MARKETING

Hershey

While it’s known for its eponymous sweet chocolate bar, shifting consumer behavior has made The Hershey Company a little salty.

In recent years, consumers have been eating fewer confections—particularly chocolate—but more savory snacks, while the chocolate space has faced increasing competition and lots of volatility. Now, the parent of brands like Reese’s, Kit Kat, and Almond Joy is looking to diversify its portfolio to keep consumers engaged. That strategy started with its purchase of SkinnyPop parent Amplify Snack Brands in 2017, followed by Pirate’s Booty parent Pirate Brands, Dot’s Pretzels, and, most recently, LesserEvil. And this year, it introduced a new business model, ONE Hershey, to better market the company as more than just a sweets seller.

The new strategy led Veronica Villasenor, a 20+-year Hershey veteran, to shift from president of salty snacks to becoming the company’s first global chief brand officer, tasked with building long-term customer relationships and establishing Hershey’s brand growth agenda for the next three to five years.

Hershey’s North America Salty Snacks business accounts for about 11% of sales, which the company aims to increase to 20%, with the goal of becoming “the undisputed No. 2 player in salty snacks as an enterprise” (it’s currently third), Villasenor, who shared how the company is working to prove the unit is worth its salt, told Retail Brew.

Keep reading here.—EC

      

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CONSUMER BEHAVIOR & TRENDS

Adobe

Consumers may be more cautious of AI-generated wellness influencers on Instagram touting misleading health advice, but that doesn’t mean they’re universally against the presence of AI in brand marketing.

A recent survey from Caimera, an AI platform for fashion visuals, revealed that 70% of consumers are actually “neutral or conditionally open” to the use of AI imagery, while 10% deemed it harmful.

But before you assume these figures represent a carte blanche, there are caveats. While shoppers are OK with AI being used for settings like enhancing backgrounds, lighting, or staging in photos, using it to modify “substance”—meaning fit, color, or efficacy—breaks trust.

It’s also why those surveyed were more open to AI imagery in products where “accuracy is easier to verify,” such as home and furniture (65%), and electronics and gadgets (60%), versus supplements and health products (41%) or beauty and skin care (35%).

Keep reading here.—JS

      

OPERATIONS

John Peyton

For many entrepreneurs, the dream is to build something entirely their own. Franchising offers a different path: owning and growing a business within an established system. A January 2026 study from the International Franchise Association reported that 64% of franchisees are first-time business owners, making franchising an entry point to entrepreneurship for many aspiring founders.

Few executives have spent more time thinking about that trade-off than John Peyton. Before becoming CEO of Dine Brands, the parent company of Applebee’s and IHOP, Peyton built his career as a brand leader across the hospitality industry, including at hotels, restaurants, and consumer-facing businesses.

Keep reading here on Founder Brew.—JH

      

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swapping skus

Today’s top retail reads.

Dynamic do-no: New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill signed a bill into law that bans businesses from surveillance pricing in the state. (The Guardian)

Recall me maybe: Taylor Farms reportedly contacted the White House to try to delay the recall of products suspected of being linked to the cyclospora outbreak. (the Wall Street Journal)

Careful what you squish for: How both children and adults got obsessed with squishy toys. (the New York Times)