New innovations, consumers seeking comfort help propel sales.
There’s something about The Hershey Co.’s newest candy bar that exemplifies the tumultuous times the world seems to be enduring.
Whozeewhatzit.
There’s no question mark on the candy bar, but it’s the exact question I have been asking myself every time I check the news these days.
Whozeewhatzit?
The candy bar, which is the first new line extension of the Whatchamacallit brand in more than a decade, was named as such after The Hershey Co. asked fans to submit their most creative naming ideas for the new bar in return for $5,000 and a year's supply. After receiving more than 43,000 entries, the Whatchamacallit brand declared the name Whozeewhatzit, submitted by Lisa M. from Framingham, Mass., the winner.
It’s easy to imagine that Lisa M. was tapping into the same sense of uncertainty many are feeling these days, after enduring a global pandemic, a contentious U.S. election cycle, wild weather events, and all the ways those things have impacted the confectionery industry.
Trying to figure out all that? Whozeewhatzit now?
The candy bar, which features an added peanut butter crème layer and rice crisps, all covered in a chocolatey candy, is just one of the many innovations launched in the chocolate bar and wafer sector over the last year.
Consumers have been receptive. For the confectionery industry, one small silver lining over the last year is that as consumers absorbed the news in disbelief, asking Whozeewhatzit, they often reached for chocolate.
According to the latest data from IRI, a Chicago-based research firm, the chocolate bar category is doing well overall.
The data, which looks at the last 52 weeks ending June 13, 2021, shows sales are up in the three main categories that include chocolate bars. Sales also are up compared to pre-pandemic levels. IRI data from 2019 shows the very real growth in the sector. That data was for the latest 52 weeks ending Sept. 8, 2019.