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Hershey is leaning into the "trunk or treat" trend, which often takes place long before Halloween. Hershey Stacy Taffet, Hershey's chief growth and marketing officer, has already entered her spooky season.

The Reese's and Jolly Rancher parent is conjuring up a new Halloween playbook, carving the holiday into distinct micro-seasons that start months before October 31, Taffet exclusively told CMO Insider.

A Morning Consult survey commissioned by Hershey in July found that 67% of US parents had bought Halloween candy or snacks during the summer in recent years. Almost half (49%) of parents polled were familiar with the term "Summerween."

With consumers celebrating Halloween early, CMOs face a challenge in building excitement without peaking too soon.

Taffet said Hershey has shifted from treating Halloween as "one long extended season" to a more occasion-led approach, with different brands and products promoted at different points.

Summer is about cueing the season with Reese's assorted Halloween shapes and marketing that centers on rituals like pumpkin carving and fall lattes.

"We'll use more parts of the portfolio that are either for individual consumption or for sharing in small groups as a way to say, 'Let's get excited, the season's coming,'" Taffet said.

As fall approaches, Hershey plans to lean into the "trunk or treating" trend, where families gather in parking lots for children to collect candy from car trunks.

When October nears, activity will ramp up, including a partnership with Amazon to deliver ready-to-go large trick-or-treat bowls and a bigger push for non-chocolate brands, such as its Pirate's Booty salty snacks.

Halloween is a high-stakes moment for Hershey. Last year, Hershey CEO Kirk Tanner said its Halloween sales performance had been disappointing, citing warmer weather among other factors. Retailers were also discounting candy at the time, following price hikes driven by higher cocoa prices.

Tanner said on last October's earnings call that there were opportunities to "go to school" on consumer insights to improve for Halloween 2026, such as evaluating new pack types, price points, and the product mix.

Behind the scenes, Taffet, who joined the company in April 2025, has been reconfiguring her department to handle moments like these.

"The biggest thing I've been focused on is really breaking down functional silos," so the company can more quickly react to consumer trends, Taffet said.

Within the growth office, the marketing, insights, innovation, and research and development teams now function together.

Hershey recently introduced a new marketing mix model — a method that determines the impact of individual marketing channels on sales — enabled by AI.

Taffet said AI and automation tools are making it easier for Hershey to flag celebrities and influencers who are already talking about its brands and reach out about potential partnerships. It has also deployed AI tools to its retail sales force to strengthen merchandising.

"Our retail team will go to a store manager and, using an augmented reality tool and analytics powered by AI, say, 'If you put the KitKat display over here by the checkout, your sales are going to go up by X%,'" Taffet said.

Taffet said Hershey is also aware that many people are financially stretched, and is introducing new product formats at lower prices.

"If they only have $20 to spend on getting their kid excited about Halloween, it could be a costume, it could be decorations, it could be Reese's Shapes, and we want to make sure that we're top of mind to delight people in that season," she said.

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Lara O'Reilly You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.

Lara O'Reilly is the anchor of the CMO Insider newsletter.She is a senior correspondent who has covered the digital advertising, marketing, and media industries since 2010. Her current beat includes big tech companies like Alphabet, and Meta, and adtech firms, agencies,  publishers, the creator economy, and CMOs.Lara has previously worked as a reporter and executive producer at titles including The Wall Street Journal, Digiday, Yahoo Finance, and Marketing Week. She was previously Business Insider's senior global advertising editor from 2014 to 2017.Lara was named "Digital Journalist of the Year" by the London Press Club in 2016.Lara is a regular guest on TV and radio and has appeared on outlets such as the BBC, NPR, SiriusXM's Wharton Business Daily, and CTV Television Network. She also frequently speaks on stage at major events such as Web Summit, IFA, VivaTech, Advertising Week, and Cannes Lions.To get in touch with Lara O'Reilly, email [email protected] or contact her on Signal at @loreilly.71Check out Insider's source guide for tips on sharing information securely.Read some of Lara's recent work below:

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Hershey Today

$179.81 +4.36 (+2.49%)

As of 02:06 PM Eastern

This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.

52-Week Range$160.07▼

$239.48Dividend Yield3.23%

P/E Ratio33.51

Price Target$217.50

After a sweet run-up in its stock back in February, Hershey NYSE: HSY is now trading 3.8% below its year-start price.

But while the share price is lingering, the company’s picture has changed. Having overcome soaring cocoa costs with remarkable pricing power, easing commodity pressures, and the proven strength of its brands, the company is positioning itself for a potential margin recovery.

Get Hershey alerts:

Most analysts rate it a Hold, with a 20% upside, as a balance of pricing and demand continues. Yet with a proven loyalty from customers and an alignment of new products, the company appears well-positioned if the market follows current trends.

