HSY
#Yes.
I'll make a couple of comments.
If you look at what the overall category trends ---+ and I'll give you where we were ---+ if you look at the chocolate category, it was up.
We were up pretty consistent with the category.
If you look at non-chocolate, we actually lagged the category.
And then if you looked at gum and also mint, we would have outperformed the category on those segments.
We have deemphasized a little bit the level of activity that we've had in some of our sweets business.
And so that certainly is showing up in the business.
One brand in particular ---+ it was a great brand, but if we just look at the absolute programming we've had on a brand like Twizzlers, it was a little bit lower and that ended up showing up some in the overall business.
If you look at the sweets business and some of the channels where it does well, you can also follow that with, I'll call it, income cohorts.
And one of the things that we're doing in 2016 is using our Allan Candy acquisition to leverage a portfolio there on peg bags in select places where we think that can really benefit us.
So we did see within that segment an opportunity, and we're going to try to leverage that, as well.
And then some of our competitors also had emphasis on some of those brands which also would have had an influence on our performance, as well.
Great.
Thanks for the question.
We really like where we sit right now on a leverage basis.
It's something that we go back and pressure test every year.
And one of the benefits that it gives us is that it gives us a lot of capacity to do something incremental.
If something big and attractive and incremental came along in the category, we would be very open to it.
I don't think that our leverage would be constrained in that situation.
But as we sit here today with the opportunities in front of us, we feel very good about where we are.
Think of Sofit as test and learn.
It's a brand out of India.
It's soy protein, and it's part of our efforts to learn about the protein segment, plant-based.
And so you're seeing it more from a test and learn standpoint.
We're going to be able to make that in the US versus, obviously, try to ship it from India.
So as you know, with beverages and so forth, close to home is always a good idea.
But it's a brand we think is very interesting, but it's really about us having a learning approach.
And I'm delighted you found it on Amazon, because we just ---+
Thank you for joining us today.
I'll be available for any follow-up calls that you may have.
