Hershey, Hostess Brands make a splash at Sweets & Snacks Expo

Keeping up with changing consumer tastes can be a daunting challenge for food companies. That was evident this week at the Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago.
Candy giant Hershey and sweet baked goods maker Hostess Brands were among the many companies at the show discussing how they are evolving their product lineups for today’s picky consumers.

Hershey a snacking powerhouse

Hershey is diversifying its product lineup and becoming more focused on snacks as opposed to just sweets.
“Hershey’s vision is to be an innovative snacking powerhouse,” Laura Renaud, Hershey corporate spokesperson said.
Hershey CEO Michele Buck oversaw the acquisitions of jerky maker Krave Pure Foods in 2015 and Amplify Snack Brands, maker of SkinnyPop popcorn, in January.
Hershey also has blurred the lines between candy and snacks with such products as Hershey’s and Reese’s Popped Snack Mix and Dipped Pretzels.
Its products are being found increasingly in the same grocery store aisle as nuts, chips and other snacks instead of just the candy aisle, Renaud said.
Hershey also is focused on filling consumer needs for energy boosts throughout the day with protein snacks, she said.
It is repositioning its Payday candy bar as a snacking product because it is salty and sweet and packed with peanuts for protein.
“They’re really great for energy, that afternoon pick-me-up,” Renaud said. “People traditionally don’t think of a candy bar that way.”
At this year’s Sweets & Snacks Expo, Hershey’s touted products launched earlier in the year. They include Hershey’s Gold and Reese’s Outrageous.
Launched with the Winter Olympics, Hershey’s Gold is a proprietary blend of caramelized creme with peanuts and pretzels.
Reese’s Outrageous features caramel and crunchy Reese’s Pieces candy surrounded by creamy peanut butter and covered in smooth milk chocolate.

Hostess success story

Hostess Brands is writing its turnaround story thanks to product innovation in the sweet bakery goods market.
After the original Hostess was liquidated in bankruptcy proceedings in 2013, a private equity firm purchased the company’s snack cake business. It restarted the business with a clean slate five years ago. It went from no sales to $1.2 billion in sales since then.
“It really is a great comeback story,” said Andy Jacobs, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Hostess Brands.
Hostess simplified the company’s manufacturing and distribution structure and began developing new products, he said.
“The category was sleepy,” he said. “We’re going to drive innovation. We are going to shake up the category.”
Take the company’s well-known Twinkie snack cake, which is traditionally a golden sponge cake filled with white creme. Last year, for the first time, the company offered a chocolate sponge cake Twinkie, based on feedback from consumers.
At the Sweets & Snacks Expo, it showed off a chocolate cake Twinkie with peanut butter creme filling.
“If you walk around the show, particularly over to the confection guys, the No. 1 flavor in snacking is chocolate and peanut butter,” he said.
Hostess also makes seasonal Twinkies such as a red peppermint Twinkie for Christmas and this summer a cotton candy-flavored Twinkie.
“The success of the Hostess comeback is rooted in a foundation of extended shelf life,” Jacobs said. “We have this extended shelf life technology that’s a natural enzyme that helps extend the shelf life to 65 days. Because of that we have the opportunity to sell sweet baked goods on Amazon.”
Other iconic Hostess brands include Ho Hos, Ding Dongs and Zingers.
In February, Hostess purchased certain breakfast snack assets from Aryzta, including the Big Texas and Cloverhill brands and a Chicago area bakery facility. The deal will add honeybuns, Danish pastries and cinnamon rolls to its product lineup.