HERSHEY, Pa., Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) today announced an increase in the wholesale prices on approximately one-third of its domestic confectionery line.

A weighted average 13% increase on the Company's standard bar, king-size bar, 6-pack and vending lines is effective immediately. During the four-week period ending February 24, 2008, existing customers may, based on their historic order patterns, order and take delivery of up to eight weeks of inventory of these items at current prices.

The changes approximate a 3% price increase over Hershey's entire domestic product line and will help offset increases in areas of the Company's input costs, including raw materials, fuel, utilities, and transportation.

The Company established its 2008 full-year net sales and earnings per share outlook on January 24, 2008, which is not changed by today's announcement. Details, including a reconciliation of GAAP and non-GAAP items to the Company's earnings per share-diluted outlook can be found at www.hersheys.com

Safe Harbor Statement

This release contains statements which are forward-looking. These statements are made based upon current expectations which are subject to risk and uncertainty. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Factors which could cause results to differ materially include, but are not limited to: our ability to implement and generate expected ongoing annual savings from the initiatives to transform our supply chain and advance our value-enhancing strategy; changes in raw material and other costs and selling price increases; our ability to execute our supply chain transformation within the anticipated timeframe in accordance with our cost estimates; the impact of future developments related to the product recall and temporary plant closure in Canada in the fourth quarter of 2006, including our ability to recover costs we incurred for the recall and plant closure from responsible third-parties; the impact of future developments related to the investigation by government regulators of alleged pricing practices by members of the confectionary industry, including risks of subsequent litigation or further government action; pension cost factors, such as actuarial assumptions, market performance and employee retirement decisions; changes in our stock price, and resulting impacts on our expenses for incentive compensation, stock options and certain employee benefits; market demand for our new and existing products; changes in our business environment, including actions of competitors and changes in consumer preferences; changes in governmental laws and regulations, including taxes; risks and uncertainties related to our international operations; and such other matters discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2006. All information in this press release is as of January 28, 2008. The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company's expectations.

SOURCE The Hershey Company

CONTACT: Financial, Mark Pogharian, +1-717-534-7556, or Media, Kirk Saville, +1-717-534-7641, both of The Hershey Company

/Web site: http://www.hersheys.com /