# Why no generic Hershey bars? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2019, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351 "2019-06-11T02:06:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/1 "2019-06-11T02:06:52Z")
This pertains to the US only, I guess, because as I understand it, there are generic candy bars in Europe. Anyhoo, I was in the cheap-o grocery store the other day, and there was a display promoting s’mores featuring Ginger Evans (store brand) marshmallows, some other store brand of graham crackers, and Hershey bars. I like to do atypical s’mores, so I bought chocolate-striped shortbread cookies that were clearly a generic version of Keebler Fudge Stripes. There seem to be generic or store brand equivalents to damned near everything except candy bars. Why is that? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/2 "2019-06-11T02:14:42Z")
Because Hershey bars ARE generic. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/3 "2019-06-11T02:20:46Z")
No, no, no. You can’t generic perfection. You can get cheaper chocolate bars. But why would you? Hershey bars are cheapish. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/4 "2019-06-11T03:32:44Z")
Try a dollar store. They probably have generic chocolate from Heshey or Himshey or some similar brand. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/5 "2019-06-11T03:42:19Z")
I"ve seen many generic chocolate bars in my day. However none taste like a hersheys. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/6 "2019-06-11T03:47:55Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > This pertains to the US only, I guess, because as I understand it, there are generic candy bars in Europe. > > Anyhoo, I was in the cheap-o grocery store the other day, and there was a display promoting s’mores featuring Ginger Evans (store brand) marshmallows, some other store brand of graham crackers, and Hershey bars. I like to do atypical s’mores, so I bought chocolate-striped shortbread cookies that were clearly a generic version of Keebler Fudge Stripes. > > There seem to be generic or store brand equivalents to damned near everything except candy bars. > > Why is that? C’mon, you can say Save-A-Lot here- I kid of like it better than Aldi because the produce section is more like a regular store’s produce section than Aldi’s. Also, I’ll go along with others and say Hershey bars are close to lousy. Anyway, Dollar General tried selling a line of knockoff candy bars about ten years ago. The Mounds and Butterfinger types were just fine. It didn’t last long. My guess is people don’t buy candy bars often enough to want to try to save money on them. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/7 "2019-06-11T04:05:22Z")
I’ve seen store brand chocolate bars several places, if that’s what you mean. Wegmans comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/8 "2019-06-11T05:17:12Z")
Interesting question. When I googled generic chocolate, I mostly got name brands - and not just ads. Then we have a [warning against it](https://www.mashed.com/86810/food-never-buy-generic/). (I’ve see several similar postings.) Basically it said that generic chocolate isn’t really chocolate, and it sucks. I’ve been to Hershey’s Canada several times when you can see the line running, and I’ve never seen them run non-Hershey labels. That is where generic stuff that is good should come from. The vegetable cannery where my wife worked for a while ran off-label product after the best of the product got used for their label. Perhaps the price point of Hershey bars is low enough that there isn’t room for anyone to get in underneath it. There is plenty of room for more expensive chocolate after all. The Ferry Building in San Francisco has two chocolate shops and a nice chocolate section in the grocery, and there are tons of expensive labels. So I’d say the reason is not much demand for cheap stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/9 "2019-06-11T05:47:18Z")
It’s pretty easy to make cookies from scratch. Chocolate, on the other hand, requires special tools and techniques, even for a cheap brand like Hershey’s. So there are lots of commercial bakeries that can make generic cookies, but few chocolate makers than can make generic chocolate. That is, there is a higher barrier to entry for a chocolate company than there is for a bakery. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/10 "2019-06-11T07:30:25Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > It’s pretty easy to make cookies from scratch. Chocolate, on the other hand, requires special tools and techniques, even for a cheap brand like Hershey’s. So there are lots of commercial bakeries that can make generic cookies, but few chocolate makers than can make generic chocolate. That is, there is a higher barrier to entry for a chocolate company than there is for a bakery. Maybe for mass production, but we went to a chocolate tasting at a company who was very small, and had its own island off the coast of Africa. Given the large number of premium brands I know of (my wife is a chocolate junkie) I can’t imagine it is that hard to enter the market at an elevated price point. Lowballing it for a generic, I can see it. