麻豆传媒

Skip to main content

Hershey is turning its candy into energy drinks and protein powders

The Hershey Company is turning its most popular brands into energy drinks and protein powders. (C4 via CNN Newsource) The Hershey Company is turning its most popular brands into energy drinks and protein powders. (C4 via CNN Newsource)
Share
New York -

With its line-up of sweet snacks, Hershey isn鈥檛 known as a purveyor of diet foods. However, the company鈥檚 newest products are made specifically for those on a fitness kick.

As the use of weight-loss drugs 鈥 notably Ozempic and Wegovy 鈥 grows, the 130-year-old confectionery company is adjusting to this new era by pushing further into the wellness category with protein powders and energy drinks in popular candy flavours.

The Hershey Company has struck a deal with C4 Energy, a top-selling supplement brand that has gained popularity as people have looked to build muscle and work out more following the pandemic. Hershey鈥檚 namesake milk chocolate and Reese鈥檚 peanut butter and chocolate will soon be sold as protein powders and its Jolly Rancher candies will be turned into bubbly energy drinks.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 great about this partnership is that we get to tap into these brands that are more than 125 years old and are very nostalgic,鈥 said Doss Cunningham, CEO of C4鈥檚 parent company Nutrabolt. 鈥淥n the flip side, this is a great opportunity for us to reach new audiences.鈥

The partnership should help C4, the fourth-best-selling energy drink brand in the United States, differentiate itself in a US$21 billion market dominated by trendy up-and-comers, like Celsius and Ghost, but also older companies that remain popular, notably Red Bull and Monster. Energy drinks, which are most often bought by millennial and Gen Z customers, have 鈥渁 lot of affinity鈥 with Hershey鈥檚 products, Cunningham told CNN.

Rolling out this week across major US retailers, including HEB, Amazon and C4鈥檚 website, the new canned energy drinks are based on three popular Jolly Rancher flavours: blue raspberry, green apple and watermelon. A 12-pack costs US$27.99.

The deal then expands in October when whey protein powder, in Hershey鈥檚 milk chocolate and Reese鈥檚 peanut butter and chocolate flavours, hits shelves, with prices starting at $29.99 for the smallest size. A pre-workout powder based off of Bubble Yum gum will also be introduced.

C4 has already had success with using flavours from Skittles, Starburst and Popsicle for its other energy drinks.

鈥淲e can reach new consumers that are perhaps new to the sports nutrition space or the energy drink category that can discover C4 through one of their beloved brands,鈥 Cunningham said.

Partnering with food makers that have perfected flavourful recipes is becoming popular among nutrition companies because 鈥渋t鈥檚 a way to help entice consumers to try them with flavours that they are comfortable or accustomed to, considering a lot of these powders are notorious for having a weird and unpleasant taste,鈥 Andrea Hern谩ndez, founder of Snaxshot, a food and beverage insights platform, told CNN.

For Hershey, moving further into nutrition might help offset falling sales in its candy business, which reported a 17 per cent drop in revenue in its most recent earnings report. In 2019, Hershey bought One Brands, which makes low-sugar, high-protein nutrition bars, for $400 million. And its rivals are adjusting as well 鈥 for example, Mars, which bought snacking giant Kellanova to expand its portfolio beyond sugary treats.

Whether it鈥檚 moving into nutrition or making big acquisitions, Hern谩ndez said candy companies are exploring new ways to be relevant, like Hershey鈥檚 approach, which 鈥渃an ultimately help Hershey鈥檚 get a healthy halo of sorts.鈥

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

A B.C. condo owner who was blamed for a cockroach infestation in her building and charged thousands of dollars for the cost of eradicating the bugs must be refunded, the civil resolution tribunal ruled.

Local Spotlight

On Saturday night at her parents鈥 home in Delaware, Ont. the Olympic bronze medallist in pole vault welcomed everyone who played a role in getting her to the podium in Paris.

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.