• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, April 4, 2025

Snack makers are facing a sugar crash. Cocoa prices are spiking, GLP-1 drugs are curbing cravings, and the political winds are turning against ultra-processed foods — with rumblings of school bans and SNAP restrictions. But Mondelez is betting big on chocolate chips, refreshing Chips Ahoy with a string of product innovations, new campaigns, and a push into snack cakes. Sabrina Sierant*, senior director for Chips Ahoy, shares how the brand is winning new households and hanging on to relevance.

Interview has been edited for length and clarity.

CPG Insider: This is a tough time to be a cookie. How is Chips Ahoy navigating this pressure cooker?

Sabrina Sierant: Through ambition and innovation. We want to be more than a cookie. We want to be a go-to snacking brand. If I can just back up a bit, after years of not investing in Chips Ahoy, we started with the basics again in 2020. We began talking to consumers, advertising, and building out some flavors within the existing Hershey portfolio, which helped us build growth through COVID.

We’re now the No. 1 chocolate chip cookie. In 2024 and this year, we’ve added 2.05 million new households to the brand, with household penetration up 7.5% in the last 26 weeks. About 23% of those gains have been driven by innovation – we’ve launched gluten-free versions and our Big Chewy Cookie. And with the January introduction of Baked Bites, we’ve entered the cake and pastry category, which is new for us.

CPG Insider: Why step in there?

Sierant: Shelf stable cakes and pastries are a $10 billion category and part of our growth strategy. Oreo has had a cake series for several years. Ours is inspired by the blondie – a brownie without cocoa – and has chocolate chips. And this move is giving us growth outside our main category.

CPG Insider: Why make the Big Chewy Cookie? Don’t people love you because you’re crunchy?

Sierant: Consumers want something more indulgent, satiating and not messy. People are fierce about preferred textures. Many want chewy over crunchy. And it’s big – three times bigger than our regular cookie.

CPG Insider: Many of your competitors have seen snack sales decline in that period, including Campbell with Goldfish and J.M. Smucker with Hostess. What are some of the ways you’ve found growth?

Sierant: Yes, the category has slowed down. We’ve found momentum by looking at occasions that are growing, like on-the-go snacking. In the last 52 weeks, that’s increased four times faster than snacking at home. And that’s especially true among Gen Z and millennials. We’ve stepped up our efforts in convenience stores and begun selling more value packs of single-serve packages in supermarkets.

CPG Insider: People want new snacks from an old brand?

Sierant: We just released our annual report on the snacking universe, and yes, 75% of the people in our research say they are excited about finding a new snack to enjoy. They want snack adventures. When we returned to the market in 2020, there wasn’t much emotional connection to our brand, just nostalgia.

We’ve been trying to build back some of that emotional connection with a new campaign and mascot. We’ve started to partner with certain celebrities, rapper Big Sean for our Big Chewy Cookie and the Keke Palmer campaign to promote our “MMMproved recipe.” 

CPG Insider: How do influencers help?

Sierant: It drives modernity. Everybody knows Chips Ahoy. We’ve got 96% awareness, and almost everyone has tried them. But we need to build that lower-level funnel. Building the brand as more than just a chocolate chip cookie is helping.

CPG Insider: How has all this changed your marketing?

Sierant: We’re trying to meet our consumers where they are, which means we don’t do TV anymore, and are primarily digital. Our research has found 60% of people discover new snacks on social media, so we want to be there. We look for efficiencies, often partnering with Oreo. Because on-the-go snacking is growing so fast, we’re using out-of-home more, including electronic billboards in gas stations. Shopper marketing and in-store efforts are still critical.

CPG Insider: How about money? Consumers are still worried about inflation, and grocery budgets are under pressure.

Sierant: Value has different dimensions. For some people, value is about the absolute price point. We recognized that most of our portfolio was over $4, more than our competitors, so we launched a more affordable price point and pack type. Oreo, our sister brand, did as well.

Our Fresh Stacks are under $3. They're more expensive at a price per ounce, but people find more value in them because they’re portable and feel like a premium product when consumers want to treat themselves. And 75% of consumers say they’ll always make room for snacks in their budget.

CPG Insider: Morningstar reports that Mondelez leads the sweet cookie market with a 40% share and that private label comes next at 15%.

Sierant: We're not currently losing share to private-label chocolate chip cookies. Last year’s recipe renovation helped step up the quality of Chips Ahoy. The reformulation made the cookie you love even better, and that helps defend against private labels.

CPG Insider: How about the push toward healthier products? Do people want a righteous cookie?

Sierant: Consumers want great-tasting products. They won’t sacrifice taste. That said, we’ve had success with our gluten-free version. With 21% of households purchasing some gluten-free products, that’s not a niche anymore. We continue to scope any additional functional benefits or ways into health and wellness.

*An earlier version misspelled Sierant's name, and incorrectly characterized the shelf-stable cake and pastry category.