Hershey Acquires Sour Candy Brand Sour Strips

The Hershey Co. announced Friday that it had acquired sour candy brand Sour Strips. The brand has a powerful social media presence, Hershey said, and was founded by social media personality Maxx Chewning in 2019.

Chewning will continue to lead marketing and innovation efforts for the brand.

"The acquisition of Sour Strips expands Hershey's offerings within our growing sweets portfolio with a product that is beloved by consumers," said Mike Del Pozzo, president of U.S. confection at The Hershey Co. "We're energized to welcome Maxx and the Sour Strips team to Hershey as we relentlessly accelerate our growth in sweets."

Sour Strips was created to invigorate the sour candy segment with a distinctive product that combines “shockingly sour” flavors with innovative branding to elevate the candy experience, Hershey said. It has more than 219,000 followers on Instagram and 217,000 on TikTok.

The candy comes in flavors like Watermelon, Pink Lemonade, Green Apple, Tropical Mango and more. It brands itself as being “sour candy that doesn’t suck" and that is "actually sour," according to its website.

“Our partnership with The Hershey Co. represents a significant step in our mission to innovate and set new standards within the confection category,” said Chewning. “Hershey's exceptional track record making iconic brands worldwide aligns perfectly with our vision for Sour Strips. Together with Hershey, our team is excited to continue delivering extraordinary experiences to candy enthusiasts around the globe.”

Chocolate has been driving much of the declines in the confectionery category, Don Burke, senior vice president at Management Science Associates Inc., shared at CSP’s Center Store Forum in September. Nonchocolate is doing better in c-stores, although it was also down in sales from second-quarter 2023 to second-quarter 2024, according to MSA shipment data.

The Hershey Co., Hershey, Pennsylvania, is known for its chocolate candies like the Hershey’s bar, Reese’s Kisses, Kit Kats and more. It also has nonchocolate brands including Jolly Rancher and Twizzlers, and salty snacks like SkinnyPop, Pirate’s Boot and Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels.

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Hannah Hammond is a senior editor at CSP Magazine...