GLENDALE, Calif. & HERSHEY, Pa. – Two major confectioners announced plans this week to remove artificial flavors and colors from their chocolate products.

Nestlé USA announced that it is removing artificial flavors and FDA-certified colors, like Red 40 and Yellow 5, from all of its chocolate candy products. By the end of 2015, more than 250 products and 10 brands including Butterfinger, Crunch and Baby Ruth, will be free of artificial flavors and certified colors. Products will begin appearing on store shelves by mid-2015, and will be identified by a “No Artificial Flavors or Colors” claim featured on-pack.

“We know that candy consumers are interested in broader food trends around fewer artificial ingredients. As we thought about what this means for our candy brands, our first step has been to remove artificial flavors and colors without affecting taste or increasing the price,” said Doreen Ida, president, Nestlé USA Confections & Snacks.

According to Ida, Nestlé research found that U.S. consumers prefer candy brands they know and love to be free from artificial flavors and colors. Further, findings from Nielsen’s 2014 Global Health & Wellness Survey show more than 60% of Americans say no artificial colors or flavors is important to their food purchase decisions.

The Hershey Company announced this week that it is beginning a transition to simple and easy-to-understand ingredients.

“As consumers, our relationship with food is changing. We spend more time talking and sharing with others about what we eat and why we like certain foods, than we spend actually eating. Food matters and at Hershey, we care deeply about it,” said John P. Bilbrey, president and CEO at Hershey. “We all want and deserve to know what’s in our food.”

In 2015, Hershey plans to introduce new snacking products in the United States such as Brookside Dark Chocolate Fruit & Nut Bars, and transition some of its most popular chocolate brands to simpler ingredients.