January 20, 2026
‘I wished to provide you with one thing totally different…. I wished to create a sweet that you possibly can play with earlier than you eat it.’
NBA Corridor of Famer Shaquille O’Neal has gone down as one of many biggest facilities of all time to have bounced a ball on the basketball court docket. Put up-playing days, he’s slowly rising as one of many biggest entrepreneurs ever to personal a number of companies. The TNT analyst has lately launched Shaq-A-Licious SLAMS, his newest product from his partnership with The Hershey Firm.
Shaq-A-Licious SLAMS comes with three crunchy gummy balls in watermelon, strawberry, and orange flavors. As an added bonus, a chewy, bitter mango ring can also be included. Together with his record-playing days behind him, his focus has been on constructing an empire that may rival anybody, particularly on the subject of the sports activities world.
BLACK ENTERPRISE bought the chance to talk with, in accordance with Shaq himself, the “world’s largest child” about the brand new product and the way his mindset helps him succeed within the enterprise world.
The light big (now that he doesn’t must play ball anymore) began his alliance with The Hershey Firm in 2024 when he launched the Shaq-A-Licious XL Gummies to the world. He said that he visited Hershey, Pennsylvania, “so many instances,” to verify the product reached a degree that it was prepared for public consumption, that, although the gummies could have been good, he had his sport face on in the identical means he did whereas taking part in with the legendary Kobe Bryant.
“Once I’m coping with the younger scientist that’s making the sweet, I’m going on basketball mode. Similar factor I did with Kobe Bryant, ‘You nice, however I’m not gonna inform you you’re nice.’ So perhaps you’re pushing your self to do some extra, so, yeah, I’m consuming them, and I’m like, rattling, that is good, however I can’t inform them what’s good. ‘I don’t prefer it.’ And that’s only a check to see if he can provide you with one thing higher. So, a pair weeks later, uh, it’s shut, however I don’t prefer it, and, like, the younger child, he wasn’t mushy, like, he took pleasure in his work.’
That mentality compelled the younger scientist to attempt tougher to make the “world’s largest child,” content material with the product. After six or seven tries, he hit the mark, and the gummies have been launched with Shaq’s satisfaction. The world agreed because it turned a profitable launch, even successful a number of awards within the course of.
Though it was Shaq’s first product with Hershey, he didn’t have a selected quantity purpose, however he knew it needed to be an important working relationship to be deemed profitable.
“I realized a very long time in the past that if you concentrate on a relationship, every little thing else will fall in place. I by no means are available and say, I’m gonna promote 20 million luggage. For me, a thousand luggage is profitable. However, business-wise, for those who bought the fitting associate, you bought the fitting distribution, you bought the fitting location within the shops, you bought the fitting advertising behind it. Folks will see it.”
So, this time round, it needed to be a special providing.
“I wished to provide you with one thing totally different. And so we got here up with the Shaq SLAM. There’s, like, a play on slams, and there’s three little gummy balls with a bitter ring, and, you realize, I wished to create a sweet that you possibly can play with earlier than you eat it.”
He additionally defined why he determined to do a take care of an organization higher identified for its chocolate to launch a gummy product. Rising up on Hershey merchandise made it simpler for him to turn out to be a associate with the favored model. Loving the sweet as a baby and into maturity simply made it appear proper.
“I grew up on Hershey’s on all their candies, and I really like all their candies. So, you realize, the truth that they’re doing this enterprise with me. You realize, it’s like, they’re placing me on their staff. I can’t allow them to down, so, you realize, I knew we have been gonna achieve success, however I don’t take a look at success in numbers, even although the numbers are nice. “
However, inquiring minds wish to know why he went with gummies when it may have been chocolate, laborious candies, or anything?
After trying on the many classes of choices the corporate offered, the CEO requested him what he wished to decide on earlier than he left the preliminary assembly.
“Man, I used to like gummies rising up in Germany. ‘He’s like, That’s what we’re gonna do.’”
And the remaining is historical past!
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