The Hershey Company invests in Irish protein bar maker Fulfil and Blue Stripes

 

Founded in 2016, Dublin-headquartered Fulfil sells eleven snack bar flavours and claims to have close to 100% distribution within retail, convenience, petrol and sports nutrition channels in Ireland. According to the brand, the partnership with Hershey will create opportunities in new occasions among new consumer segments and markets. Brian O’Sullivan, CEO of Fulfil Holdings, believes the brand’s success is a result of disrupting the traditional snacking market with bars that have nutritional benefits. “Our objective is to deliver great-tasting, nutritional snacking products to consumers worldwide,” he said. “Over the last 18 months, we have built a highly capable management team and have developed an aggressive expansion strategy based on a thorough understanding of our target consumer.

In addition, Hershey has announced minority investment in snack businesses Blue Stripes L.L.C. Blue Stripes, based in New York, was founded by cacao entrepreneur Oded Brenner, who created Max Brenner, a chocolate sensory immersion. Blue Stripes Cacao Shop is a storefront that showcases cacao pulp in a range of offerings from bowls to shakes. “Blue Stripes Cacao Shop enables further go-to-market opportunities by offering experiential retail that combines the goodness of cocoa with a unique customer experience,” Hershey said.