Acquisition of barkTHINS snacking chocolate to assist Hershey as it looks to expand its mass premium offerings.

The Hershey Co. has purchased Ripple Brand Collective LLC, a privately held company based in Congers, N.Y., maker of barkTHINS snacking chocolate brand.

“This acquisition is a great addition to our Hershey chocolate portfolio and enables us to expand our mass premium offerings into this growing and on-trend category,” said Michele Buck, president, North America, The Hershey Co. “Since its launch in 2013, barkTHINS has quickly become a favorite snack brand due to its commitment to using simple ingredients, fair trade cocoa, non-GMO certification, and no artificial flavors or preservatives. barkTHINS is a very attractive and uniquely-crafted brand that essentially created a new form of chocolate snacking. Made with high-quality dark chocolate, nuts and other ingredients, barkTHINS addresses key consumer trends, such as premium, high quality ingredients and snacking. We look forward to building barkTHINS by leveraging Hershey’s scale at retail.”

“We’re proud of the rapid development of the brand since our launch in 2013 and look forward to the next phase of accelerated growth that Hershey can provide,” said Scott Semel, founder and CEO, Ripple Brand Collective LLC. “Our unique proposition, brand equity, and outstanding team give us confidence that there is tremendous upside for barkTHINS with a confectionery leader like Hershey.”

The barkTHINS brand is largely sold in the U.S. in take-home resealable packages and is available in the club channel as well as select natural and conventional grocers. Annual net sales of the business in 2016 are expected to be in the $65 million to $75 million range. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.