Cherry Blossom (candy)

Cherry Blossom is a type of chocolate confection in Canada produced by Hershey Canada, a subsidiary of Hershey.

History
The candy had been manufactured since the 1890s by the Walter M. Lowney Company of Canada. A prominent man in Mansfield, Massachusetts, Lowney opened and operated his candy factory in the city, being also involved in the development of other interests in the city. In the mid 1890s a subsidiary of Lowney Co. was opened in Canada. The company continued to grow and so did the Cherry Blossom.

The Walter M. Lowney Company of Canada was later acquired by Standard Brands in 1968, and Lowney became a division of Standard Brands. In 1981, Nabisco and Standard Brands Ltd merged to form a new entity, which now owned the Lowney division. Finally, Hershey Canada purchased the candy unit of Nabisco in 1987, which included Lowney.

The Lowney manufacturing plant resided in the city of Sherbrooke Quebec up until 1989, at which time it was closed, and all Lowney chocolate manufacturing was moved to an existing Hershey plant in Smith Falls, Ontario. The facility in Smiths Falls, northeast of Kingston, later closed in 2012. Cherry Blossoms are currently produced in a facility in Montreal.

Information
The Cherry Blossom consists of a maraschino cherry and cherry syrup surrounded by a mixture of chocolate, shredded coconut and roasted peanut pieces. The candy is sold in an individually wrapped 45-gram (1½ oz) portion, packaged in a close-fitting cardboard box.

Contrary to common myth, filling is not injected inside the chocolate. The cherry candy is coated with an enzyme, invertase, that breaks down the solid into a liquid over the next 1 to 2 weeks.

The Cherry Blossom candy provides 210 calories of food energy. It contains 10g fat (15%Daily), 29g carbohydrate (10%Daily), 1g fibre (4%Daily), 27g Sugars and a further 2 grams of protein.