Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup fans – have you noticed something different about the candy recently? After a bit of a controversy involving the descendants of the brand founder, Hershey announced this week that the classic candy’s classic recipes would be “transitioning” back in.
When did they stop being classic? We’ll take you through the whole saga, going back to 1917.
The beginning
That’s when H.B. Reese was a dairy farmer working for Hershey. He was inspired by the business to make his own chocolate-covered peanut butter candies with chocolate sourced from Hershey. In 1963, Reese’s sons sold the company to Hershey, a “decision rooted in trust,” according to a Feb. 19 Hershey press release.
However, one of Reese’s descendants hasn’t been feeling that trust.
Reese’s grandson Brad wrote an open letter addressed to Todd Scott, manager of Corporate Brand & Editorial at The Hershey Company and posted it to Linked in on Feb. 14, just days before Hershey’s press release. In it, he claimed that the brand’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 also asked: “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 spit-out – when things changed
Brad has been a lifelong fan of the chocolate developed by his grandfather, he told USA Today this Thursday. Then, when he opened up Reese’s Unwrapped Chocolate Peanut Butter Creme Mini Hearts this Valentine’s Day, he noticed something different.
“I opened it up, and I had about two of them, and I had to spit them out,” Brad said. “I dumped the entire contents into my kitchen garbage can, and I kept the pouch. I checked it and it wasn’t milk chocolate, it wasn’t real peanut butter… I’ve never in my entire life spit out a Reese’s product.”
According to USA Today, the Hershey Company said some of its recipes changed after CEO Kirk Tanner came on board last August. It indicated that those changes were revealed to the public in marketing materials and at investor events.
As of April 2, most of the Pennsylvania-based company’s Reese’s products (including Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and classic shapes) are made using the classic recipes, Hershey said. Around 3% of the other products listed under the Reese’s banner are listed as containing “peanut butter crème.”
“Peanut butter” is actually a strictly defined term for food products due to U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, USA Today explained. Products that do not meet peanut butter requirements set by the department cannot be described as peanut butter.
Brad Reese noted that it can be difficult for consumers to determine whether they are getting the real, USDA-defined peanut butter. He said they have to look carefully to notice when terms like “peanut butter crème” and “chocolatey” are used instead of peanut butter and milk chocolate.
Back to the basics
USA Today noted that The Hershey Company announced during its 2026 Investor Day event on March 31 the products that aren’t aligned with the original milk and dark chocolate recipes will be transitioned back. It also confirmed the change in a statement provided to the outlet.
“In its statement to USA TODAY, the company said these changes should go into effect in 2027, adding that its core recipes and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups have not changed,” USA Today said.
Yet, from Brad Reese’s perspective, the damage has been done. He added that he thinks the timeline for the change back doesn’t make sense.
Amid inflation and increasing cocoa costs, Audacy recently reported that prices for Hershey’s Easter candy shot up this year.
