| Milk Duds | |
| Type: | Candy |
| Currentowner: | Highlander Partners / Iconic IP Interests[1] |
| Producedby: | The Hershey Company |
| Ambassador: | M.J. Holloway & Co. |
| Origin: | United States |
| Introduced: | [2] |
| Markets: | Worldwide |
| Tagline: | Chocolatey, Caramely, and Rich with Milk Chewy. Not Gooey. |
Milk Duds are a brand of candies made with chocolate, created in 1928 by Hoffman and Company of Chicago and now produced and marketed by The Hershey Company, under license from owners of the brand, Highlander Partners, a Dallas-based global private equity firm.
The candy, marketed in a yellow-orange theater-style box, is an irregularly shaped caramel disk with a confectionery chocolate coating of cocoa and vegetable oil.
At its original naming, according to Hershey, "milk" referred to the product's initial milk ingredient, and "dud" referred to failed attempts to create a spherical shape.
In 1928, Hoffman and Company of Chicago tried to manufacture a spherical, chocolate-covered caramel candy. Because they were unsuccessful in achieving the spherical shape, the candies were called "duds". This inspired the candy's name, "Milk Duds". In the same year, Holloway took over Hoffman and Company and the production of Milk Duds.[3]
In 1960 Holloway sold Hoffman and Co. to Beatrice Foods.
In 1986, Leaf purchased the Milk Duds business. In 1992, production of Milk Duds candy was moved to Leaf Candy Company's Robinson, Illinois plant.
In 1996, Leaf's North American confectionery operation was acquired by Hershey Foods Corporation of Hershey, Pennsylvania.
In 2018, Huhtamäki Oyj, a Finland-based food and beverage packaging company, sold ownership of Milk Duds to Highlander Partners, who licenses the candy to Hershey.[1]
In 2022, Milk Duds launched a web-based marketing campaign where the official website became a small overlay to view different social media sites in the main area.[4]
In 2008, the Hershey Company eliminated the recipe's relatively expensive cocoa butter, substituting cheaper oils in order to retain its then current price.[5]
Hershey's changed the description of the product and altered the packaging slightly, along with the ingredients. According to United States Food and Drug Administration food labeling laws, these modified recipes that do not contain cocoa butter can not be legally described as candy-coated in milk chocolate and are instead described as "chocolate candy," as having "chocolate coating" or as "candy made with chocolate and caramel."[6]
2024 ingredients
Vegetable Oil (one or more of the following)
Shea Oil
Safflower Oil
Dextrose
Nonfat Milk
Reduced Protein Whey
Chocolate
Contains 2% or Less of:
Mono and Diglycerides
Whey
Confectioner’s Glaze
Salt
Tapioca Dextrin
Vanillin (artificial flavoring)