Hershey launching chocolate bar in Chinese cities

The Hershey Company says it’s launching a new chocolate bar in three Chinese cities next month, followed by a wider distribution next year.

The central Pennsylvania-based company says it will mark the first brand new brand it’s launched outside the United States in its nearly 120-year history.The new candy brand will be called “Lancaster” and be launched in the cities of Wuhan, Hangzhou and Chengdu in June.

Company officials say it was created in the company’s innovation labs and did very well in consumer testing.

Hershey says China is a priority market and that it will play a big role in the company’s goal of reaching $10 billion in worldwide net sales by 2017.