Hershey Getting Into Meat Snack Business With Purchase Of Jerky Maker Krave, Because Meat

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Krave specializes in gourmet all-natural jerky products.

Things that go together in this world: peanut butter and jelly. Fish and chips. Coffee and donuts! Things that do not: sweet, creamy, delicious chocolate treats and… meat. But that last combination is about to become a reality with Hershey Chocolate Company’s purchase of meat snack producer Krave Pure Foods Inc.

Reuters reports that Hershey will buy Krave Pure Foods Inc., the maker of gourmet, all-natural meat snacks in order to gain a foothold in the meat snacks arena.

Hershey announced the purchase in a statement Thursday morning saying the deal will allow the company to “tap into the rapidly growing meat snacks category and further expand into the broader snacks space.”

While the company didn’t reveal the purchase price for Krave, Reuters reports that late-stage talks between the two companies put the deal’s value at $200 million to $300 million.

Krave specializes in a variety of flavored beef, turkey and pork jerky, including Black Cherry Barbeque Pork Jerky, Basil Citrus Turkey Jerky and Chili Lime Beef Jerky.

Officials with Hershey say they plan to operate Krave as a standalone business within Hershey’s North American division. Current Krave CEO and Founder Jonathan Sebastiani will continue to lead the company.

“Krave jerky is a great fit to our portfolio and overall snacks and adjacencies strategy,” Michele G. Buck, president of Hershey’s North America, says in the statement. “The KRAVE brand delivers on portable and protein nutrition while also understanding consumers’ food preferences, including the desire for simple ingredients and transparency, something that is also a part of Hershey’s strategic vision. We are excited to add KRAVE jerky’s unique, chef-inspired products and be a part of this transformational category.”

Chocolate maker Hershey to enter meat snacks business, cuts forecast [Reuters]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist