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Nothing Wrong with a Hershey’s Kiss Now and Then

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I like this take from James Freeman of The Wall Street Journal, who highlights CEO Michele Buck, for noticing that Americans still like tasty snacks. Freeman writes:

This column doesn’t make stock calls. This column is not irrationally exuberant about the market for sweet packaged snacks given the frequency at which Americans are told to stop eating sugar and to stop eating processed food and to stop snacking.

Still, it’s worth remembering that not every consumer is craving locally grown, organic quinoa. And there seems to be at least one CEO in the food industry who understands that Americans aren’t always willing to eat as instructed.

The Journal reports:

Hershey Co. Chief Executive Michele Buck said the company aims to strike “more balance” between its longstanding candy businesses and the healthier snack operations it has been building up via acquisitions.

Consumers talk a big game when it comes to eating healthy, but Ms. Buck said the company’s candy business isn’t going anywhere, and in many cases remains bigger than the healthier offerings.

“Consumers don’t always do what they say they are going to do,” she said.

And they don’t always do what they’re told. Ms. Buck is no doubt aware of the fortune that private equity investor Dean Metropoulos has made reviving non-trendy brands like Twinkies and Pabst Blue Ribbon and investing in savory snacks like Utz potato chips, even if such products are not necessarily celebrated by public-health experts.

What would we do without experts? Many consumers might simply enjoy favorite indulgences in moderation.

Read more here.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.

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