*Brad Reese, the grandson of H.B. Reese, has voiced sharp criticism of The Hershey Co., claiming the company’s ingredient changes have harmed the integrity of Reese’s candies.
In a letter sent Feb. 14 to Hershey’s corporate brand manager, Reese alleged that several products had swapped milk chocolate for compound coatings and replaced peanut butter with peanut crème.
“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.
H.B. Reese started his candy company in 1919 after a brief stint at Hershey and created Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in 1928. According to News 12 Long Island, his six sons sold the company to Hershey in 1963. Brad Reese criticized recent releases like Reese’s Mini Hearts, noting the packaging lists “chocolate candy and peanut butter crème” instead of the original milk chocolate and peanut butter.
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“It was not edible,” he said. “You have to understand. I used to eat a Reese’s product every day. This is very devastating for me.”
Hershey stated that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups remain made with milk chocolate and peanut butter crafted from roasted peanuts, though the ingredients in some other products differ.
“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.
Reese noted that bars such as Reese’s Take5, Fast Break, and White Reese’s have shifted from milk or white chocolate to chocolate or white crème. He also pointed to European versions, citing a U.K. package description of “milk chocolate-flavored coating and peanut butter crème,” although Hershey said the recipes are the same as in the U.S. and the labels differ because EU and U.K. regulations require higher cocoa and milk content.
Hershey CFO Steven Voskuil previously said the company adjusted formulas carefully, adding, “I would say in all the changes that we’ve made thus far, there has been no consumer impact whatsoever.”
Reese, however, argues that many fans notice a difference. “I absolutely believe in innovation, but my preference is innovation with quality,” he said.
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