Shelley E. Kohan (00:03)
Hi everybody and thanks for joining our weekly podcast. I’m Shelley Kohan and I’m very excited today to welcome Stephanie Berman, Vice President of Retail for the Hershey Company. It’s great to have you.

Stephanie Berman (00:16)
Shelley, it’s wonderful to be here and excited to spend some time talking to you today just about how we think about retail excellence and activating our big moments for consumers in store. So looking forward to the conversation.

Shelley E. Kohan (00:29)
It’s great. Before we jump in though, I have to say, so you started at Hershey, I’m just going to say a few years ago. ⁓ I think. Yeah, go ahead. Now you go.

Stephanie Berman (00:36)
Let’s go with that. A few years ago it is. I start… Okay.

I certainly, ⁓

a few years, what I am so honored to be able to do in this role is actually lead the team that is where I started my career. And it’s really where you understand and learn the fundamentals of retail operations and how decisions are made at retail, the core components of InstaExcellence with merchandising and leveraging data. So ⁓ it’s really fun for me to now be able to lead this incredible group and know that that’s where I started my career. And we hope that others also

see that as inspiration as they embark on their career here.

Shelley E. Kohan (01:16)
love that about your story and also ⁓ was this your first job out of college? ⁓ that’s great.

Stephanie Berman (01:22)
It was, it was. Yes, just a few years ago, but yeah,

we are on many college campuses around the country and hope to find individuals again that can learn the fundamentals and then progress their career at the Hershey Company.

Shelley E. Kohan (01:37)
Stephanie, you’re a retail warrior that that’s what I call myself having started in sales as a salesperson and like spent so many years in it. So but one thing I love about the Hershey company is I never have to explain to anyone about the Hershey company because it’s been around for 130 years. And what’s great about it is everyone has a connection to Hershey. There’s a story out there. Everyone has a story. Right. So today we’re going to talk about the ⁓

two of the biggest events in March, ⁓ Easter and March Madness. And we know what Hershey has to do with Easter, but March Madness. So that’ll be fun. And of course, we’re gonna touch upon innovation and tech, because that’s always front of mind for retailers out there. And lastly, you’re going to give us ⁓ some tips on this excellent retail strategy that you made a nice introduction of. So I’m excited about our conversation. Before we get started, I do wanna congratulate

Hershey Company on a fantastic year. You recently announced your fourth quarter fiscal earnings up 7 % in sales. So congrats and up 4.4 % for the year. So congratulations.

Stephanie Berman (02:49)
Thank you. Well, it really was a great close to the year. We love that we’ve got that strong momentum to take from the close of the year in 25 to set us up for another great year here in 26. And of course, with Easter and NCAA being core elements of how we’ve got confidence that we’ll deliver the year. And I love your commentary around what it means to work for the Hershey company. I say this all the time to our team. There’s so many great companies out there, but when you get to say you work for Hershey, that’s exactly

what you hear. Everybody’s got this special story of, you know, when I was young and I celebrated the holidays or my, you know, family would bake with this or I had this in a candy dish. It’s really, really fun. And so I cherish that. And my kids think it’s great too. You know, they still think I, you know, I work in the factory and I make the chocolate, but we’ll keep that young innocence and love for chocolate going as long as we can.

Shelley E. Kohan (03:43)
I love that. All right, so

let’s kind of start with Hershey’s retail approach. Tell us a little bit about how you think about retail.

Stephanie Berman (03:50)
Yeah, for us, ⁓ you know, it is about understanding the core fundamentals of retail. Most importantly, what’s important to consumers and to retailers. You know, it’s about bringing experiential elements to life, making those meaningful connections with our brands, inspiring those to purchase. It’s about shelf excellence. And so our team really does bring all of those things together. We use a depth of data. We use technology that we’re continuing to invest in and advance to really help us

be maniacal about where we go, what stores we’re visiting, how long we’re staying there, what are the core activities that we need to prioritize and focus on, and then most importantly how do we bring to life the aligned plans that we have with our retailers so that we’re bringing you know joint benefit to the consumer and the retailer.

