NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal has gone down as one of the greatest centers of all time to have bounced a ball on the basketball court. Post-playing days, he is slowly emerging as one of the greatest entrepreneurs ever to own multiple businesses. The TNT analyst has recently introduced Shaq-A-Licious SLAMS, his latest product from his partnership with The Hershey Company.
Shaq-A-Licious SLAMS comes with three crunchy gummy balls in watermelon, strawberry, and orange flavors. As an added bonus, a chewy, sour mango ring is also included. With his record-playing days behind him, his focus has been on building an empire that can rival anyone, especially when it comes to the sports world.
BLACK ENTERPRISE got the opportunity to speak with, according to Shaq himself, the “world’s biggest kid” about the new product and how his mindset helps him succeed in the business world.
The gentle giant (now that he doesn’t have to play ball anymore) started his alliance with The Hershey Company in 2024 when he introduced the Shaq-A-Licious XL Gummies to the world. He stated that he visited Hershey, Pennsylvania, “so many times,” to make sure the product reached a point that it was ready for public consumption, that, even though the gummies may have been good, he had his game face on in the same way he did while playing with the legendary Kobe Bryant.
“When I’m dealing with the young scientist that’s making the candy, I go on basketball mode. Same thing I did with Kobe Bryant, ‘You great, but I’m not gonna tell you you’re great.’ So maybe you’re pushing yourself to do a little more, so, yeah, I’m eating them, and I’m like, damn, this is good, but I can’t tell them what’s good. ‘I don’t like it.’ And that’s just a test to see if he can come up with something better. So, a couple weeks later, uh, it’s close, but I don’t like it, and, like, the young kid, he wasn’t soft, like, he took pride in his work.’
That mentality forced the young scientist to strive harder to make the “world’s biggest kid,” content with the product. After six or seven tries, he hit the mark, and the gummies were released with Shaq’s satisfaction. The world agreed as it became a successful launch, even winning several awards in the process.
Although it was Shaq’s first product with Hershey, he didn’t have a specific number goal, but he knew it had to be a great working relationship to be deemed successful.
“I learned a long time ago that when you focus on a relationship, everything else will fall in place. I never come in and say, I’m gonna sell 20 million bags. For me, a thousand bags is successful. But, business-wise, if you got the right partner, you got the right distribution, you got the right location in the stores, you got the right marketing behind it. People will see it.”
So, this time around, it had to be a different offering.
“I wanted to come up with something different. And so we came up with the Shaq SLAM. There’s, like, a play on slams, and there’s three little gummy balls with a sour ring, and, you know, I wanted to create a candy that you could play with before you eat it.”
He also explained why he decided to do a deal with a company better known for its chocolate to launch a gummy product. Growing up on Hershey products made it easier for him to become a partner with the popular brand. Loving the candy as a child and into adulthood just made it seem right.
“I grew up on Hershey’s on all their candies, and I love all their candies. So, you know, the fact that they are doing this venture with me. You know, it’s like, they’re putting me on their team. I can’t let them down, so, you know, I knew we were gonna be successful, but I don’t look at success in numbers, even though the numbers are great. “
But, inquiring minds want to know why he went with gummies when it could have been chocolate, hard candies, or anything else?
After looking at the many categories of offerings the company presented, the CEO asked him what he wanted to choose before he left the initial meeting.
“Man, I used to love gummies growing up in Germany. ‘He’s like, That’s what we’re gonna do.’”
And the rest is history!
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