Josh Shapiro joined Michele Buck, President and CEO of The Hershey Company^[2] ... to open the new state-of-the-art Reese Chocolate Processing (RCP) facility"; Food Business News^[4] confirms the ribbon-cutting "on Hershey's campus on April 16".

First promised for 03/31/2024; now 13 months later. Stated: Food Business News says "Hershey originally had projected the new Reese's facility to go into operation in early 2024" (Hershey's own blog later said "when it opens in mid-2024"); it opened on 16 April 2025, a little over a year late.

Start: Apr 16, 202540% CONFIDENCE Low confidencefrom the source

Hershey Opens Its Reese Chocolate Processing Plant in Hershey, PA

Hershey's first new factory in its hometown in more than 30 years, a 250,000-square-foot plant that makes the chocolate for Reese's, Kit Kat, Symphony and Special Dark, opened with Governor Josh Shapiro. It is Hershey's first fully integrated digital plant and brings more than 125 jobs.

Governor Josh Shapiro joined Hershey CEO Michele Buck and elected leaders on 16 April 2025 to open the Reese Chocolate Processing (RCP) facility, the first new manufacturing plant Hershey has built at its Dauphin County headquarters in over three decades^[1][4]
The plant sits on a 55-acre site between the Hershey Technical Center and the existing Reese's plant at 1000 Reese Avenue, and supports more than 125 new jobs on top of the 6,000-plus Hershey already has in Pennsylvania^[1]
Built under the code name "Project Milton" from late 2022, it was first projected to open in early 2024, then mid-2024^[2][4]
It is part of Hershey's multi-year, $1 billion investment that adds 13 production lines and upgrades 11 more across its North American plants^[1][3]
The state says its permitting help, including the NPDES permit, let the plant open in less than two and a half years^[1]
Hershey said it would hire about 125 people for the opening and in time double that number as production grows^[2]

Notable features

250,000-square-foot chocolate processing plant on a 55-acre site, operating as an extension of the Reese plant^[1][2]
Hershey's first fully integrated digital manufacturing facility^[1][4]
Makes the chocolate used in Reese's, KitKat, Symphony, Special Dark and Hershey's^[1][4]
Limestone elements matching the original factory and brown Hershey-bar-shaped panels on the facade^[2]

@BuildDesk

References 562% CONFIDENCE

The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.

[1]40%
pa.gov/governor/newsroom/2025-press-releases/gov-shapiro-hershey-reese-chocolate-processing-facility-streamli
pa.gov· Posted Sep 24, 2026· Starts Apr 16, 2025 ✓· 42% of score
Stated as firm in the Governor's release dated "April 16, 2025": "Today, Governor Josh Shapiro joined Michele Buck, President and CEO of The Hershey Company^[2] ... to open the new state-of-the-art Reese Chocolate Processing (RCP) facility"; Food Business News^[4] confirms the ribbon-cutting "on Hershey's campus on April 16".
[2]75%
Hershey Unwraps its Latest Capacity: A New Reese Plant Extension in Hershey, PA
thehersheycompany.com· Added Sep 24, 2026· 42% of score
Hershey's own 2023 blog by the Project Milton lead: construction since late 2022, opening planned for mid-2024, about 125 hires then double over time, facade details.^[1]
[3]85%
Hershey opens new chocolate plant as part of $1B supply chain upgrade
fooddive.com· Published Apr 23, 2025· 6% of score
Food Dive: opened last week, first new plant in Hershey in 30+ years, nearly three years to build, part of the $1 billion programme.
[4]90%
Hershey launches new Reese's chocolate processing plant
foodbusinessnews.net· Published Apr 21, 2025· 6% of score
Food Business News: ribbon-cutting with Michele Buck and Governor Shapiro on April 16; 250,000 sq ft at 1000 Reese Ave.; brands served; originally projected for early 2024.
[5]80%
Governor Shapiro Joins the Hershey Company to Open New Reese Chocolate Processing Facility
dced.pa.gov· Published Apr 17, 2025· 6% of score
Pennsylvania DCED's copy of the state release with the site, jobs and $1 billion programme figures.^[1]

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1Hershey Opens Its Reese Chocolate Processing Plant in Hershey, PAstart was $164.23

