The integrity of a beloved confectionery staple, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, has come under scrutiny as Brad Reese, the grandson of the original inventor, has publicly accused The Hershey Company of altering the product's core ingredients. This revelation came to light after Reese shared a letter on LinkedIn, dated February 14, addressed to Hershey's corporate brand manager, expressing his concerns over the ingredient changes.
H.B. Reese, Brad's grandfather and the creator of the popular candy, worked at Hershey for two years before launching his own venture in 1919. The iconic Reese's Peanut Butter Cups were born in 1928, and after H.B. Reese's death, his six sons sold the company to Hershey in 1963. The recent allegations by Brad Reese suggest that the company has replaced milk chocolate with compound coatings and genuine peanut butter with peanut crème in several Reese's products.
In his letter, Brad Reese questioned the company's commitment to maintaining the brand's reputation for quality and trust, built upon the original ingredients of milk chocolate and peanut butter. "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 that built Reese's trust in the first place?" Reese wrote.
Responding to these claims, Hershey stated on Wednesday that the classic Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are still produced with the same in-house made milk chocolate and peanut butter formula, consisting of roasted peanuts, sugar, and salt, unchanged since the product's inception. However, the company did acknowledge that its expanded product line features ingredient variations to accommodate consumer requests for new shapes, sizes, and innovations.
"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," Hershey explained in a statement.
The confectionery industry has seen a trend of recipe reformulations, partly due to rising cocoa prices, prompting companies like Hershey to explore reducing chocolate content. Brad Reese highlighted his personal disappointment after purchasing a bag of Reese's Mini Hearts, a Valentine's Day product, and discarding it due to its subpar quality. The packaging labeled the ingredients as "chocolate candy and peanut butter crème," a deviation from the traditional milk chocolate and peanut butter.
Reese has identified other products, such as Reese's Take5 and Fast Break bars, which he claims have also undergone recipe changes. Additionally, he noted that White Reese's, which were originally made with white chocolate, are now produced with a white crème. He also pointed out differences in the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups sold in Europe, citing a product listing from British online supermarket Ocado that described the candy as containing "milk chocolate-flavored coating and peanut butter crème."
Social media users have echoed Reese's sentiments, with one Twitter user, Val (@LolaLives), commenting on the loss of the product's creamy texture and peanut taste, now describing it as a "sugary mass, no flavour." Another user, flyhombre (@flyhombre), speculated about the inclusion of high fructose corn syrup, expressing concerns due to a corn allergy in the family.
In the face of these consumer reactions, Hershey has disputed claims of a recipe change for its European Union and United Kingdom products, attributing label differences to stricter requirements for cocoa, milk solid, and milk fat percentages in those regions.
