It took its sweet time getting here. That's because it had to go through China.

US candy titan Hershey Co said it would launch a new product in the United States in January - a caramel confection called Lancaster, after its debut in China earlier this year. It is the Pennsylvania candy maker's first completely new product in 30 years.

Hershey, known for its iconic Hershey chocolate bar, Hershey's Kisses, and Twizzlers licorice, rolled out Lancaster in Wuhan, Hangzhou and Chengdu in June.

The US launch caps a new process which developed the same product for two markets simultaneously, Hershey spokesman Jeff Beckman said in an interview. Although the candies carry the same brand name and similar packaging, their tastes were tweaked to fit their respective markets.

"The product that launched in China last spring is a bit different from the product that will roll out into stores in the United States in January," Beckman said. "The difference reflects how we tailor our branded products to different tastes and palates of consumers in different regions of the world."

The China product is a traditional "milk candy", "slow-roasted for a rich taste", Beckman said. The taste has "more milky overtones that consumers in China expect from candy in this segment of the confectionery market". In China, the category accounts for about one quarter of the confectionary market, according to Advertising Age.

By comparison, the Lancaster soft crmes that will be launched in the US next year are a caramel-based product with "deep caramel flavor" and a sweet and salty taste that is "distinctly different" from the China product, Beckman said.

The two products are also made in their respective markets with different technologies, Beckman said. Lancaster will be produced in Hunan province by a local confectionery maker using imported milk. The packaging is similar in both countries, showing images of the silhouette of a man (a reference to company founder Milton Hershey), a cow; and a pot and wooden spoon. But in China, the package carries a Chinese name, Yo Mon.

michaelbarris@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 10/14/2013 page2)