Shelley E. Kohan (04:40)
love that. And I know we’re going to talk a little bit about some of this innovation and technology so we can ⁓ learn more about what you specifically mean about technology and innovation. I think you have some examples for us as well. ⁓ let’s dive into this Easter. Easter’s got to be huge for you.

Stephanie Berman (04:58)
Easter is one of our largest seasons. Of course, the dates fluctuate. But what’s really fun about Easter, actually about every season, is that there’s something unique and different about each season. They don’t interact or act in the same way. And so for Easter, it really is about how the consumers bring meaning to the fun shapes that we have with our Reese’s egg. We have new Kit Kat shapes. It’s about filling the Easter basket. It’s about novelty gifts that drive fun for the… ⁓

Easter baskets and egg hunts. And then of course early in the season, it’s really important for us and we get out early to help introduce the season with our portfolio of instant consumables. Again, the Cadbury egg and the Reese’s egg are just staples for the season and it’s just as much about ensuring that the consumers purchase and have excitement about the season. But we also get to introduce the season to the consumers as they’re walking retail. So as soon as they see those Cadbury and Reese eggs, they get excited and knowing that we’re in the Easter season.

Shelley E. Kohan (05:57)
That’s great. And you can get them early because you are a wholesaler that sells to the grocery store industry. People are in the grocery store every single week. So you get customers literally when you want to get them, because most customers are in the grocery store once a week. So that’s great. You can help with that story creation, right?

Stephanie Berman (06:12)
They

certainly are. We get out. mean, there’s retailers that…

in the end of Q4 during the holiday season with Christmas that they will actually have those items on the floor, again, getting excited to introduce the season even as it overlaps with holiday and with Valentine’s. And to your point, retailers do like to really lean in. Again, consumers are excited about it, but we are that additive item to the basket. so having these moments throughout the store, we like to say finding points of inspiration around the store. That’s exactly what it does.

You typically don’t have these items on your list, but as people walk the store, they see it, they get excited, they are inspired, and of course get to make the purchase and be delighted with our brands.

Shelley E. Kohan (06:59)
think one of the cool things that I saw that Hershey’s doing, and I think this is great, is you’re using, I think it’s AR, to help with the pop-up displays. Can you talk a little bit about, because I think I was fascinated by your approach, and that kind of gets the retailer really on board with what you’re trying, the story you’re trying to create.

Stephanie Berman (07:10)
right.

That’s exactly what it is. We have an amazing team that…

the individual that helped create it started her career as a rep as well, but wanted to help find some ways that we could bring to life what displays would look like in store, so that when we were having the conversations with store management, we could provide them recommendations and sometimes you might hear, well, I don’t know how that’s going to look or will it fit in that space? And so the ability to take 3D images and actually put them in a physical space allows us to share that with the store manager for them to be able to see it. And then we solidify

getting our product executed in that location, we also have been able to overlay insights with it. So it’s about, again, those points in the store to inspire. And we’ve gleaned insights around early execution and what that does to get product, again, in front of the consumer as early as possible. We’ve seen upwards of 25 % lift in retailers where we execute early and then in locations, you know, call it the front of the store versus the back of the store. And it’s all about how the consumer is shopping.

plus percent increase in different locations around the store. So it’s not only just the visual to be able to show it, but also then the insights that we can capture to again ensure that we help the retailer sell through and we capture those moments for the consumer as they’re making their shopping trip.

Shelley E. Kohan (08:43)
that’s AR with data kind of telling the whole story. That’s fantastic. So what a great add on there. The days of flat planograms is gone, done, dusted. They’re just.

Stephanie Berman (08:46)
Thank you.

It really is and it’s that.

the depth of technology and data, but then

it’s also that ability to be really prescriptive to the consumer because every store has a unique consumer base or demographics. And so these sort of stagnant planograms or even in-store mapping and modeling of displays, just can’t work in this

The consumer is changing quickly and we really need to meet the consumer where they are. And so these advanced tools, the technology and data really help us do that.

