Milk Duds
Irregular chocolate-coated caramel candies since 1928.
via Wikipedia: Milk Duds · see source
Milk Duds are a chocolate-coated caramel candy produced by the Hershey Company under license from Highlander Partners. Originally created in 1928 by Hoffman and Company of Chicago, the candy's name derives from the failed attempt to make spherical candies, with 'milk' referring to the initial milk ingredient and 'dud' to the irregular shape. They are sold in a golden-yellow theatre-style box.
Quick Facts
- Current owner
- Highlander Partners; Iconic IP Interests
- Produced by
- The Hershey Company
- Ambassador
- M. J. Holloway & Co.
- Origin
- United States
- Introduced
- 1928
- Markets
- Worldwide
Facts from the source article.
History
Hoffman and Company of Chicago attempted to produce a spherical chocolate-covered caramel candy in 1928 but failed, leading to the name Milk Duds. That same year, Holloway took over Hoffman and Company and the candy's production. In 1960, Holloway sold the business to Beatrice Foods. Leaf purchased the Milk Duds business in 1986, moving production to its Robinson, Illinois plant in 1992. Hershey Foods Corporation acquired Leaf's North American confectionery operation in 1996. In 2018, Huhtamäki Oyj sold ownership to Highlander Partners, who licenses the candy to Hershey. A web-based marketing campaign launched in 2022 featured the official website as a small overlay for viewing social media sites.
Ingredients
In 2008, Hershey replaced cocoa butter with cheaper oils and removed milk, substituting VersiLac, a dairy solids solution, to maintain profitability. The product's description and packaging changed accordingly; under FDA labeling laws, a coating without cocoa butter cannot be called milk chocolate, so it is described as 'chocolate candy' or 'candy made with chocolate and caramel.' The 2024 ingredients include corn syrup, sugar, various vegetable oils (palm, shea, sunflower, palm kernel, safflower), dextrose, nonfat milk, reduced protein whey, chocolate, and 2% or less of brown sugar, mono and diglycerides, whey, baking soda, confectioner’s glaze, salt, tapioca dextrin, lecithin, and vanillin.
More in The Hershey Company Brands
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced