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