The grandson of the man who invented Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups has publicly accused The Hershey Company of quietly replacing core ingredients in multiple Reese’s products with cheaper alternatives, sparking a dispute between the iconic candy maker and the family behind its most popular brand.
Brad Reese, 70, sent a letter dated Feb. 14 to Hershey’s corporate brand manager detailing his concerns.
He subsequently posted the letter to his LinkedIn profile, bringing the dispute into public view.
H.B. Reese, Brad’s grandfather, worked at Hershey for two years before striking out on his own in 1919. He invented Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in 1928. Following H.B. Reese’s death, his six sons sold the company to Hershey in 1963, according to media reports.
In his letter, Brad Reese stated that Hershey replaced milk chocolate with compound coatings and peanut butter with peanut crème across several Reese’s products.
“How does The Hershey Co. continue to position Reese’s as its flagship brand, a symbol of trust, quality and leadership, while quietly replacing the very ingredients (Milk Chocolate + Peanut Butter) that built Reese’s trust in the first place?” Reese wrote.
Hershey responded Wednesday, stating that the original Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups continue to be produced using milk chocolate and peanut butter made in-house from roasted peanuts, sugar, and salt — the same formulation used since the product’s creation.
However, the company acknowledged that ingredient variations exist across its expanded product line. Hershey stated the changes were made to accommodate new shapes, sizes, and product innovations requested by consumers.
“As we’ve grown and expanded the Reese’s product line, we make product recipe adjustments that allow us to make new shapes, sizes and innovations that Reese’s fans have come to love and ask for, while always protecting the essence of what makes Reese’s unique and special: the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter,” the company said in a statement.
Hershey is not alone in reformulating products. Elevated cocoa prices in recent years have prompted Hershey and other candy manufacturers to experiment with reducing chocolate content across their product lines, per media reports.
Brad Reese said he purchased a bag of Reese’s Mini Hearts, a new Valentine’s Day product, and discarded it after finding it unacceptable.
The packaging for that product identified the ingredients as “chocolate candy and peanut butter crème” — not milk chocolate and peanut butter.
“It was not edible,” Reese told The Associated Press. “You have to understand. I used to eat a Reese’s product every day. This is very devastating for me.”
Reese identified several products he said have undergone recipe changes.
He stated that Reese’s Take5 and Fast Break bars were previously coated in milk chocolate but no longer are. He also said White Reese’s, introduced in the early 2000s, were originally made with white chocolate but are now produced with a white creme.
Regarding international markets, Reese said Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups sold in Europe differ from U.S. versions. A product listing on British online supermarket Ocado described the candy as containing “milk chocolate-flavored coating and peanut butter crème.”
Hershey disputed that characterization, stating that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups sold in the European Union and the United Kingdom use the same recipe as the domestic version. The company said label differences reflect stricter EU and UK requirements for cocoa, milk solid, and milk fat percentages.
