The move comes as China increasingly becomes a focus for U.S.-based consumer goods companies that are seeking to offset slower growth in developed markets like North America. Hershey, which makes candy such as Kit Kat, Twizzlers and Hershey's Kisses, said its most recent quarter that new products in both the U.S. and overseas helped its net income rise 18 percent.
"China and the U.S. are major focus markets for the company," said Steven Schiller, senior vice president of sweets and refreshment. China is the second largest sweets market behind the U.S., he added.The Lancaster name stems from founder Milton Hershey's first candy company, The Lancaster Caramel Co. founded in 1886. And the candy comes after two-and-a-half years of research into consumer tastes and the global confectionary market.