Has Hershey Banned the Sale of Cadbury in the U.S.?
According to the story, the chocolate giant, Hershey, has banned the sale of Cadbury and other European chocolate products from the U.S. market.
People have been outraged and Hershey has, no doubt, been flooded with angry emails and texts decrying the arrogant move.
So, lets take a look at the real story behind the ban.
Anytime I read a story that is just too outlandish to be true, I always consult on of my favorite websites and that, my friends, is Snopes.
According to Snopes this story is partly true and partly false. It gets kind of complicated, but it breaks down like this:
Hershey has no power to 'ban' any product from being imported. While they are a giant corporation, they have no regulatory powers at all. Having said that, they do have a right to protect their trademark and that is what is behind this controversy.
According to Snopes:
...while Hershey's hasn't "banned" imports of chocolate from the UK, the company has confirmed a settlement that will result in the effective discontinuation of imports of some Cadbury brand chocolates and some other UK-made confectionaries. Enterprising fans of British chocolate should still be able to procure their favored treats, but doing so is set to become much more difficult.
Hershey's can enforce the license it has to manufacture Cadbury chocolates in the U.S. and claim UK-made versions of those products violate the terms of that licensing agreement.
So, there you have the real story behind the dreaded 'Hershey Chocolate Ban.'