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Hershey Media Report 9/16/16
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Getting ‘Even Tougher’
Sep 14, 2016 | The Hummelstown Sun
By Charles Huth
MHS and the Next AG? The Sun sat down with Montgomery County Senator John Rafferty on Sept. 8. Why? Rafferty is the Republican candidate for Pennsylvania Attorney General (AG), and if he were to win, he’d have a key role to play in the future of the Hershey Trust Company and Milton Hershey School (MHS). -
Mondelez to invest in company's future through R&D facilities
Sep 15, 2016 | Food Dive
By Carolyn Heneghan
Mondelez will invest $65 million in building a global network of Research, Development & Quality (RDQ) "hubs," according to a news release. To serve the company's growth and innovation needs, Mondelez will redesign its network of both new and existing facilities. All of them will be operational by late 2018. -
Mondelez To Bring Oreo Candy Bars To The US
Sep 14, 2016 | Hungry Forever
Brief mention of the rejected bid from Mondelez in an article about Mondelez's plans for growth. Relevant portion highlighted below.
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Sep 14, 2016 | The Hummelstown Sun
By Charles Huth
MHS and the Next AG?
The Sun sat down with Montgomery County Senator John Rafferty on Sept. 8.
Why?
Rafferty is the Republican candidate for Pennsylvania Attorney General (AG), and if he were to win, he’d have a key role to play in the future of the Hershey Trust Company and Milton Hershey School (MHS).
“The attorney general’s office has oversight of charitable trusts and non-profits in the commonwealth and I believe the attorney general’s office should be aggressively involved in making sure they are following their charters and their bylaws … and should step in when they’re not,” Rafferty said.
Rafferty said there is a belief that some non-profits in the commonwealth are no longer non-profits.
“I believe that the AG’s office should have the ability to be involved in there to make sure that the original purpose, the original intent, of that trust or that non-profit is being followed through and the money that was set aside … is to be used for what it was intended to be used for,” Rafferty said.
Rafferty said that he does not have access to the AG’s files but from what he has seen reported, it appears MHS has used the money in ways not identified in the original charter by giving large salaries to board members and taking over country clubs.
Rafferty said the intent of the charter was to educate the children and provide them with, “a first-class facility for them to live and be educated in.”
Many people in the Philadelphia area feel Girard College has a similar mission. Would Rafferty support an arrangement where MHS and The Hershey Trust Company supported Girard College?
“I don’t believe it’s the AG’s position to advocate for one of those positions,” Rafferty said.
Rafferty said if Girard College and MHS decided it was a worthwhile venture to support the college, the attorney general’s office would have to be convinced that the money would still be available to educate children who couldn’t afford a good education at MHS. He said his job as the attorney general would be to review the agreement.
In 2013, the attorney general reached an agreement with MHS that included limitations on board compensation and membership that was not followed. MHS came to another agreement with the attorney general this year. The new agreement requires MHS to submit the name and background of a potential board member 30 days in advance.
Rafferty said, if elected, he would immediately correspond with MHS if there was a problem with the candidate and explain his opposition in writing.
“If the board does so, then you look at other ways that you can go about getting that person off the board or make the board adhere to what you want it to do,” Rafferty said.
“I’ll go after those individuals to make sure they put the right people on there to adhere to what theHershey Trust is supposed to do,” Rafferty said. “And if we have to make changes going forward, we’re going to become even tougher with the negotiations.”
Selling the Company?
Even though Mondelez has abandoned its bid to take over The Hershey Company, another attempt is always possible. If that happens and if the MHS/HTC board endorses a deal, the AG would likely need to approve the sale.
Rafferty said there were many factors to consider about a sale, including the impact on the area, how it would impact MHS and if the company was just buying a name with no intention of employing people in the area.
“I think they’re all concerns that the attorney general’s office looks at because the Hershey name is more than just the School …,” Rafferty said. “It’s also that whole area, that whole community … and I think that has to be considered in any decision.”
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Mondelez to invest in company's future through R&D facilities
Sep 15, 2016 | Food Dive
By Carolyn Heneghan
Dive Brief:
Mondelez will invest $65 million in building a global network of Research, Development & Quality (RDQ)"hubs," according to a news release.To serve the company's growth and innovation needs, Mondelez will redesign its network of both new and existing facilities. All of them will be operational by late 2018. Mondelez also hopes to "recruit, retain and develop" talent while solidifying a "stronger presence" in developed and emerging markets, the company said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
The food and beverage industry saw a flurry of R&D facility activity last year, particularly the construction or renovation of new R&D plants. It's no surprise that manufacturers are investing more in R&D, especially as top-line growth sags and cost-cutting initiatives bring in additional investing opportunities.
Mondelez has released a stream of major company announcements involving the expansion or evolution of the company's portfolio and operations. Last month, Mondelez said it was abandoning its bid for Hershey due primarily to recent shareholder changes. That made experts question how Mondelez would break into the U.S. chocolate market.
Last week, the company answered those questions by detailing an expansion plan for chocolate in the U.S. It includes pairing its Oreo brand with iconic European chocolate brand Milka and expanding its sustainably-sourced Green & Black's premium chocolate brand. These cross-category brand partnerships and brand expansions will require a significant R&D investment, and these new hubs will likely be at the center of the action.
In July, Mondelez also announced that it would boost its presence in the Chinese market, particularly its Milka chocolate brand and e-commerce efforts. China is a key market for Mondelez, whose sales fell in all regional markets but North America last quarter, per the company's latest earnings release.
Mondelez has the opportunity to build on the e-commerce network it already established in the area with Alibaba and the company's store on Tmall.com. But Mondelez will have a better vantage point with its Suzhou, China, RDQ facility slated to open in the next few years.
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Mondelez To Bring Oreo Candy Bars To The US
Sep 14, 2016 | Hungry Forever
There’s no end to experiments with Oreos, Mondelez’ much loved biscuits brand. The past few years have seen Swedish Fish flavoured Oreos, candy corn Oreos, deep fried Oreos and even Oreo cheesecake. Now, Mondelez International is bringing a new Oreo treat to the US; Oreo candy bars.
Oreo candy bars are not a new invention. Milka, a European chocolate brand and Oreo collaborated to make the candy bars which have an Oreo in the center covered with crème and covered with milk chocolate.
These candy bars were sold in 20 countries internationally as well as on Amazon.
However, now Mondelez will officially bring the swet treats to the US, where they will be available across most stores by 2017.
“Nowhere is Oreo stronger than in the U.S.,” said Tim Cofer, the company’s chief growth officer. “We think this will drive the mainstream chocolate category in the U.S.”
This comes after Mondelez’ attempts to takeover and merge with Hershey’s, which would have made Mondelez the largest candy brand in the world.
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