Hershey sees a huge demand for chocolate and seasonal sweets as people pack up inside their homes, looking for every little opportunity to celebrate it.
“Throughout the year, seasons have been one of the key drivers, as consumers really wanted the convenience and normality of seasonal traditions and rituals at a time when Covid was uprooting their lives,” Hershey CEO Michele Buck said Thursday. an interview with Sara from CNBC, Sara, said. Claims about “Closing Bell.”
A striking example was a trend that Hershey noticed that the effects of coronavirus increased nationwide, and that the demand for s’mores ingredients increased. Families no doubt sought pleasure by frying in their backyards and frying s’mores by the fire. Hershey said chocolate sales were 40 to 50% higher in areas with a greater number of Covid-19 cases than in lower areas.
‘In the last year we’ve noticed that wherever the number of Covid cases has increased, we’re seeing an increase in sales of s’mores ingredients, and then we could use the salt counting track as a precedent of where we’re some of these efforts must focus and build and place media in those markets, ”Buck said.
Retailers are also prudent about the trends and have made sweets for Valentine’s Day and Easter sooner than ever to make sure they have enough stock.
Hershey shares rose less than 1% to $ 147.22 on Thursday after selling 5.7% to $ 2.19 billion in the fourth quarter. Net income rose 41% to $ 291.4 million. Hershey, excluding items, earned $ 1.49 per share, exceeding analysts’ estimates.