Infrastructure09/24/2026@BuildDesk
Ferrero Opens Its First North American Chocolate Factory in Bloomington
Ferrero Chocolate Processing Facility, 2501 Beich Road, Bloomington, Illinois 61705, United StatesFerrero
Starts 05/07/2024 4:38PMCONFIRMED 90% CONFIDENCE2.4 years agoThe release stamped May 07, 2024, 12:38 ET says Ferrero North America 'today celebrated the opening of its first chocolate processing facility in North America and third globally'.^[1]
A 70,000 sq ft, $75 million chocolate processing plant on Ferrero's Bloomington, Illinois campus, the group's third chocolate factory worldwide and its first outside Europe, making chocolate for Kinder, Ferrero Rocher, Butterfinger and Crunch.
$75M
0.74
Food09/24/2026@ConsumerDesk
Reese's Oreo Cup and Oreo Reese's Cookie Go on Sale
Hershey…19 East Hershey Building, 19, East Chocolate Avenue, Spring Creek Manor, Hershey, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 17036, United States
Starts 08/18/2025CONFIRMED 86% CONFIDENCE1.1 years agoStated as firm in Hershey's release (30 Jul 2025): "The new REESE'S OREO Cup will be available for presale on The Hershey's Store starting August 18" and "The OREO REESE'S Cookies will be available for presale starting on August 18".^[1]
Hershey and Mondelez's two-way mash-up of America's No. 1 candy and No. 1 cookie opened for presale on The Hershey's Store, reaching stores nationwide in September; the cup became Reese's top innovation of 2025.
0.72
Food09/24/2026@ConsumerDesk
Hershey Vows to Put Real Chocolate Back in Reese's After Backlash
Hershey…19 East Hershey Building, 19, East Chocolate Avenue, Spring Creek Manor, Hershey, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 17036, United States
Starts 03/31/2026CONFIRMED 84% CONFIDENCE177 days agoStated as firm, per Deseret^[1] News (2 Apr 2026): "Hershey announced Tuesday it will return to using 'classic milk and dark chocolate recipes' in all Reese's and Hershey's products by 2027. CEO Kirk Tanner told [Bloomberg] on Tuesday" - Tuesday was 31 March 2026; NBC News^[4] (1 Apr) has Brad Reese reacting "on Wednesday".
After Brad Reese, grandson of the cup's inventor, accused Hershey of swapping milk chocolate for cheaper compound coatings, CEO Kirk Tanner said the company will return to classic milk and dark chocolate recipes by 2027.
0.71
Labour09/24/2026@EconDesk
Hershey's AAA Automation and Job-Cut Programme Wraps Up
Hershey…19 East Hershey Building, 19, East Chocolate Avenue, Spring Creek Manor, Hershey, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 17036, United States
Starts 12/31/2026ESTIMATED 59% CONFIDENCEin 98 daysEstimated from the year: Hershey's Q2 2026 10-Q says the AAA Initiative's costs run "from inception through 2026" and "At the conclusion of the program in 2026, ongoing annual savings are expected to be approximately $400,000" (thousands); a bare year is taken as its last day.^[1]
Hershey's Advancing Agility & Automation Initiative, which cut jobs and automated processes from 2024, is due to finish at the end of 2026 at a cost of $200-250 million. It is expected to leave about $400 million of annual savings.
$225M
0.70
Food09/15/2026@BuildDesk
Heinz Opens Its Kitt Green Factory in Wigan
Kitt Green, Orrell, Wigan WN5 0LU, UKHeinz
Starts 05/21/1959CONFIRMED 78% CONFIDENCE67.3 years agoWikipedia's^[3] H. J. Heinz, Wigan article dates the Kitt Green factory's opening to 21 May 1959.
H.J. Heinz opens its Kitt Green factory near Wigan, which grows into the company's largest food processing plant in the world and Europe's biggest.
0.70
Food09/24/2026@ConsumerDesk
Reese's Minis and Fast Break Switch Back to Real Milk Chocolate
Hershey…19 East Hershey Building, 19, East Chocolate Avenue, Spring Creek Manor, Hershey, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 17036, United States
Starts 01/01/2027ESTIMATED 69% CONFIDENCEin 99 daysEstimated from NBC News^[1] (1 Apr 2026): "Starting next year, Tanner said candies inspired by the originals - like the 'mini Reese's cups and shapes,' as well as the Reese's Fast Break candy bar - will also be made with real milk chocolate"; a change starting in 2027 takes its first day, and Fox Business^[3] says the transition comes "by 2027".
From 2027 Hershey says mini Reese's cups and shapes and the Fast Break bar will be coated in real milk chocolate instead of compound coating, the change promised after Brad Reese's recipe complaint.
0.68
Food09/24/2026@ConsumerDesk
Hershey Unveils Its Next Generation Snacking Strategy at 2026 Investor Day
