Amplify Snack Brands

What Amplify Snack Brands does

Amplify Snack Brands is a portfolio company that owns and operates a family of better-for-you snack brands, currently functioning as a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) following its 2018 acquisition for $1.6 billion. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, the portfolio spans popcorn (SkinnyPop), baked cheese puffs (Pirate's Booty), pretzels (DOT'S Homestyle Pretzels), tortilla chips (Paqui), and protein-forward products (ONE Brands, FULFIL). Its target consumers are health-conscious and convenience-oriented U.S. snackers seeking clean-label, baked-not-fried, and functional-nutrition alternatives to traditional salty snacks.

The business generates revenue through wholesale and retail sales of its branded consumer food products, distributed across grocery, mass, convenience, and e-commerce channels in the United States. As a Hershey subsidiary, Amplify does not operate an independent go-to-market motion; it leverages Hershey's nationwide distribution network and the Hersheyland cross-brand marketing platform, which includes active consumer engagement across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Pinterest. There is no proprietary technology, app, API, or AI capability disclosed, consistent with a branded packaged-foods operating model in which pricing is set at retail.

Historically, Amplify pursued scale through M&A (Tyrrell Potato Chips and Boundless Nutrition in 2016) and was publicly traded on NASDAQ under ticker BETR before being taken private by Hershey. The company currently faces material litigation risk: in 2026, a U.S. District Court allowed a negligent design claim against Paqui, Amplify, and Hershey to proceed in a wrongful death suit (Lama-Wolobah) arising from the One Chip Challenge product. Reported headcount is 11-50, reflecting Amplify's role as a lean brand-management entity within Hershey's broader snack portfolio.

Name

Amplify Snack Brands

Legal name

Amplify Snack Brands

Website

https://amplifysnackbrands.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Amplify Snack Brands is a Hershey-owned portfolio of better-for-you snack brands including SkinnyPop, Pirate's Booty, DOT'S Homestyle Pretzels, Paqui, ONE Brands, and FULFIL, serving health-conscious and convenience-seeking U.S. consumers through traditional retail distribution channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Better-for-You Snacks

NAICS

Other Snack Food Manufacturing (311919)

SIC

Cookies & Crackers (2052)

akta.pro primary industry

Better-for-You / Functional Snacks (Low Sugar, Keto, Probiotic, Fortified) (CRADABAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialty Snack Foods Manufacturing (Ethnic/Regional, Gourmet, Functional) (AFAKAIAO), Snack Bars (Granola, Protein, Cereal Bars) (CRADABAG)

Keywords

• Better-for-you snacks
• Popcorn products
• Baked cheese snacks
• Pretzel snacks
• Protein snack bars

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Snack Product Sales: Amplify Snack Brands generates revenue through the sale of consumer snack products including popcorn, pretzels, and cheese puffs through retail distribution channels. Revenue is derived from wholesale and retail sales of owned brands.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Amplify Snack Brands is a portfolio of better-for-you snack brands operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Hershey Company. It manufactures and sells branded snack products including popcorn (SkinnyPop), baked cheese puffs (Pirate's Booty), pretzels (DOT'S Homestyle Pretzels), tortilla chips (Paqui), and protein bars (ONE Brands, FULFIL) through grocery, mass retail, convenience, and e-commerce channels.

Product overview

Amplify Snack Brands operates as a portfolio of better-for-you snack brands under The Hershey Company, acquired in 2018 for $1.6 billion. The company encompasses multiple sub-brands including Skinnypop (popcorn), Pirate's Booty (baked cheese snacks), Paqui (tortilla chips known for the One Chip Challenge), ONE Brands (protein snacks), FULFIL (high-protein nutrition bars), and DOT'S Homestyle Pretzels. The portfolio emphasizes healthier alternatives within the snacking category, featuring baked over fried options, clean-label ingredients, and functional nutrition profiles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Paqui: Tortilla chip brand known for the One Chip Challenge spicy tortilla chip product.

Products and services

• SkinnyPop

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• PepsiCo (Frito-Lay): PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division is the largest salty-snack competitor in North America, with brands like Smartfood (popcorn), Fritos, Lay's and Rold Gold (pretzels) directly competing with SkinnyPop, Pirate's Booty and DOT's Homestyle Pretzels.
• Conagra Brands: Conagra's snack portfolio (Slim Jim, Snack Pack, Healthy Choice, Angie's Boomchickapop) competes head-to-head in popcorn, pretzels and better-for-you categories with multiple Amplify brands.
• Utz Brands: Utz is a leading U.S. salty-snack manufacturer whose pretzel and popcorn portfolio (Utz, Zapp's, On The Border) competes directly with DOT's Homestyle Pretzels and SkinnyPop in mass and grocery channels.
• Snyder's-Lance (Campbell Soup): Snyder's of Hanover and Lance are flagship pretzel and cracker brands under Campbell's Snacks division, directly competing with DOT's Homestyle Pretzels and Pirate's Booty in grocery and convenience channels.
• KIND Healthy Snacks: KIND (Mars) is a leading better-for-you snack bar brand whose nut bars and protein bars overlap directly with ONE Brands and FULFIL on shelf and in better-for-you consumption occasions.
• RXBAR: RXBAR (Kellogg's) is a clean-label protein bar brand competing head-to-head with ONE Brands and FULFIL in the high-protein bar segment, with shared distribution in grocery, club and convenience.

Broad incumbents

• The Hershey Company: Hershey is the parent company of Amplify Snack Brands and a broader incumbent in confectionery and snacks (Reese's, Hershey's, SkinnyPop, DOT's), driving distribution and marketing infrastructure that Amplify leverages.

Emerging players

• Lesser Evil: Lesser Evil is a fast-growing better-for-you popcorn and snack brand competing in the same clean-label, low-ingredient popcorn category as SkinnyPop, with overlap in natural and conventional grocery.
• Pipcorn: Pipcorn is a premium, small-batch better-for-you popcorn brand positioned around heirloom corn and clean ingredients, directly competing with SkinnyPop in the better-for-you popcorn segment.
• Bare Snacks: Bare Snacks is a better-for-you baked fruit and veggie chip brand whose clean-label, baked-not-fried positioning and channel mix closely mirror Pirate's Booty and SkinnyPop's go-to-market approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• TikToktiktok.com/@hersheyland
• Instagraminstagram.com/hersheyland
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCSwX_0zWjWH7eOtvUcGL64w
• Facebookfacebook.com/people/Hersheyland/100093627783458
• Pinterestpinterest.com/hersheyland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/amplify-snack-brands

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Amplify Snack Brands