Innovation has shaped CARSON wrappedhersheys.com from the beginning when Ed Carson became a grandparent in 1993. Ed was looking for a creative way to celebrate the birth of his granddaughter, Elise Rohr. "I didn't want to pass out cigars," he said. Fortunately, Ed happened to gaze upon a Hershey's chocolate bar and thought to himself "HERE SHE IS."

Equipped with a computer, printer and great imagination Ed created a pink wrapper to place around a Hershey's chocolate bar. It proclaimed "HERESHEIS" in large type. Elise's name and weight appeared in small print on the front and other vital statistics, like the date, time of birth, birthplace and her parents' names, were on the back. The wrapper even included the ingredients: sugar and spice and everything nice.

The edible birth announcement was an instant hit with relatives, friends, and hospital staff, along with new parents, who soon began asking Ed to print wrappers for them. "I did Elise's wrappers on my home computer and took them down to Christ Hospital, where she was born. The nurses loved them so much I had to print more," he said.

Soon after Elise was born, so was CARSON Wrapped Hershey's Chocolates. Ed, a sales representative for 31 years, took an early retirement to devote more time to his new venture. He began working part-time out of his basement in Fairfield, Ohio, and the business quickly grew.

The chocolate birth announcement was promoted in local hospital gift shops. Eventually Ed started marketing HERESHEIS and HEREHEIS customized bars with product samples and coupons distributed to new mothers throughout the US.

Ed struck a deal with Homestead Inc., the trademark management subsidiary of the Hershey Foods Corporation, to remove any potential conflict over the use of the terms HERESHEIS, HEREHEIS, and HERETHEYARE along with the Hershey's Tradedress.

In 2003, Ed sold the company to Scott and Sharon Frederick who exchanged their former careers as a lawyer and interior designer for sweet success in the chocolate business.