The town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, calls itself the "sweetest place on Earth."
But if chocolate giant Hershey Co. considers any new acquisition offer in the coming weeks, it could face bitter opposition from some in its namesake town, where residents have prospered from its presence and tend to be fierce defenders of its independence.
The impact of such views goes beyond sentimentality in the wake of Mondelez International Inc.'s $23 billion bid to buy the company, which Hershey said on June 30 it had rejected. The town of Hershey, where the company's staunchest loyalists are referred to as "Hersheyites," has real influence over corporate decisions.