The Hershey Company is rolling out its broadest holiday assortment in recent memory for 2026, leaning into licensed IP from Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, expanded seasonal shapes, and a growing sweet-and-salty popcorn bench — all formats well-suited to the c-store candy aisle and front-end impulse sets.

New Items to Know

The headline new SKU is Hershey's Kisses Cindy-Lou Who Strawberry Sugar Cookie, a limited-edition flavor combining strawberry and sugar cookie notes in character-branded foils. It's joined by Hershey's Hugs Max the Dog Foils, wrapping the classic white-and-milk-chocolate candy in Grinch-character packaging, and KIT KAT® Santa & Reindeer, which adds reindeer figures alongside the returning Santa format across multiple pack types. On the salty side, Reese's Reindeer Mix — a resealable pouch of milk chocolate-drizzled popcorn, Reese's baking chips, Reese's Mini Trees, and Reese's Pieces — extends the brand into the snack-mix and better-for-you occasion directly relevant to c-store grab-and-go sets.

SkinnyPop returns with Elf Maple Syrup Kettle Corn, a movie-character tie-in targeting the couch-snacking and holiday-gathering occasion. LesserEvil Himalayan Sweetness Popcorn rounds out the salty expansion in individually portioned formats suited to school events and seasonal entertaining — a pack size that travels well through c-store impulse racks.

Returning Seasonal Staples

Hershey's returning lineup carries the bulk of holiday volume at retail: Reese's Peanut Butter Trees and Reese's Mini Trees in resealable pouches, Hershey's Kisses Snickerdoodle Cookie, KIT KAT® Peppermint Stick in both standard and snack sizes, and the Hershey's Grinch Milk Chocolate Bar in a giftable six-pack. For operators, the six-pack multicount format is worth noting — it slots readily into front-counter gift displays and seasonal clip strips without requiring dedicated seasonal gondola space.

Samantha Siegal, Senior Director of Marketing at Hershey, framed the portfolio strategy around a tension the company's research consistently surfaces: 78% of parents say replicating childhood traditions matters, while 62% of parents with children under 18 say they've modified those traditions to fit current lifestyles. The lineup tries to serve both camps — nostalgia-driven repurchase on one side, discovery-oriented new flavors and licensed characters on the other.

C-Store Shelf Implications

For convenience operators managing candy-aisle resets, the 2026 Hershey holiday portfolio presents a few practical considerations. The character-licensed SKUs — Grinch, Elf, Buddy — carry built-in promotional pull and are strong candidates for endcap and checkout-lane placement in November and December. The salty and sweet-and-salty additions from SkinnyPop and LesserEvil address a documented shift in how consumers shop seasonal snacking: popcorn and snack-mix categories have outpaced traditional confection growth in convenience during the back half of the year, per recent channel data, as shoppers seek shareable bag formats beyond the candy bowl.

The Reese's Reindeer Mix resealable pouch and LesserEvil's individually portioned popcorn both speak to the dispensed-alternative and packaged-snack opportunity in-store — formats that give single-store operators a relatively low-risk way to test better-for-you seasonal SKUs without deep inventory commitment. All products are slated for limited-time availability at participating retailers nationwide; pricing is retailer-determined.

One additional hook for operators: Hershey is launching a limited-edition Hershey's Kisses gift-wrapping foil kit, available exclusively at shop.hersheys.com/holiday starting Cyber Monday, November 30, in four colorways including a Kisses-branded design. While a DTC play, the kit reinforces brand salience heading into the highest-volume confection weeks of the year.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the biggest new SKU Hershey's pushing for 2026 holiday?

Hershey's Kisses Cindy-Lou Who Strawberry Sugar Cookie—a limited-edition flavor in character-branded foils that hits the sweet-and-novelty angle your impulse customers can't resist. It's a direct play on the Dr. Seuss IP licensing that's driving Hershey's entire 2026 seasonal push.

Where should I position the salty-snack items Hershey's added this year?

Stock Reese's Reindeer Mix and SkinnyPop Elf Maple Syrup Kettle Corn in your grab-and-go section alongside traditional candy—these resealable pouches and portioned formats are engineered for c-store traffic patterns. LesserEvil's individually portioned Himalayan Sweetness Popcorn works especially well in seasonal event and school-run impulse racks.

Which returning SKUs are going to move the most volume this holiday?

Reese's Peanut Butter Trees and Mini Trees in resealable pouches, plus KIT KAT Peppermint Stick in both standard and snack sizes—these are proven performers. Don't sleep on the Hershey's Grinch Milk Chocolate Bar six-pack multicount format; that's your gifting and basket-builder play.

Are there new character-branded packaging options beyond Cindy-Lou Who?

Yes—Hershey's Hugs Max the Dog Foils wrap the white-and-milk-chocolate candy in Grinch character packaging, and KIT KAT added Reindeer figures alongside returning Santa formats across multiple pack types. Both leverage the Dr. Seuss license to differentiate from last year's assortment.

What pack formats should I prioritize for frontline space?

Focus on resealable pouches for Reese's and Hershey's Kisses products, snack-size KIT KAT Peppermint, and the six-pack multicount Grinch Bar—these formats maximize per-unit profit and turn faster in c-store impulse zones than single bars. Individually portioned popcorn items fill secondary impulse racks without requiring premium real estate.