Hershey’s next billion-dollar brands | Food Business News

NEW YORK — The Hershey Co. has set its sights on expanding the number of brands in its portfolio that generate more than $1 billion in annual sales. Currently, Reese’s, at more than $3 billion in annual sales, and Hershey’s, at more than $2 billion, are the company’s only brands to exceed the threshold. But management is focused on adding Ice Breakers, KitKat, Dot’s Pretzels and Jolly Rancher to the list.  

The company plans to take different approaches to generating $1 billion in sales for each brand. The Ice Breakers brand, for example, had $750 million in annual sales in 2025.

“Ice Breakers is in a category that has tailwinds with growth cohorts like GLP-1 users,” said Stacy Taffet, chief growth and marketing officer, during the company’s March 31 investor day. “To capitalize, we’re launching new, more portable formats and exploring functional benefits.”

To lift KitKat beyond $735 million in sales in 2025 to $1 billion in the years ahead, the company will relaunch the brand in 2027 with a creamier chocolate profile and a marketing campaign intended to drive consumer reappraisal.

“On Dot’s, we plan to expand to new formats and pack types and find opportunities to disrupt additional snacking categories,” Taffet said. “The way we’re doing with (Dot’s) snack mix.”

The Dot’s business had $605 million in annual sales in 2025, according to the company.

The brand that has the longest road to go to $1 billion in sales is Jolly Rancher, which hit $485 million in 2025.

“Jolly Rancher will continue to grow with Gen Z as the brand brings its bold, iconic fruit flavors to additional markets, forms and eating experiences,” Taffet said.

To complement the growth of its current portfolio, the company also will be innovating for future demand, Taffet said.

“This means building technical capability to deliver advantaged, organic innovations as well as continually evaluating opportunities for M&A,” she said. “We’ll be focusing our efforts against four territories, where we see $1.5 billion of incremental sales opportunity over the next five years. These territories are grounded in our understanding of white spaces in our demand map as well as consumer dynamics that impact how preferences are evolving.”

Dot’s and Ice Breakers are two brands The Hershey Co. sees reaching $1 billion in annual sales in the years ahead.

| Photo: ©DAVE WILLMAN – STOCK.ADOBE.COM and The Hershey Co.

The “territories” to be focused on include premiumization, functional food, texture and customization.

“Across CPG categories, premium demand is accelerating, driven by higher income consumers and Gen Z purchasing power,” Taffet said. “The brands that are winning offer a combination of indulgence, quality, better-for-you credentials, and elevated packaging.

“Our pipeline is focused on bringing new benefits to the segment, democratizing luxury with accessible brands and price points, creating expressive, social-first, indulgent experiences that resonate with Gen Z, and expanding our permissible portfolio.”

In the functional space, The Hershey Co. will focus on attracting consumers that prioritize nutrition and wellness and seek to get more out of their snacks.

“We have a robust innovation road map that includes the following: better-for-you offerings that reduce sugar and other ingredients without compromising taste, performance-focused propositions, such as our reformulated One Bar with a stack claim of complete protein plus fiber plus low sugar, customized nutrition that leverages our JV partner, VitaKey, and its proprietary technology, enabling precision, time-release nutrients like protein and fiber,” Taffet said.  “Just imagine a snack that can deliver benefits where, when, and how your body needs them. And what we call snacking plus, which adds functional ingredients to favorite brands like Ice Breakers and LesserEvil to drive new consumption occasions.”

The company also will attempt to capitalize on consumer interest, particularly among younger consumers, in products that have unique flavor profiles and textures.

“Our offerings will include adventurous on-trend flavors, new-to-the-world textures and playful interactive forms, and exciting new eating experiences that marry global taste and cross-category fusions,” Taffet said.

The final territory The Hershey Co. hopes to gain ground is around personalization and gifting.

“… Consumers increasingly expect offerings that feel personal and occasion-specific and are willing to pay a premium for products that are bespoke,” Taffet said. “The need for gifting is universal to show care and connect with the people you love, and consumers are increasingly turning to confection to meet this need under rising economic pressure.”