Brand Play: Despite Hershey's strong Instagram presence (100) and commerce performance (78), the significant traction of #fakechocolate highlights a critical brand perception risk that could be addressed by proactively engaging on lower-scoring platforms like Reddit (30) to control the narrative.
This Week’s Play: Launch a TikTok Shop strategy immediately, leveraging the 30 existing videos and 24.9M plays. Waiting 30 days means missing the peak virality window and allowing competitors to capture the current high purchase intent.
30-Day Score History
Category avg: 31/100 across 339 brands
Amazon Commerce Signal
40m agoThis is a peak-signal moment for classic confectionery brands, driven by strong social engagement. The significant gap between Hersheys's Instagram (100/100) and Reddit (30/100) performance, alongside robust Amazon sales (40,900 units/month), indicates untapped community-driven growth. Brands that fail to diversify their social strategy beyond visual platforms this quarter will cede significant ground to competitors willing to engage in authentic dialogue.
Why Hersheys Is Trending
What's Driving It Instagram (100/100) is the primary driver, with creator content centered on hersheys (16.7M plays) and chocolate (10.6M plays) showcasing classic products and creative recipes, alongside the surprising viral trend of fakechocolate (14.8M plays) and fakefood (10....
Signal Radar
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Strategic Recommendations
(4 actions)Seed Reddit for authentic engagement
Reddit's 30/100 score indicates a low-competition environment for authentic community building, which is essential for capturing a discerning audience not swayed by visual-first platforms.
Brief 5-7 Reddit community managers or power users to create organic posts and discussions in relevant subreddits like r/candy or r/food with a focus on nostalgic or unique Hershey's experiences. Ignoring Reddit's 30/100 score means missing a critical platform for authentic, long-form engagement that can build deep brand loyalty beyond fleeting visual trends.
Expand TikTok Shop product range
Hershey's strong 82/100 TikTok Shop Commerce Score proves direct purchase intent, making product range expansion a clear path to increased revenue on the platform.
Increase the variety of Hershey's products available on TikTok Shop, focusing on bulk or unique seasonal offerings, to capitalize on the 82/100 TikTok Shop Commerce Score. Limiting product selection despite high purchase intent means leaving significant revenue on the table and underutilizing a proven direct-to-consumer channel.
Brief creators on 'fake chocolate' trend
The virality of #fakechocolate and #fakefood, despite its humorous nature, offers a unique, high-reach opportunity for Hershey's to engage authentically with a massive audience on TikTok at 74/100.
Engage 10-15 TikTok creators to create humorous, self-aware content using #fakechocolate (14.8M plays) and #fakefood (10.3M plays), leaning into the playful critique of Hershey's unique taste profile. Failing to participate in this trending conversation allows others to define the narrative and misses a massive opportunity for viral, authentic brand participation.
Develop international creator strategy
The current creator geography, with 93% in the US, highlights an immediate opportunity to expand audience reach and market penetration by investing in international creators, starting with GB.
Allocate 15% of the next quarter's creator budget to engage creators in the GB market, where 7% of current creators are located, focusing on culturally relevant content. Over-indexing on the US (93% of creators) ignores potential growth markets and leaves international expansion opportunities untapped.