The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) will showcase a powerful lineup of snack and confectionery innovations alongside new growth strategies for the convenience channel at the 2025 NACS Show Expo. The company will spotlight consumer-driven product development, category insights, and merchandising strategies that help retailers boost basket size and drive repeat purchases.
Headlining Hershey’s presence is the highly anticipated Reese’s OREO® Cup, a fusion of two iconic brands that’s already on track to become one of Reese’s biggest launches. Combining milk chocolate and white crème peanut butter cups with OREO® cookie crumbs, this innovation unites America’s No. 1 candy and cookie in one irresistible product.
Hershey will also unveil new and reformulated products across its expanding snacking portfolio, spanning confectionery, salty snacks, and better-for-you options:
- Jolly Rancher Ropes Tropical Flavor – Chewy ropes with a juicy fruit punch and mango centre, expanding a product line that’s seen 30.7% category growth since 2021.
- Shaq-A-Licious XL Gummies in Sneaker Shapes – A collaboration with basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal, featuring strawberry, mango, and lime gummies, now the third-fastest growing sweets brand since its 2024 debut.
- Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels Buffalo Flavour – Bold buffalo-seasoned pretzel twists from the No. 1 pretzel franchise in convenience, up 16.4% in the past year.
- Reformulated SkinnyPop Popcorn White Cheddar and Butter – White Cheddar now features real cheese, while Butter delivers a richer, creamier taste, enhancing the No. 2 branded popcorn in C-stores.
Snacking Momentum and Category Leadership
Hershey continues to accelerate performance across the convenience channel, with salty snack brands up 9.5% year-to-date, outpacing total category growth. Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels and SkinnyPop remain standout leaders in their respective categories. In sweets, brands such as Jolly Rancher and Shaq-A-Licious XL Gummies have helped Hershey grow its non-chocolate confectionery business by 23.2% in 2025.
Bundling and promotion remain central to Hershey’s strategy. The company’s insights show that 60% of shoppers have purchased a foodservice bundle at convenience stores, with 34% including candy in their purchases. Nearly one-third of total convenience sales and profits now come from foodservice. Promotional performance continues to impress — confectionery promotions deliver an average 56% unit lift, and standard-size bars see a 92% promotional lift, outperforming king-size bars by more than threefold.
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