The Take 5 Bar is a combination of five ingredients: chocolate, peanut butter, caramel, pretzels, and peanuts.
The candy bar has never been a major Hershey’s brand, but has cultivated a surprising number of fans. Without any marketing support from Hershey, sales organically grew 10 percent in the last three years.
The candy brand originally launched in 2004, and was immediately popular, helping drive 8 percent organic growth in the fourth quarter of the year. However, the company struggled to find the best way to market the brand, and cut all advertising in 2011.
Even without marketing, dedicated fans continued to purchase the candy bar.
“We’re convinced that, with the right shepherding, the Take 5 could propel Hershey to become utterly dominant in its industry in the way that Apple has taken a demonstrative lead in consumer devices,” Christopher Steiner wrote in 2013, in a Forbes article titled ‘The Most Undervalued Brand In The World.’
Steiner, an entrepreneur and Forbes contributor, called Take 5 a “ill-named, mis-marketed, and diminutive masterpiece.” He argued that the sweet’s potential is rooted in the bar’s unique deliciousness.
Consumers seem to agree with Steiner. On Amazon, 93 percent of the candy’s 70 reviews are a perfect five stars.
“Very few people have heard of them, but once they try them, they keep coming back and asking, ‘Do you have any more Take 5s?’” reads one fairly typical review from 2011. “My only complaint is that I can’t find these in regular grocery stores.”
If you’re not disrupting something, you’re not doing it right. #artist #myTAKE5 #maker #WorkSpace pic.twitter.com/a1XmUZvNN2
— TAKE5 (@take5) January 8, 2016
Take 5’s comeback campaign is centered on attracting millennial shoppers. The bar’s new wrapper, which includes a list of the five ingredients, a textured black background, and bold logo, was created through a partnership with a panel of “diverse millennial-aged students.”
“We recognized the evolving millennial tastes and their need for on-the-go eating occasions,” Take 5 brand manager Chris Kinnard said in a statement. “They’re flavor explorers and adventurous when it comes to food.”
Following the relaunch of the candy bar with its new wrapper, Take 5 is planning a series of live engagements, social campaigns, and brand ambassador partnerships to connect with loyalists and new consumers. The brand’s Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook pages are already filled with millennial-targeted posts, with bright colors and catchy keywords like “disruption.”
This article was originally published on Business Insider. Copyright 2016.
