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Chocolate Loving Expats Not So Sweet After Legal Row

Thousands of British expat Kit-Kat lovers are sticking two fingers up at US chocolate maker Hershey after the giant corporation won a court case banning imports of the sweets from the UK.

More than 30,000 people have signed an online petition in a bid to melt the hearts of Hershey’s executives after two firms importing and distributing British chocolate favourites to America faced legal suits.

One settled out of court and the other lost the case in the face of a legal onslaught from Hershey’s lawyers.

Hershey’s signed contracts with British chocolate makers Cadbury and Nestle to make and sell US versions of many of their bars.

However, expats and other customers in the US who did not like the taste of the American versions bought British chocolate direct from importers.

British brands

Hershey ignored this for several years, but claims major retailers were stocking the imports and worried that this would lead to crumbling sales, Hershey launched the legal action.

Importers and stockists agree Hershey holds the rights to the British brands in the US, with the result that expat food exporters in the UK are not inundated with requests to supply chocolate.

One firm claims sales have risen from a trickle to hundreds a week in the wake of the court cases.

For expats, the issue is Hershey chocolate is vastly different in taste and texture to British chocolate.

Many US recipes are include vegetable oil, while British chocolate tends to be creamier as it contains more milk.

Expat sweet shops

Nestle and Mondelez, which now controls the Cadbury brand, have distanced themselves from the row.

“We’re not involved, it’s third party importers who were taken to court and they account for a very small portion of our £400 million a year exports,” said a Nestle spokesman.

Hershey is also locked in a court battle with confectionery giant Mars over who owns the rights to Maltesers in the US. Both companies decline to comment on the ongoing case.

Other rows are brewing with US rivals who have introduced similar products to other Hershey confectionery brands.

For expats yearning for a taste of British chocolate, here’s a list of online stores supplying confectionery

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