Shelley E. Kohan (09:28)
Now that’s great. And you’re really playing into GenAlpha because GenAlpha is expecting this type of experience and, you know, virtual integration of AI. So that’s great. Let’s talk.

Stephanie Berman (09:41)
That’s exactly right.

I think consumers, as they’re making their choices on where they shop, they want to know that where they’re shopping is a retailer they can trust and that they’re going to provide quality and the assortment that makes the most sense. And so I think to that point, it really is this gen alpha sort of demographic, and we need to ensure that we’re evolving with them.

Shelley E. Kohan (10:05)
That’s for sure, because they are the next big buying group for us. So all right, let’s talk about March Madness. So Hershey has been affiliated with the NCAA since 2009. So you’ve been having this great partnership, and then you announced a new six-year extension in 2023. So tell us how Hershey became the official confectionary partner for NCAA.

Stephanie Berman (10:30)
What’s really fun about NCAA is it’s such a powerful, you know, consumer moment. And for us, we’ve been able to really bring forward three core meaningful brands on one platform, which we’ve never done before, not to the scale that we will this year. And so we get to bring the power of our Reese’s brand, which has been the core staple of our NCAA partnership. But it’s not just about bringing the brand forward for 2026. have a new character, so Coach Cup, which you see in stores on all of our fun

experiential elements of our displays. We of course have Reese’s University which has been so fun for the consumer and so we’re able to bring that to life through expanded paid support and in-store elements and focused on our core instant consumables. And then of course we have Shackalicious. So this is year two of Shackalicious as the official gummy of March Madness and so this year launched an amazing innovation with Shackalicious Slams which is our first introduction of

sort of a multi-texture, it’s limited time offering to expand the franchise and really then appeal to that younger audience. And then of course, the power of Dot’s Pretzels. So we’ve got chocolate, we’ve got sugar and sweets, and we’ve got a salty offering with Dot’s Pretzels. So not only are our core Dot’s Pretzels, but we also launched Dot’s Snack Mix ahead of March Madness, which is amazing. It’s one of those where, you know, we took it on a trip, a road trip this week.

Shelley E. Kohan (11:52)
⁓

Stephanie Berman (12:00)
with the kids and it was one where I was like, okay, if we don’t take the bag, we might just eat the whole thing outstanding. ⁓ But we know that sort of this combination of salty and sugar and chocolate really meet that consumer need. It’s about getting together for parties. It’s about celebrating. It’s watch parties. It’s bracket challenges. And so having that core of those ⁓ sort of different facets of the category really help with meeting the consumer where they are. And then also for retailers, it’s a much broader

Shelley E. Kohan (12:05)
Yeah.

Stephanie Berman (12:30)
sort of bundle right when they buy all together and so we get to merchandise and sell in scale and then ultimately reach the consumer and what they’re looking for. So as we think about DOTS and how we’re expanding our portfolio, 57 % of consumers prefer pretzels for their TV watching, so more than one in two. So of course we want to make sure we’ve got the right items to meet that consumer where they are.

Shelley E. Kohan (12:51)
step.

Absolutely. think one of the smartest things that Hershey did was you didn’t just acquire DOTS. You actually acquired the manufacturing process of DOTS. So now you can quickly scale, quickly come out with the snack mix and all these other great innovations. That was brilliant. Just brilliant.

Stephanie Berman (13:12)
I’m so proud that we did that and as we continue to learn and evolve and grow, I think that was one of the core learnings for us, especially as we broaden into snacking and salty snacks. So the fact that we’ve got the full capacity of just the brands and manufacturing has absolutely helped us scale and innovate. And so I’m excited with where we’ve taken that brand and I’m excited for where we’re gonna continue to take it.

Shelley E. Kohan (13:37)
yes, one of my favorite brands of course is Dots. And I believe Dots is the official pretzel of the NCAA and Skinny Pop the official popcorn, right?

Stephanie Berman (13:48)
think that’s correct.

