Reese’s is putting pretzels in peanut butter cups, because ‘the hell with it, it’s 2020’
Alexis Benveniste, from CNN Business, reports the following big news from the world of confections:
This year has been far from sweet, so Reese’s is embracing its salty side by adding pretzels to its peanut butter cups. The Hershey’s candy brand, which launched ‘breakfast cakes’ last month, introduced the newest addition with the slogan: “The hell with it. It’s 2020.”
The candy giant is nervous about Halloween this year, which typically accounts for 10% of Hershey’s annual sales, as the pandemic threatens to put a damper on trick-or-treating. The company is shifting its strategy for what is typically its biggest season. That means less Halloween-focused packaging and more family-sized packs, as many Americans gear up to celebrate at home. Reese’s with pretzels are set to hit stores in November, and the mini cups with pretzels won’t be available until January 2021.
“Let’s face it, we’re all feeling a little bit salty this year,” Ian Norton, Reese’s senior director, said in a statement. “In true Reese’s fashion, we channeled our feelings into sweet and salty deliciousness with new Reese’s Big Cups with Pretzels.”
Hershey, like other confectioners, relies on impulse purchases to drive sales. But people are shopping less during the pandemic, making new and somewhat outrageous candy combinations more important than ever for junk food companies. That’s why there are seemingly two dozen flavors of M&Ms in the candy aisle and a new variety of Lay’s potato chips every month.
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“fortune befriends the bold.”
-emily dickinson
