Lancaster Soft Crèmes () are a
caramel
Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard.
The process of caramelizatio ...
or milk-based candy produced by
The Hershey Company. First launched in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
in 2013 as a "milk candy", it was introduced into the United States as a caramel candy the next year. The candy was Hershey's first entirely new product in 30 years.
History
The crèmes were inspired by similar caramels produced by the first candy company founded by
Milton S. Hershey
Milton Snavely Hershey (September 13, 1857 – October 13, 1945) was an American chocolatier, businessman, and philanthropist.
Trained in the confectionery business, Hershey pioneered the manufacture of caramel, using fresh milk. He launched t ...
—the
Lancaster Caramel Company.
Built upon the reputation of Lancaster Caramel, Hershey eventually was able to found The Hershey Company. The new company initially supplied the chocolate needed to coat the caramels produced at Lancaster before the more famous
Hershey bar was developed.
Lancaster Soft Crèmes were the first brand to be introduced in 30 years by Hershey that was neither an expansion of an existing brand, nor an acquisition from another company.
It was also the first to be launched outside of the United States, with the roll out first in
Wuhan,
Hangzhou and
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...
in May 2013; the U.S. launch occurred in February 2014.
Rather than using a
test market, the two versions of the caramels were developed separately to cater to the different tastes of consumers in China and the U.S.
The Lancaster product in China is a more traditional milk-based candy popular in Asia, while the U.S. product is caramel-based with a more "sweet and salty" taste.
Lancaster Soft Crèmes are produced in Canada for the U.S., and a local confectionery in
Hunan is used for the Chinese market.
Varieties
China:
* Milk
* Caramel
* Strawberry
United States:
* Butterscotch & Caramel
* Caramel
* Coffee & Caramel
* Sea Salt & Caramel
* Vanilla & Caramel
* Vanilla & Raspberry
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancaster Soft Cremes
Products introduced in 2013
The Hershey Company brands