Hershey's Pricing Power Is Paying OffWhat hurt the company recently was a well-known event. Cocoa prices surged to historic highs in late 2024 and 2025, squeezing the margins of every chocolate maker in the world. Hershey saw its net income drop from $797 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 to $224 million the next three months in 2025 and to $63 million the quarter after that.

For Hershey, which generated annual sales of $11.7 billion last year and holds a market capitalization of around $36 billion, the shock also arrived at an awkward moment. The company was already pursuing a broader portfolio reorganization. It was pushing harder into salty snacks, including Dot's Homestyle Pretzels. LesserEvil, and SkinnyPop, as well as protein products, such as Fulfil bars in North America.

Sales and Earnings Rebound Despite Higher CostsWhen cocoa prices soared, the story for Hershey shifted from long-term growth to short-term damage control. As a result, the company leaned into its pricing power. By the end of last year, organic price realization, or the benefit from price increases, rose 6% in the fourth quarter of 2025, then accelerated to 10% in the first quarter of 2026. Consumers might have grumbled, but they kept buying.

The first-quarter 2026 results told the broader story. Consolidated net sales reached $3.1 billion, up 10.6% from $2.8 billion a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.35, an increase of 12.4%, and well above analyst estimates, compared with $2.09 in the prior-year period. Reported net income was $435 million, or $2.13 per share, from $1.10 a year earlier.

Operating results were also sharply higher. The first quarter’s reported operating profit rose 73.5% to $640.7 million, while the profit margin hit 20.6%, up 7.4 points from last year. The company said an increase in sales and prices helped offset higher commodity and tariff-related costs.

Looking ahead, management reaffirmed its full-year guidance of 4% to 5% net sales growth and 30% to 35% adjusted earnings per share (EPS) growth. The full-year adjusted EPS is projected to come in the range of $8.20 to $8.52 compared with $6.31 in 2025.

Lower Cocoa Prices Could Boost MarginsThe success of its salty snacks was evident in North America, which reported $2.5 billion in net sales. That segment recorded an acquisition-led 26% year-over-year increase, while North American confectionery products recorded an 8.3% increase.

The cost picture is improving, but not resolved. In the previous quarter, the gross margin fell 17 percentage points to 37% as cocoa prices remained high. Even in the first three months of 2026, adjusted gross margin rose to 40.4%, but was still down 80 basis points year over year due to elevated commodity and tariff-related costs.

The encouraging development is that cocoa prices have fallen dramatically from their late-2024 and early-2025 highs, which were well above $10,000 per metric ton. Having fallen below $4,000 earlier this year, the commodity is currently trading at nearly $5,000.

ONE Hershey Aims to Drive Long-Term GrowthBeyond cocoa, the company is making other structural moves.

In March, the company announced the unification of its sweet, salty, and protein brand portfolios under an integrated operating model called ONE Hershey. The company hopes that by having its products under a single umbrella, it can more effectively align strategy, cross-selling, brand messaging, in-store performance, and innovation.

The initiative also comes at a time of top management changes. A new president and CEO took over last August, and more recently, a new president of U.S. operations was appointed to oversee the integrated businesses.

Analysts See Upside But Remain CautiousOverall MarketRank™97th Percentile

Analyst RatingHold

Upside/Downside21.7% Upside

Short Interest LevelHealthy

Dividend StrengthStrong

News Sentiment0.79 Insider TradingSelling Shares

Proj. Earnings Growth17.04%

See Full Analysis

The financial picture around the stock reflects the tension between the business quality and the cost environment.

Over the past 52 weeks, Hershey has traded between $160 to nearly $240 per share. At current levels around $175 per share, its price/earnings ratio of over 33 is not cheap, and the consensus among 23 analysts is that the stock is currently a Hold. Sixteen analysts recommend a Hold, and seven recommend a Buy.

With an average 12-month price target of $217.50, the current upside on the stock is above 20%. The highest price target is $260 and the lowest is $185, suggesting genuine uncertainty about the pace of margin recovery.

Hershey also carries a sizable quarterly dividend of $1.45 per share for a yield above 3%. The company has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years,

The Next Few Quarters Could Be CriticalWhether the momentum that Hershey has created continues will soon be seen in its second-quarter earnings.

The question is whether its pricing power has held and how much lower cocoa costs will help. New management will also help set direction.

For investors, Hershey presents a choice between patience and precision. Hershey is a category-leading company with a storied brand in the consumer staples sector. It has proven pricing power, a 15-year dividend growth streak, and a commodity headwind that appears to be easing. The next quarter or two should show if the trajectory continues.

Should You Invest $1,000 in Hershey Right Now?Before you consider Hershey, you'll want to hear this.

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