Hershey hires PepsiCo executive as chief growth officer

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Dive Brief:

• Hershey named PepsiCo veteran Stacy Taffet as its chief growth officer, tasking her with overseeing the Reese's maker's expanding snacks portfolio of brands such as Dot's pretzels.
• Taffet will start the role on April 14. In a statement, Hershey said she has a proven track record driving growth and managing multi-billion-dollar brands across snacks and beverages including Pepsi and Bubly.
• Her appointment comes two months after Hershey hired Andrew Archambault from Keurig Dr Pepper to lead its North American confectionery business and promoted Hershey veteran Veronica Villasenor to run its salty snacks segment. Separately, Michele Buck, Hershey’s CEO, has announced she will step down in 2026.

Dive Insight:

As Hershey prepares for Buck’s departure from the CEO post next year, the Pennsylvania confection and salty snacks company is filling its C-suite with a deep bench of seasoned CPG executives — one of which could succeed her in the top role.

Taffet brings 15 years of experience in the CPG space, where she managed and grew brands while facing many of the same headwinds Hershey is experiencing. 

Her experience in understanding consumer eating habits, such as the evolution of snacking and increased demand for better-for-you foods, will prove useful in her new role at Hershey. At the same time, she’ll need to navigate higher cocoa costs, the impact of GLP-1 drugs and a pullback in consumer spending due to inflation.

While Hershey is best known for its iconic sweets, it has been building its salty snacks business through acquisitions such as Dot’s and SkinnyPop. The company, with $11 billion in annual sales, also has been expanding its zero-sugar lineup and adding more gummies to its portfolio to capitalize on the popularity of the category, especially among younger consumers. 

“With deep expertise in brand strategy, innovation and commercial growth, Stacy brings strategic capabilities to accelerate our vision to become a leading snacking powerhouse,” Buck said in a statement.