J.M. Smucker (NYSE: SJM) reported earnings for Q3 on Wednesday. The company, which makes defensive-type products such as peanut butter, jelly, and biscuits, reported a net sales increase of 6%, once you strip away the effect of acquisitions -- most notably the Folgers purchase -- and the effect of foreign exchange. On an adjusted basis, J.M. Smucker increased its bottom line by 11% to $0.88 per share. This source says that management beat estimates by two pennies, although other sources, such as this one, says the beat was by a single penny.

It has not been a good time for me. There is a crisis going on in the Land of Peanut Butter. And if there is one thing I love (besides annual double-digit returns on my stock portfolio), it's peanut butter. You've certainly heard about the concerns regarding some Salmonella-tainted peanut paste. If not, you can check out this piece by Sarah Gilbert. The really bad part is that three deaths are possibly linked to the bacterial infection.

What health officials have advised as of now is to avoid products that use peanut butter as an ingredient. To show how bad this crisis has become, Kellogg (NYSE: K) had to recall some of its products that utilize peanut butter. Naturally, my thoughts eventually turned to Hershey (NYSE: HSY). After all, one of its flagship products is the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup is one of the best confections known to man, and it is my favorite. Every Halloween I look forward to having an excuse for gorging on the product. So, is the wonderful Reese's brand safe to consume? Just as I thought, Hershey ended up tackling the topic. The company issued a press release on January 17 stating that items from the Reese's portfolio are indeed safe to consume.

I remember when Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (NASDAQ: RMCF) was a cool stock. Unfortunately, that was then and this is now. The economy is horrible, and it's getting worse. Rocky Mountain is not the company with which to ride the storm out.

The third-quarter earnings report, issued on Thursday, showed terrible data. Revenues declined well over 16% to $6.3 million. Earnings per diluted share took a big drop of 30%, coming in at $0.14. And it doesn't stop there. Comps for franchised outlets dipped over 2%. Same-store pounds of products bought by franchisees dropped 10%. Let's face it, people are cutting back on Rocky Mountain's confections. I'm sure they're delicious, but it just doesn't matter. Rocky Mountain is going to continue to struggle as we make our way through this macro mess. Management points out that the stock does pay a dividend of $0.10 per quarter. That gives a yield, as of Thursday's closing price, of just about 6%.

That's not bad, and I suppose if you're a long-term value investor who has extremely solid patience, you might want to take a look at Rocky Mountain's shares. I mean, we all know that equities are pretty irrationally priced these days. But, would I step in and buy the stock as any sort of defensive position for my portfolio? No way. I think it's headed lower. And besides, if I wanted to step in and buy something related to confectionery pleasures, I'd probably consider Hershey (NYSE: HSY) first. Not only am I a big fan of the Reese's peanut butter cup, but I perceive the portfolio controlled by Hershey to be a lot more valuable in these troubled times than Rocky Mountain's line of products. Let's hope all the Halloween trick-or-treaters out there are gearing up to help out the confection industry at the end of this month by demanding a whole lot of treats. Goodness knows, the market has already had its share of tricks this year.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Hershey (NYSE: HSY) is having growth problems. Not only is it tough just navigating this high-inflationary period, but it's difficult keeping up with the competition. Consumers have a lot of candy choices, and even though Hershey is a big brand name in confections, it thinks it can do better in the marketing department. According to this Wall Street Journal (subscription required) piece, Hershey intends on implementing a 20% increase in spending for promotions.

This double-digit jump in marketing is a smart move, but it won't be easy to digest. With the aforementioned inflationary pressures on the rise, Hershey is going to be sufficiently challenged to push growth while balancing the upward trends in input costs. But is there really a choice here? When you have a super brand like Hershey running into trouble, the thing you need to do is get out there and prop up the inherent equity of the product portfolio.

Yet, there's a bit of a conundrum here, I think. Hershey needs to get people to buy its delicious candies (I'm certainly a fan of the awesome Reese's Peanut Butter Cup). Which demographic loves sweets? Younger kids. They would have represented a great group for growth opportunities, but Hershey has to be careful about marketing too much to this demo since the country has, rightly so, been focusing on healthy alternatives to fatty foods. Even though Hershey has been trying to make some of its portfolio healthier, the flagship brands will always be, one assumes, sugary and full of empty calories. In fact, Hershey is more than aware of this issue, as this corporate link demonstrates.