Hershey…New York Stock Exchange, 11, Wall Street, Financial District, Lower Manhattan, Manhattan, New York County, New York, 10271, United States
Starts 03/31/2026 4:00PMCONFIRMED 87% CONFIDENCE177 days agoStated as firm: Hershey's release of March 31, 2026 says it "is hosting its 2026 Investor Day today at the New York Stock Exchange" and "The meeting begins at 12:00 p.m. ET" (16:00 UTC).^[1]
At an investor day at the New York Stock Exchange led by CEO Kirk Tanner, Hershey set out its ONE Hershey plan across sweet, salty and protein snacks. It targeted 2-4% organic sales growth, 15-20% adjusted EPS growth in 2027 and 6-8% from 2028.
0.67
Food09/24/2026@ConsumerDesk
Hershey Agrees to Buy Organic Snack Maker LesserEvil
19 East Hershey Building, 19, East Chocolate Avenue, Spring Creek Manor, Hershey, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 17036, United StatesHershey…
Starts 03/31/2025CONFIRMED 89% CONFIDENCE1.5 years agoStated as firm in Hershey's Q1 2025 Form 10-Q: "On March 31, 2025, we entered into a Merger Agreement to acquire LesserEvil, LLC"; the release, datelined "HERSHEY, Pa., April 3, 2025" (PR Newswire, 11:44 ET), announced that Hershey "has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire LesserEvil".^[1]
Hershey signed a merger agreement for LesserEvil, the maker of organic popcorn, puffs and curls cooked in coconut and avocado oil, to add a better-for-you brand beside SkinnyPop, Dot's Pretzels and Pirate's Booty. Hershey paid $769 million in cash at closing; The Wall Street Journal had put the deal at about $750 million.
$769.1M
0.67
Food09/15/2026@BuildDesk
Cadbury Opens Its Claremont Chocolate Factory on the Derwent
100 Cadbury Road, Claremont TAS 7011, AustraliaCadbury
Starts 10/21/1921CONFIRMED 88% CONFIDENCE104.9 years agoThe Glenorchy City Council's centenary history and Wikipedia's^[2] article on the factory both give October 21, 1921 as its official opening date.
Cadbury's first factory outside Britain officially opened at Claremont on Hobart's Derwent River on October 21, 1921, drawn by Tasmania's cheap hydroelectricity and reliable dairy supply. The site still turns local milk and sugar into millions of Easter eggs and bunnies each year.
0.66
Food09/24/2026@ConsumerDesk
Hershey Reports Q3 2026 Results
19 East Hershey Building, 19, East Chocolate Avenue, Spring Creek Manor, Hershey, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 17036, United StatesHershey…
Starts 10/29/2026 10:45AMESTIMATED 70% CONFIDENCEin 35 daysEstimated: Hershey lists no date yet; its Q3 2025 results came on "Thursday, October 30, 2025" (webcast notice) and every 2026 release so far went out on a Thursday at 06:45 ET (5 Feb, 30 Apr, 30 Jul), so the last Thursday of October, 29 Oct 2026, at 06:45 EDT (10:45 UTC).^[1]
Hershey's third-quarter 2026 results, the first test of its narrowed outlook for 4.5-5% sales growth and a 32.5-35% rebound in adjusted earnings per share as cocoa costs ease.
0.66
Food09/24/2026@ConsumerDesk
Hershey Q4 2024: Sales Up 8.7%, Sees 2025 EPS Down Mid-30% on Cocoa
Hershey…19 East Hershey Building, 19, East Chocolate Avenue, Spring Creek Manor, Hershey, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 17036, United States
Starts 02/06/2025 11:45AMCONFIRMED 88% CONFIDENCE1.6 years agoStated as firm: the release is datelined "HERSHEY, Pa., Feb. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/" and stamped 06:45 ET (11:45 UTC) on Hershey's newsroom feed; the 8-K carrying it was accepted by EDGAR at 11:50 UTC.^[1]
Hershey closed 2024 with fourth-quarter net sales up 8.7% to $2.89 billion and adjusted EPS up 33% to $2.69, then warned that surging cocoa prices would cut 2025 adjusted earnings per share by about a third on sales growth of at least 2%.
0.66
Food09/24/2026@ConsumerDesk
Hershey Raises Its Dividend to $1.452 After a Five-Quarter Freeze
19 East Hershey Building, 19, East Chocolate Avenue, Spring Creek Manor, Hershey, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 17036, United StatesHershey…
Starts 02/05/2026 12:00PMCONFIRMED 83% CONFIDENCE231 days agoStated as firm: the release is datelined "HERSHEY, Pa., Feb. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/" and stamped 07:00 ET (12:00 UTC); "The dividends were declared February 4, 2026".^[1]
Hershey lifted its quarterly dividend to $1.452 a share from $1.370, its first increase after holding the payout flat through the cocoa and tariff squeeze of 2025, alongside a forecast of a 30-35% earnings rebound in 2026.
0.66

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