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/11 "2019-06-11T08:28:30Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > It’s pretty easy to make cookies from scratch. Chocolate, on the other hand, requires special tools and techniques, even for a cheap brand like Hershey’s. So there are lots of commercial bakeries that can make generic cookies, but few chocolate makers than can make generic chocolate. That is, there is a higher barrier to entry for a chocolate company than there is for a bakery. that’s why generic chocolate is a “chocolate flavored” substance Go to any department store especially around holidays and find things made by “Palmer” Franklin" and 5 or 6 others sometimes you can find their stuff in the “bulk item” barrels where you buy it by the pound … and it’s crap tasting ive even bought “chocolate” flavored baking squares that tasted worse than ass Its why Nestle and Hershey even mars and other candy bar companies have “made with real cocoa” on the labels ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/12 "2019-06-11T12:31:50Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > It’s pretty easy to make cookies from scratch. Chocolate, on the other hand, requires special tools and techniques, even for a cheap brand like Hershey’s. So there are lots of commercial bakeries that can make generic cookies, but few chocolate makers than can make generic chocolate. That is, there is a higher barrier to entry for a chocolate company than there is for a bakery. This makes the most sense to me (although I would love to see some evidence). I see all kinds of high-end chocolate bars (the $3 a bar type) but no generic. (Actually, I have now learned that what I’m talking about is called in the industry “private label.”) I’m not looking to buy generic nor to debate the quality of Hershey’s. Just curious as to why there are not Great Value or Our Family or Kirkland milk chocolate bars or chocolate-covered wafer bars or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/13 "2019-06-11T12:55:33Z")
Cocoa is a relatively scarce resource that’s expensive to harvest and grows only in a small number of locations. Perhaps there’s no profit in an off-brand chocolate? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/14 "2019-06-11T13:11:08Z")
[Moderating] Since this is about food, let’s move it from GQ to CS. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/15 "2019-06-11T13:14:52Z")
Around here, the standard school fundraiser is Malley’s bars, a local company that makes bars (or other shapes) of just plain chocolate (or just plain chocolate with added nuts, or whatever). They’re not exactly high-end, but they’re still more expensive than Hershey’s (though some of that is undoubtedly the fundraising markup). And there are plenty of companies that make “chocolate flavored confection”, or some such, that’s cheaper than Hershey’s, using other fats in place of the cocoa butter. But they’re not allowed to call that “chocolate”. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/16 "2019-06-11T20:44:35Z")
Did some searching on cheap, large chocolate bars on Amazon. For 16 oz: Stover’s $5.99, $0.37/ounce. (But $8.95 shipping. :eek:) Hershey’s $14.49, $0.91/Ounce. Free Prime delivery, comes with cold packs. But note that Hershey’s 4.4 ounce $1.69, $0.38/ounce. So get 4 of those and pay less. OTOH, it’s Amazon Prime Fresh. If you go with 3rd parties it’s almost $8 each. Did see anything else in single chocolate bars in this price range. Didn’t easily see anything competitive at Walmart with free pickup. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/17 "2019-06-12T00:05:17Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Because Hershey bars ARE generic. No. Hershey’s is ubiquitous (in the US, at least), but it’s not generic. Hershey’s has a very distinct flavor and mouthfeel compared to other chocolates. If you’re looking for generic, try Dove or Cadbury, which are good quality, but not distinctive. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/18 "2019-06-12T00:41:04Z")
In marketing, “generic” means “unbranded.” Hershey’s is a brand, as are Dove and Cadbury. There are also house brands such as Lucerne and Primo Taglio (for Albertsons stores). My local Safeway and Lucky stores sell cookies and pastries made in their own bakeries, with little or no branding on the package. They don’t sell any unbranded chocolate, nor do they sell any house brand chocolate. Trader Joe’s does sell a lot of house-brand knockoff products. Their Boffo bar is similar to Snickers, and their Candy Coated Chocolate Drops are like M&M’s. TJ’s is different from many other grocery store chains in that most of the products they carry have Trader Joe’s branding. They don’t actually make the products themselves - they pay a manufacturer to make them using TJ’s packaging. Is that the sort of thing the OP is looking for? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/19 "2019-06-12T00:41:40Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > No. Hershey’s is ubiquitous (in the US, at least), but it’s not generic. Hershey’s has a very distinct flavor and mouthfeel compared to other chocolates. If you’re looking for generic, try Dove or Cadbury, which are good quality, but not distinctive. Yes, Hershey’s has a distinctively disgusting flavor. Even if you like Hershey, Dove and Cadbury are both positioned at a more premium market position. Btw, Cadbury chocolate is made by Hershey in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351/20 "2019-06-12T02:00:59Z")
FWIW Aldi features Choceur brand chocolate bars which are inexpensive and pretty good. Re. Hershey, for some reason their chocolate crispy bars which go by the name “Krackel” are only available in bags of mixed miniatures. I wish I could buy full sized Krackel bars. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-generic-hershey-bars/835351.md?page=2)