Hershey has said its legacy brands must continually earn consumer loyalty, as the confectionery company highlighted the success of its REESE’S OREO launch and outlined plans to accelerate innovation.
The product, created from the established habit of dipping an Oreo biscuit in peanut butter, generated more than $188 million in retail sales during its first year, according to the company’s leader. It was described as one of the most successful candy innovations of the past decade.
The launch combined two long-established brands and was presented as evidence that Hershey must keep adapting despite the strength of its presence in American households.
“Presence is not the same as preference,” the company’s leader wrote, arguing that consumers continue to choose brands because they remain meaningful rather than simply because they have been familiar for generations.
Hershey expands innovation pipeline
Hershey said it had increased investment in research and development, expanded its technical capabilities and shortened the time taken to move from consumer insight to commercialisation.
Its innovation pipeline has grown by more than 50% over the past year, with new methods introduced to test, develop and scale products more quickly.
The company also changed its marketing approach, launching “Hershey’s. It’s Your Happy Place”, its biggest campaign for the brand in eight years. The campaign began at the Winter Olympics and continued through a s’mores promotion and Christian Pulisic’s World Cup run.
It is also due to continue with the HERSHEY Movie, which will tell founder Milton Hershey’s story on the big screen for the first time.
One Hershey model brings snack businesses together
Hershey has also reorganised the way it sells confectionery, salty snacks and functional snacking. Under its ONE Hershey model, the businesses are being taken to retailers with a single approach rather than operating largely as separate divisions.
The company said the strategy was designed to focus on occasions and consumer needs, rather than categories alone. It is supported by one investment strategy and a 1,200-person sales force covering more than 75,000 stores.
North American salty snacks sales grew by 23% this year, almost four times faster than the company overall, which Hershey said demonstrated the early impact of the broader snacking strategy.
The business’s founder built more than a confectionery company, establishing a town, a school and a trust whose funding is linked to the company’s success. Hershey said sales of its chocolate and Dot’s Pretzels help support that mission of funding education for children in need.
The company’s leader said the experience of the past year had reinforced the view that a historic brand could not rely on its heritage alone. Its continued success, he wrote, would depend on listening to consumers, adapting and demonstrating its relevance to both existing and newer generations.
