Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Question: What candy company did Milton Hershey found and later sell for $1 million before building the Hershey Chocolate Company?

Answer: Milton Hershey founded the Lancaster Caramel Company in 1886 after several earlier candy ventures had failed, and it grew into a booming operation employing more than 1,300 workers. After becoming fascinated with chocolate-making at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, he sold the caramel business to the American Caramel Company for $1 million in 1900, keeping his chocolate-making equipment to focus on mass-producing affordable milk chocolate.