Dating Hershey Product Wrappers by Name

This article will always be updated/changed when new information is discovered

Over the life of the Hershey company its name has changed 4 times. This is a big help in identifying an approximate timeframe for when a Hershey product was manufactured. There are a lot of other factors that go into dating the signature Hershey bar wrappers, but there are few common denominators that can be used to date all Hershey company brand wrappers. The below guide is a general rule of thumb and some exceptions do exist, but it will get you a lot closer to discovering the production year of your wrapper.  

You can start by identifying which company name is on the wrapper then narrow it down by the other criteria.

1894 – 1926         Hershey Chocolate Company

1894- 1902 Hershey Chocolate Company, Lancaster, PA. USA
1903-1926 Hershey Chocolate Company, Hershey, PA. USA

1927-1967 Hershey Chocolate Corporation

1960s – Hershey started putting the zip code after the state – Hershey, PA 17033, USA

1968-2004 Hershey Foods Corporation

1968 – 1978 chocolate division was named Hershey Chocolate and Confectionery Division
1970s – Hershey started using the registered mark (R)
1973 – Hershey added nutrition labels to all its candy bars
1976 – Hershey started printing UPC codes on its packages, but no checksum
UPC codes are not found on giveaways, fundraisers and other specialty bars, even today
197? – UPC codes with checksum digit
1978 – Hershey’s Confectionery division was renamed Hershey Chocolate Company
1984 – the white glassine inner wrap was replaced by foil (not all brands used these)
2003 – Hershey replaced paper wrapper with single sealed film wrapper

2005-Now The Hershey Company

All wrappers from this time period can be dated by their freshness code (subtract a year to get year made)