If you love Shaquille O’Neal on one hand and candies on another, Shaq-A-Licious is sure a pleasant surprise. If you have been following the 4x NBA champ on social media, you most probably already know about the gummies that he has been promoting from his official handles. Produced by Hershey’s and launched in August this year, the brand now pulled up a big promotional event to go with the ‘XL’ candies.

The Big Diesel himself attended the event held for the launch of his XL gummies at the Hershey Store in Times Square. Not only did the launch event witness a decent turnout, but Shaq even hit the Times Square roads for promotion. The 15x All-Star also had Jimmy Falon of The Tonight Show furthering the hype at the event. Shaq even shared a promotional IG video alongside Fallon.

The video featured Shaq offering the XL gummies to The Tonight Show host while saying “Here you go Jimmy. Bite my head off,” followed by Shaquille O’Neal’s hilarious shoulder shimmy that became a popular meme. Notably, the Xl gummies are a nod to Shaq once claiming himself to be the “biggest kid in the candy store.”

As per an article by Food Dive, the demand for gummies witnessed a rise during the COVID-19 pandemic. And it has never witnessed a decline since then. In fact, as per the data from Market Growth Report, the gummies candy market will hit $750 million by 2032 as compared to $495 million this year. Seemingly, one of the reasons that Hershey came up with two variants of Shaq-A-Licious.

The original version of the candies will include flavors like peach and berry punch in the shape of Shaq’s head. Meanwhile, the sour varieties of the gummies will include flavors like pineapple and mixed berry based on the 15x All-Star’s nicknames. Big Diesel, The Big Cactus, and The Big Shamrock.

“A candy lover and cultural icon”: Hershey’s brand manager expresses excitement on collab with Shaquille O’Neal

It was during a conversation with Food & Wine that the 4x NBA champ revealed he used to be “the biggest kid in the candy store.” A thought that prompted him to come up with a product that reflects this sentiment. While Shaq became successful in his vision, the management at Hershey’s couldn’t be any happier, either.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Shaq. A candy lover and cultural icon, to bring more fun to our gummy products,” Hershey’s brand manager for sweets Vivek Mehrotra told Food Dive. “The gummy market is booming, growing. Nearly twice as fast as chocolate, offering us a dynamic space for innovation and creativity,” he added.

Notably, the article by Food Dive states the Hershey has spent a significant amount of money to increase its gummies production capacity. If the article is to be believed, the production is likely to rise by 50 percent in 2024 itself. As along with the Shaq gummies, the brand came up with Jolly Rancher sour gummies this year itself. Now it’s to be seen how Shaquille O’Neal’s new product performs at the market and furthers Hershey’s vision.

Stay tuned for more updates. Join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host, BG12, sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.