The Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition, held in 1893, became one of the greatest public spectacles ever witnessed in America. People from all parts of the country came to marvel at new inventions, industrial machines, and products promising a brighter future. One of them was Milton Hershey, a candy manufacturer who got acquainted with a machine for manufacturing chocolate.It seemed like an ordinary incident at first, but it had far-reaching implications. Although Hershey had expertise in candy manufacturing, visiting this fair made him realise the industrial approach to manufacturing chocolate products. In other words, rather than considering chocolate as something that should be made manually by artisans, he saw possibilities in using machines to manufacture it on a large scale. This was the starting point of what we now call Hershey Chocolate Company.A fair to exhibit the futureThe Chicago exposition was created to show technological advancement. People walked around the exhibits where the latest machines, transportation methods, consumer products, and engineering designs were on display. Businessmen used it to show people how manufacturing would affect their everyday lives.For businessmen like Hershey, it meant something else. It provided an insight into producing things quickly and easily for a larger number of people. History often describes world’s fairs as events where technological innovations were showcased to the public. At the 1893 fair, the rapid technological expansion of America near the turn of the century was evident in many machines that were used to manufacture various items in the country.With this in mind, a machine that produced chocolate meant something special. It showed that chocolate production could range scaled from the level of individual production to mass manufacturing.Chocolate had its place in the fairAt the fair, even the chocolate had its own space. According to a library document, one of the refreshments provided to the visitors of the Chicago exposition included hot chocolate in September 1893.That makes a difference, since the use of machines placed chocolate into the fair’s environment. The attendees were not merely viewing machinery in isolation. They were also using products associated with them.For Hershey, the combination would make an even stronger impression. He could now consider chocolate from two angles, not only as a consumer item but also as an industry. The machine Hershey saw supposedly showed ways to process the cocoa beans more effectively and on a larger scale. Such innovation seemed consistent with changes in other industries sweeping across America.
Check out the discovery that led to Hershey Chocolate. Image credit – Wikimedia
Why this machine inspired a change in Hershey’s mindsetHershey had already operated in the confectionery business prior to his trip to Chicago. However, the fair provided him with an insight into the possibilities of mass production.Namely, the crucial point was not just the mechanical nature of the production but rather its consistency, which meant that chocolate could be marketed across a larger geographic region.In other words, Hershey apparently understood something that many other businessmen came to realise much later, according to the literature on the subject. The National Archives defines the event as a meeting place for new technologies and business ventures. The case of Hershey’s was that he viewed the machinery as a practical business model and not merely as a novelty item. His experience helped direct his attention to a venture in the chocolate industry on a nationwide level.From exposition floor to chocolate empireThe visit to Chicago did not necessarily result in Hershey establishing his business right away. However, after attending the World Fair, he began focusing on the business of producing chocolates, ultimately creating what would become one of America’s best-known candy companies.Hershey’s experience also demonstrates a common theme in the history of entrepreneurship. Very rarely do successful businessmen have to create their product from scratch. Instead, they realised the potential in already available technologies and their different applications.This is what gives Hershey’s visit such significance today. While he did not invent something completely revolutionary, he came up with an idea. An ordinary piece of technology displayed at the World Fair helped him see the potential in a large-scale production of chocolate.It demonstrates how business concepts usually develop through observations. Most importantly, this story explains how big businesses can result from changing perspectives. For example, Hershey realised that chocolates need not be limited to a luxurious item. They could be manufactured in large volumes using the emerging American technologies.This led to the development of one of the most popular chocolate-making companies in the United States.
