The Hershey Company is working to make changes to some of its recipes by 2027 after the grandson of the man who invented Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups accused the company of “quietly replacing” ingredients.
The plan is to stop using certain compound coatings and go back to the well-known and loved milk and dark chocolate, a move that will affect less than three percent of Reese’s candies, Fox Business reported Thursday.
A Hershey spokesperson told the outlet, “[We’re] bringing a small portion of remaining Hershey’s and Reese’s products in line with their classic milk and dark chocolate recipes. The core recipes for our Hershey’s chocolate bars and Reese’s peanut butter cups have not changed.”
In addition, Hershey said it will make changes to its Kit Kat bars, according to Food Dive.
The outlet reported:
Pennsylvania-based Hershey is also making other ingredient changes to its confectionery portfolio. The company plans to increase its investment in research and development by 25%, which will be used to fund nutrition science and technology across its candy and snack brands.
The news comes after the grandson of H.B. Reese, who invented Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, accused Hershey of “replacing” the candy’s ingredients, Breitbart News reported in February.
In an open letter to the company Brad Reese said, “My grandfather, H. B. REESE (Who Invented REESE’S), built REESE’S on a simple, enduring architecture: Milk Chocolate + Peanut Butter. Not a flavor idea. Not a marketing construct. A real, tangible product identity that consumers have trusted for a century.”
“But today, REESE’S identity is being rewritten, not by storytellers, but by formulation decisions that replace Milk Chocolate with compound coatings and Peanut Butter with peanut‑butter‑style crèmes across multiple REESE’S products,” he continued. “How does The Hershey Company 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?”
The elder Reese was born May 24, 1879, in Frosty Hill, Pennsylvania, and in 1917 began working at one of Milton Hershey’s dairy farms. He eventually created his own confections, and opened the H.B. Reese Candy Company, per the Candy Hall of Fame.
According to Breitbart News, he invented the now famous candy in his home’s basement.
Noting that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup is still a best-seller, the Candy Hall of Fame website narrates a bit of its history:
Although Reese Candy and Hershey Chocolate Co. were both located in Hershey, PA, the two were never competitors. Reese Candy was one of Hershey’s biggest customers, and Milton and H.B. struck up a friendship when H.B. was still employed at Hershey. During World War II, H.B. decided to focus on his most popular candy, the Peanut Butter Cup, because of the rising cost of sugar. During the 1940s and 1950s, the product’s success grew.
According to Fox, Hershey is also working to stop using artificial colors in its products by the close of 2027.
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