Having a strong portfolio and really great brands is the first piece of the puzzle for us winning. The second thing in our salty business is we have untapped potential in the categories in which we play,”​ and “the third thing to know is consumer trends are on our side,”​ Riggs said. I hope you enjoy these little treats as much as I did, and have fun making them. Get the kids involved – there’s nothing better than having kids in the kitchen. I make sure every time my daughter visits, we spend some time together cooking and baking. Those are memories that will last a lifetime! For example, Dot’s has household penetration of only 50% in the Northeast, which Riggs described as “the largest pretzel market.”​ Likewise, SkinnyPop has only 86% channel penetration compared to its top competitor, which has 98%.

So even though these pretzel hugs (aka Christmas pretzels, Christmas hugs, etc.) are possibly the most basic treat ever and probably nobody needs the recipe, I wanted to share them anyway.Arrange pretzels on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet for easy cleanup. I fit 70 pretzel snaps on a baking sheet. With Hershey behind this amazing brand, I am confident that anyone who would like to enjoy these deliciously bold pretzels will have the opportunity.”​ Pretzels Inc. Really these fun and festive pretzel hugs are perfectly customizable for any holiday celebration from Christmas (red and green M&M's) to Easter (pastel M&M's), Valentine's Day (reds, pinks & whites), or the 4th of July (red, white, and blue - natch), and anything in between. Seriously, unless you have iron-clad willpower, don’t make these. I ate three before they cooled and almost burned my mouth! I created my pretzels to share with those people closest to me and have built the business with the idea of sharing them with everyone,”​ said Henke.

In addition to advertising, we still have upside and distribution”​ and channel expansion, Riggs said.

The latest agreement includes North Dakota-based Dot’s, the fastest-growing brand in the pretzel market, commanding 55% of category growth over the past year. Between the soft and chewy texture, the caramel and chocolate, and the crunchy pretzels, these are downright addictive.

Mini-pretzels work best since the Chex Mix is bite-sized. I think it looks better to have everything of a similar size. Now that we’re popcorn makers and pretzel makers and the Dutch pretzel line has been marketed for a few years, we can now make our dipped pretzels … and additionally Reese’s Popcorn, which was in test markets last year, just launched,”​ Riggs said. “This ability for us to bring sweet and salty and leverage the iconic brand of Reese’s into the salty category provides a lot of incrementality and growth.”​ ‘We plan to grow margins on our salty business 300 basis points’​ I love how easy and cute these are; you only need three ingredients and 4 minutes. There’s no need for a mixing bowl or dirtying up a bunch of dishes. A simple baking sheet is all you need. And if you’re smart, line that baking sheet with parchment paper, and you’ve just eliminated the clean up!

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Skip the M&M and top the melted hug with a second pretzel to make a pretzel hug sandwich for a greater crunchy, salty to sweet ratio. Swap out the Hershey's hugs for rolos - those caramel filled candies. They work the same way and give that added caramel element. To capitalize on this potential and deliver planned double-digit growth in the next three years, Riggs said, Hershey will invest in advertising for both brands, including debuting last week its first campaign for Dot’s and a new campaign for SkinnyPop.