Hershey, PA — The Hershey Co. has created a candy pairing guide designed to match its holiday offerings with the most popular traditions unveiled in a recent survey conducted for the company by OnePoll.
“Hershey knows that magical feeling of being surrounded by loved ones and cherishing every moment this special season brings,” says Katie Behrman, associate brand manager, seasons, at Hershey. “We want to help transform those sweet moments into lifelong memories by adding an extra element of delight with our seasonal products like Hershey’s Kisses in festive foils, new Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Hot Chocolate Bombs and Rolo Creamy Caramels Wrapped in Rich Chocolate.”
The Hershey’s holiday tradition heat map shows which traditions are most popular by state and consumers then use the candy pairing guide to match the Hershey’s products to the tradition. The company notes that the most popular activities vary from state to state, such as Utah loving decorating their Christmas trees while New Mexico is ready to settle in for a holiday movie.
Favorite traditions by state:
- Decorating the Christmas tree – Utah (82%), New York (79%), Vermont (79%), Tennessee (78%), Washington (77%), North Dakota (76%), Louisiana (75%), Pennsylvania (75%), Montana (74%), Oklahoma (74%), Rhode Island (74%), Arizona (72%), Massachusetts (68%), Delaware (67%), Illinois (64%)
- Exchanging gifts – Idaho (79%), Connecticut (76%), Michigan (75%), Georgia (74%), South Dakota (74%), Iowa (73%), Maryland (73%), New Jersey (73%), South Carolina (73%), Wyoming (73%), Kansas (72%), Missouri (72%), Ohio (72%), Wisconsin (72%), Oregon (71%), Hawaii (70%), Minnesota (70%), Colorado (68%), Virginia (67%), Alaska (66%), Nevada (62%)
- Watching a favorite holiday movie – New Mexico (81%), Florida (73%), Indiana (73%), Mississippi (72%), New Hampshire (71%), California (70%), North Carolina (65%), Texas (63%), Nebraska (61%)
- Going to look at holiday lights/decorations – Kentucky (80%), Alabama (77%), West Virginia (69%), Arkansas (68%), Maine (67%)
Hershey’s holiday 2022 line includes classic Hershey’s Kisses in festive foils and in the beloved Candy Cane flavor as well as Reese’s Peanut Butter Trees. New items for the season include the first-ever Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Hot Chocolate Bombs, and Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Holiday Bars with 24 varieties of seasonal imprinted images such as stars, wreaths, trees and stockings.
