Hershey says it won’t be able to meet the demand for Halloween this year.

[ad_1]

“We will not be able to fully meet the needs of consumers,” Hershey’s CEO Michelle Bach warned in comments prepared for the company’s second quarter results Thursday.

The problem? Consumers are looking for more formal and Halloween-themed candy than Hershey can, at least for now.

Many consumer goods manufacturers are struggling to meet demand for their products during the pandemic, particularly with ongoing supply chain issues. That means they’ve had to cut back on some less popular items or, like the late, great Choco Taco, cut it altogether.

Hershey is in the same boat.

Hershey's doesn't expect to meet the demand for Halloween candy.
Demand for sweets increased during the pandemic and remains high. Meanwhile, interest in Halloween continues to grow. That’s bittersweet news for Hershey, which saw sales increase — the company posted double-digit sales growth in the quarter compared to a year ago — but had to make some product sacrifices.

The chocolate maker uses the same production lines for regular and seasonal products. That means it cannot produce both regular sweets and Halloween or holiday items. Instead, it should do one or the other.

“We had a strategy of prioritizing shelf presence every day,” Book said during an analyst call about the company’s second-quarter results. “This was a choice we had to make,” she said. “It was a tough decision.”

That means giving way to competitors like Mars Wrigley, who make M&Ms, Snickers, Skittles and other candies and candy during the busy Halloween season. Hershey is adding more manufacturing lines and hopes to be able to meet the demand in the next two years.

But it has other issues.

In addition to capacity constraints, the company is facing supply chain challenges, including rising milk prices and scarce resources. To get the ingredients they need, Hershey has to get them from other suppliers, which is expensive.

These cases are mostly related to the war in Ukraine, Buck said.

[ad_2]

Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *