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Nerds Are Cooler Than Ever
How a candy brand drove relevancy 40 years after launch through innovation
Ali Kaltman
February 23, 2025
Brand: Nerds
Campaign: Gummy Clusters
Read time: 5 minutes
💬 Overview 💬
Nerds are cool again.
Yes, we’re talking about the iconic candy straight of childhood.
After YEARS of declining sales, Nerds made a massive turnaround in the last few years from a single innovation.
Nerds. Gummy. Clusters.
And the brand has been on fire ever since.
So how did they do?
Let’s get into it…
💙 The Branded Moment 💙
In 2018, Nestle sold Nerds (and its entire confectionary business) to Ferrara Candy for $2.8B.
The Nerds brand was only seeing ~$50M in annual sales at that point; it was in desperate need of a turnaround.
The Nerds Rope (one of the brand’s most successful innovations to date) had its fans, but also significant flaws.
It was messy (Nerds would fall off with every bite) and not exactly convenient for snacking on-the-go.
Ferrara scientist and product developer Sean Oomens shared on a Ferrara product page, “My goal was to combine the crunch of Nerds with the chew of gummy in a perfectly balanced way, ensuring neither overpowered the other. The result was a 50/50 blend that delivers both textures in harmony.”
The functional benefits of “bites” solved for the on-the-go issues.
And… the brand didn’t have much to lose.
SO in 2020, Ferrara launched the Nerds Gummy Cluster.
And in 2021, Kylie Jenner posted a review about the new candy that took the brand to new heights.
It blew up.
Ferrara started to pump the Nerds brand with marketing spend, and the brand was on fire.
Nerds Gummy Clusters bought their first Super Bowl commercial in 2024 featuring Addison Rae.
And it was so successful that in 2025, they made ANOTHER commercial (this time with Shaboozey).
The Nerds Gummy Clusters changed the Nerds brand forever…
💡 Results 💡
The Nerds Gummy Clusters are now the #1 candy in the US.
The brand skyrocketed from $50 million to $500 million in annual sales (!!) in 2024.
According to IRI data, Gummy Clusters accounted for 81.4% of all Nerds sales from January 2023 to January 2024.
Insane returns for a spinoff that happened in 2018.
The Nerds brand is once again at the forefront of pop culture, and all it took was a little brand marketing TLC and innovation…
🎬 Take Action 🎬
Are you working on a legacy brand in need of a turnaround? Nerds took three key steps to pave the way for its success:
Change ownership hands
While I don’t believe this is necessary to turn a brand around, I do believe fresh eyes can help you look at your brand differently. Maybe a new agency or a new consumer can help you see a blind spot.
Data-Led Innovation
Nerds Gummy Clusters would not have been my personal first choice as THE brand that would take Nerds to new heights. BUT I am not the consumer. The Ferrara team led years of feedback sessions and research to arrive at Gummy Clusters as their winning formula.
Don’t let your own biases get in the way of game-changing innovation.
Leveraged Influence
People say mega-influencers don’t drive sales. While they might not drive direct sales, they can bring a brand back into cultural relevance. Kylie did exactly that for Nerds. And then Addision & Shaboozey continued that momentum.
Influence matters.
What’s New This Week
One new product I tried this week 👉 Kettle Brand Pickle Chips — delicious, salty, and crunchy.
One new campaign I’m loving 👉 Ikea slides into Canadian’s DMs late at night ;)
One new piece of content to listen to 👉 Recently started listening to the Founders Podcast. Full of great advice and applicable stories. Highly recommend.
Brandkeeping
If you enjoyed this newsletter, please forward it on to 3 marketers you know!
And if you have a brand or campaign you want to spotlight, please reply directly to this newsletter.
Let’s chat!
See ya!
Ali
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