Hershey’s in import ban

American importers of British and other foreign-made chocolate have agreed to desist after legal threats by Hershey’s.

Let’s Buy British Imports (LBB) will stop importing all Cadbury’s chocolate made overseas as well as Nestlé’s KitKat bars made in the UK; Toffee Crisps, which, because of their orange packaging, and yellow-lined brown script, too closely resemble Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups; Yorkie chocolate bars, which infringe on the York peppermint patty; and Maltesers.

A representative for Hershey’s, Jeff Beckman, says LBB and others were importing products not intended for sale in the US, infringing on its trademark and trade dress licensing. 

For example, Hershey’s has a licensing agreement to manufacture Cadbury’s chocolate in the US with similar packaging used overseas, though with a different recipe.

“It is important for Hershey to protect its trademark rights and to prevent consumers from being confused or misled when they see a product name or product package that is confusingly similar to a Hershey name or trade dress,” Mr Beckman says.

But this caused an outrage among chocolate-lovers, who say it is the difference in taste that is the issue.

UK chocolate has a higher fat content; the first ingredient listed on a British Cadbury’s Dairy Milk is milk.

In an American-made Cadbury’s bar, the first ingredient is sugar.

American Cadbury bars also include PGPR (polyglycerol polyricinoleate) and soy lecithin, both emulsifiers that reduce the viscosity of chocolate, giving it a longer shelf life. 

British Cadbury bars used vegetable fats and different emulsifiers. This makes it slightly fudgier, allowing for a creamier taste and texture. 

The American Dairy Milk bar left a less pleasing coating and somewhat of a stale aftertaste, these consumers say.

One retailer of British goods in New York says she imagines she will go out of business soon.

“Cadbury’s is about half of my business. I don’t know how we’ll survive.”

She says she has tried to import chocolate herself but it required dealing with the Food and Drug Administration, as well as Customs and the country’s Department of Agriculture, which got to be very complicated.

“It’s just another thing to make everybody miserable,” says Nicky Perry, owner of another British specialist store, Tea & Sympathy. “Why are we having a fight about chocolate? I mean, chocolate!”

In the suit against LLB, Hershey states that it holds exclusive rights to sell its own versions of Creme Eggs, Maltesers and Rolo chocolates under the same names.