Shelley E. Kohan (13:50)
Yeah, so that’s awesome. And the other thing I just want to mention is that, you know, sports is such a part of the American fabric and culture. Like we’re so connected to sports. And I know Hershey does a lot because she also support the Team USA Olympics and the Para Olympics as well, which is great. You came out with your gold medal chocolate. So I think there’s like when you talk about stories and connections, you know, think about

everyone that watches the NCAA and every all the all of us that watch the Olympics, you know, what a great connection there.

Stephanie Berman (14:23)
You know, I couldn’t agree more. think for us, it really is about understanding where our brands have the most meaningful connections with consumers and what matters most to the consumer. And so these moments of connection and, you know, being together and celebration is where we want our brands to show up for consumers. And so it’s the core seasonal elements and then what we call these tent poles. So these are other meaningful moments for consumers sort of outside of the windows of our core season. So things like Olympics, things like the

NCAA for both March Madness as well as Fall Football. And then we’ve got America 250. So we’re trying to really bring our brands to life at the moments that matter, but throughout the calendar of the year. And we do that not only within our own construct, but we work hand in hand with retailers because these are meaningful moments for consumers across the board. And so we help bring these moments to life in store using our team. But we really do align with what retailers are focused on as well. So that’s where these

meaningful moments show up collectively and we help guide the consumer when they’re in the store on these big events.

Shelley E. Kohan (15:31)
think the other thing that Hershey does really well is that you actually monitor social media and you get ideas from social. Like you have a really good pulse on what the consumer, how they’re feeling, what they’re thinking, all of that. So.

Stephanie Berman (15:43)
You have to, I mean you really do, especially in this environment because they are changing so quickly. And consumers have a voice today that maybe they didn’t have 10 years ago and the ability to socialize something and to scale something. So you really have to be very focused and keep a pulse on the consumer and everything we do, even down to my team is grounded in the consumer. We take consumer data and help retailers make decisions for what their consumer is looking for. And again, every consumer is different.

Every retailer is different and so our team having very prescriptive insights down to the store level helps us make sure that we’re meeting that consumer where they are.

Shelley E. Kohan (16:23)
That’s great. So the Hershey company is very complex. You’re a retailer, you’re a wholesaler, you have your entertainment ⁓ arm as well. how, us these excellence tips. Like how are you consistently executing all the time every day across a very complex, you know, infrastructure that you have.

Stephanie Berman (16:43)
It is, I think back to this ⁓ comment around the consumer, the way that we’re structured really does define how we meet the consumer where they are. So, you know, for our retail stores, it’s all about the power of our brands and really driving that connection when they’re in store. And each component of the store brings forth, you know, a new moment and it brings forth the essence of that brand. When the consumer is in the store, we have sensory elements in there and it’s really fun, but each

is really focused on the brand and the essence of that brand. And then for our team, we have agility in our model that helps us ensure we meet the consumer where they are. And so the stores that we go to, how frequently we’re there, how much time we spend, the priorities when we’re in that store are really grounded in the consumer. And as we see a shift in the consumer, we’re going to shift our model to make sure that we meet them where they are. And then of course, you can’t forget the role that we play online. And so as we think about our strategy and as we think

about even my team in store. We understand that the consumer is shopping one at multiple retailers, but of course it’s a full Omni shopper. But the role in store is critical to the Omni shopper. And so as we know that operators are using in store inventory to pick to fulfill orders, our team is there to make sure that shelves are full, we’re compliant on all the in store planograms, or we make smart recommendations for stores that have some flexibility in their planogram so that we can make sure that we fulfill the demand both in store as well as those.

shopping online.

Shelley E. Kohan (18:14)
Now,

that’s great. You really have to look at the holistic view ⁓ all the time of the customer. And you’re right, the consumers, I mean, they’re changing so quickly now. It’s very difficult to stay ahead of them, although we do try our best.

Stephanie Berman (18:27)
We do try. They are faster than ever, but that’s where you’ve

got to have the right model that allows for that agility to quickly pivot as the consumer does.

Shelley E. Kohan (18:36)
So tell me about, really interested in what are the ways you’re using AI or innovative technologies in either the consumer shopping journey or to help retailers be better retailers.

