Overview
- The new SLAMS candy pairs three sweet, crunchy gummy balls in watermelon, strawberry, and orange with a chewy sour mango ring meant to mimic a hoop.
- Retail rollout begins nationwide in January 2026, with online purchasing available through Hershey’s Hersheyland storefront.
- O’Neal was hands-on from concept to packaging, visiting Hershey’s labs for iterative taste tests to finalize flavors and textures.
- Hershey brand manager Vivek Mehrotra called SLAMS a game-changer, highlighting the balls-and-hoop format as a one-of-a-kind, multi-sensorial experience.
- Shaq framed SLAMS as candy you can play with—“stack it, slam it, snack it”—and emphasized keeping the price accessible for consumers.