Just three months after merging its three business units into a unified structure, snack giant Hershey is already beginning to reap the benefits of integration.

In March, Hershey announced it would consolidate its sweet, salty, and protein product brands under one management system to improve relationships with consumers and retailers. The integration marks the first time Hershey has unified brand strength, category strategy, and consumer insights within a single comprehensive architecture.

Not long ago, such a move might not have been necessary. Although Hershey is known for sweets like Reese's and Twizzlers, the Pennsylvania-based company has built a snack empire in recent years through a series of acquisitions. It now owns salty snacks such as SkinnyPop popcorn, Dot's Homestyle Pretzels, and LesserEvil, as well as protein bars from the One and Fulfill brands.

In May, Food Dive spoke with Hershey's Chief Customer Officer Tiffany Menyhart at the Sweets & Snacks Expo in Las Vegas, discussing the "One Hershey" strategy, product recipe improvements, and the company's efforts to remove artificial colors. The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

One Hershey: The rationale and early results of the unified structure

FOOD DIVE:Can you introduce One Hershey and explain why you decided to merge the business units?

MENYHART:We now have executives responsible for the entire product portfolio. Customers have responded very positively; they appreciate that we present ourselves as "One Hershey." Our efficiency in working with customers has significantly improved.

We have also launched and fully upgraded our commercial engine to continuously ideate across the entire portfolio and execute in the best commercial way—covering price points, packaging types, the right SKUs, the right channels, and the right pricing. We have really intensified our efforts in this area.

FOOD DIVE:Previously, different people at Hershey were responsible for engaging retailers on candy, salty, and protein products. How has One Hershey changed this?

MENYHART:Yes, in the past it was like having three different people engaging with each customer. We found that snack categories are highly complementary. Even though a retailer's buying departments might still be separate, these purchasing decisions ultimately roll up to the same level, the same director or vice president. So for retailers, the old model was not convenient, especially when both sides wanted to move from annual plans to multi-year plans, which require planning from a total portfolio perspective.

Real benefits of integration: Combined salty-sweet displays boost sales

FOOD DIVE:One Hershey launched in March. Can you give an example of the concrete benefits it has already brought to the company?

MENYHART:One example is that during major holiday promotions, we can now bundle salty and sweet products together, and consumers don't have to search in different areas. Our display tools are also more complementary and can even be placed in the same display unit.

Take next year's "Super Valentine's Day"—when Valentine's Day and the Super Bowl fall on the same day. This is stressful for retailers because they worry about fewer store visits during that period while still needing to drive growth. After all, the Super Bowl involves more categories and might overshadow Valentine's Day.

How do we combine the two? We work with one point of contact at the retailer to launch a "Super Valentine's Day" bundle in the same display, featuring football-shaped Reese's, heart-shaped Reese's, and Dot's Pretzels. This reminds consumers and shoppers that although these holidays overlap, we offer a solution—you can buy multiple items in one display, in one location.

FOOD DIVE:Does placing salty and sweet products together on the same endcap at retail help drive sales?

MENYHART:Yes, absolutely. We have conducted extensive in-store tests, especially with large "beacon" endcap displays and smaller displays in convenience stores. When only candy was displayed, sales lift was about 20% to 25%, because it typically draws shoppers into the aisle. But when salty and sweet products were combined, sales lift reached 34%. We also observed more items per basket in many transactions, whereas if the entire endcap only had candy, it often satisfied a single need.

Going back to the holiday promotions we mentioned, take NCAA and fall football as an example. We chose to display Dot's and Reese's together for a reason. Dot's is often associated with football and NCAA basketball, so consumers almost expect to see both brands together. We have been executing these cross-category joint displays since late 2025.

Product recipe adjustments: Classic returns and future improvements

FOOD DIVE:Reese's recently announced it would return about 3% of products that had not used the classic recipe back to the "classic" chocolate formula, after criticism from the inventor's grandson. Do other brands have similar recipe adjustment plans?

MENYHART:First, product quality is our top priority; second, we certainly listen to consumers. For Reese's, only a very small portion of products—mainly seasonal shapes—will return to the classic recipe.

Additionally, we are reviewing existing products. Some recipes are already excellent, but we believe there is still room for improvement. Kit Kat is a great example. We plan to improve the Kit Kat recipe in 2027 to make it smoother. I have already tried the improved product, and it is fantastic. We continuously seek ways to enhance quality based on consumer feedback. These are two areas where we are currently investing heavily.

At the same time, we listen to consumers and comply with all government regulations. We have invested resources to adjust our portfolio to be free of artificial colors. We have made progress in this area, and some new sweet products launching in early 2027 already use natural colors.

Removing artificial colors: Technological advancements bring confidence

FOOD DIVE:Hershey plans to remove artificial colors from its U.S. products by the end of 2027. How is this recipe reform progressing, especially for products like Jolly Rancher that rely on vibrant colors?

MENYHART:The good news is that although other companies tried to reformulate colorful products a decade ago without success, natural color technology has advanced significantly. I have had the privilege of working closely with the R&D team and witnessing different iterations of prototypes. Some products are stunningly perfect in the first version, with almost no noticeable difference; others might make consumers feel the blue or green is not vibrant enough. But after the second iteration, the results have clearly improved. Based on the revised versions I have seen recently, I am very confident they will meet consumer expectations.