Snacks & Candy

The War on Christmas Trees

Rival candy brands joust on social media over shape of holiday treats: consumers win

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. & HERSHEY, Pa. -- Earlier this month, the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup brand attracted the attention of social media after posts that were unhappy with the shape of its holiday treats, which were supposed to be shaped like Christmas trees … but which they thought didn’t quite make the grade.

Snickers Christmas Trees

The Snickers brand, made by Hershey’s rival Mars, decided to wade into the “controversy” with a nonspecific tweet of its own:

Our trees are more #satisfying anyway. #EatASNICKERS

Snickers’ trees are not that much different than Reese’s, but add the brand stamp that gives the tree shape a bit more definition.

Reese’s has not responded directly to Snickers, but operating under the truism that there is no bad press, it has been making peanut-butter-flavored lemonade with tweets such as these:

Mars Chocolate North America, a unit of Mars Inc., is based in Hackettstown, N.J. Mars Inc., McLean, Va., has net sales of more than $33 billion and six business segments: Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, Symbioscience. Chocolate brands include M&M's, Snickers, Dove, Galaxy, Mars, Milky Way and Twix.

Hershey, based in Hershey, Pa., is a global confectionery company with more than 80 brands around the world that drive more than $7.4 billion in annual revenues, including Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers and Brookside.

[Editor’s Note: CSP Daily News declares the contest a draw. Fans of either brand will not be persuaded to change sides.]

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