Hershey CEO Kirk Tanner on GLP-1s, AI, and keeping an iconic brand relevant

The second a brand like Hershey stops being culturally relevant, says CEO Kirk Tanner, you should be worried. So he explains exactly what he’s doing to make sure that never happens. Tanner also reveals why GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) users are actually good for the candy business, how AI is now routing Hershey’s sales force in real time through Target and Walmart, and all the ways an iconic brand finds new energy. This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by former Fast Company editor-in-chief Robert Safian. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today’s top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. Subscribe to Rapid Response wherever you get your podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode. You spent a lot of your career at PepsiCo. And I’ve always thought about, whether it’s Hershey’s or whether it’s Pepsi-Cola, a lot of it is you’re selling the same product year after year. I mean, there is a core product that, in some ways, you don’t want to change because that’s what people are after, right? So you have to think about selling it or engaging in a different way, even if …