Stephanie Berman (18:47)
⁓ We are excited as we embark on how we best design and define the right tools with AI. ⁓

Collectively across the enterprise, have our innovation hub here and retailers are able to come in and talk about long-term strategy. And so we can showcase not only the depth of our technology and tools with AI, but also what retailers have the option to consider in their store operations. So have things like electronic shelf labels, which have been in, future technologies that we show. We do virtual reality. So as we think about recommendations for planogram design, which of course is always

evolving. ⁓ We’re able to bring them in and use virtual reality so that they can actually almost feel like you’re in a store as we make some recommendations and be interactive. And then for our team, we’ve got the augmented reality as we talked about. We also do image recognition, so that allows us to capture an image and within moments confirm if it was a planogram that we were monitoring or supporting our retailers on. You can take a quick picture and it tells you very quickly this is

in

line with the planogram or these items are missing, these are the items you need to make sure that you course correct on, which is great. And then we have aspirations as we think about the future to help us better scale our portfolio faster and then to drive efficiency and effectiveness. Again, with some of the automation elements and prescriptive insights, ⁓ aspirationally we’re in the early stages now of embarking on that journey and I’m so excited with what the power of AI can do. It really is its data and so it takes

Shelley E. Kohan (20:24)
Yeah.

Stephanie Berman (20:24)
back

to what’s most important to the consumer. So that’s coming on the horizon.

Shelley E. Kohan (20:29)
I love it. I wish you were around when I was actually in store retail, because I would spend hours checking off the skews on a table and a wall. know, it is like a

Stephanie Berman (20:38)
⁓ yeah.

It’s, you know, if you have an image of the planet grams, which we provide our teams, you know, you’re looking at a very small font and you have to try to expand to make it larger. so the power of what you can do with image recognition is just, it’s amazing. And retailers are using it as well. Whether they have shelf cameras or whether they have robots in stores, all about getting real time data so that they can best ensure that on shelf availability for their customers. So it’s, it’s the power of data, both for what our team can do. And then also.

retailers.

Shelley E. Kohan (21:11)
What I

love about Hershey is you’re all about this timely storytelling and what you like to call, your words not mine, this emotional equity that you have with the consumer and winning over these consumers from what we call an attention economy.

Stephanie Berman (21:27)
That’s right. It is an attention economy. love that because ⁓ they’re moving quickly. Everything that people want these days is at their fingertips. And so you’ve got to help bring that to life for them. so again, that’s the role of our team is that you have these points of inspiration in the store as they’re making their shopping journey and where we know we’ve got high affinity categories. That’s where we want to show up for the consumer.

Shelley E. Kohan (21:50)
That’s great. Anything you’d like to add, anything you want to tell us about, about what we can look forward to that’s coming out that you’re allowed to share.

Stephanie Berman (21:57)
well, that we’re allowed to share, you’ll see some fun things for America 250. You know, you think about the Hershey Company and it’s 130 plus years and the story of Milton Hershey and really what we mean to, you the Americans.

Shelley E. Kohan (22:03)
Yay!

Stephanie Berman (22:15)
Economy like we have a power in our brand and so we want to be able to show up meaningfully So you’ll see some fun things for America 250 ⁓ and then some great things to come towards the end of the year with Milton Hershey a story about Milton Hershey that we’re excited to be able to share broadly and so I think there’s some fun things that you’ll see there I’m not sure I can fully share at the moment, but be on the lookout be on the lookout

Shelley E. Kohan (22:40)
I love

it. Well, Stephanie, it’s always a pleasure chatting shop with you. I love our conversations and thank you so much for all your service in the industry and helping retailers be better retailers.

Stephanie Berman (22:52)
Thank you so much. It was so wonderful to chat with you. We should get into a store one day. It’d be a lot of fun. We can talk about all the great things. I would love that. Again, it’s, I think for both of us, it’s a passion for all the things that happen in retail. Retail is detail. And so I think we’d have a lot of fun together in a store. Let’s do it. Thank you so much for having me. Great talking to you.

Shelley E. Kohan (22:57)
Yes!

We’re definitely going to plan that. Thank you.