Hershey’s has confirmed it is changing the recipes of some of its Reese’s products after brutal criticism from the inventor’s grandson went viral online.
Harry Burnett Reese, known as H. B. Reese, was an American inventor and later Candy Hall of Famer who created the humble Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup in the basement of his Pennsylvanian home in 1928.
The former Hershey’s Chocolate Company staff member went from being laid off in 1919 to founding the world's top-selling candy brand within ten years, which his former employer eventually purchased in the ‘60s.
According to Brad Reese, grandson of H.B. Reese, Hershey’s has allegedly subverted the original recipe to create some of its products, replacing milk chocolate with vegetable oil and swapping peanut butter for peanut-style crème.
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“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?,” he typed via LinkedIn on Valentine’s Day.
Following months of campaigning, Brad has apparently got his wish; the company plans to shift all Reese’s products back to their classic recipes beginning next year.
“Hershey is committed to making products consumers love and that means continually reviewing our recipes to meet evolving tastes and preferences,” the confectionery titan told FOODbible.
It’s reported that while Reese’s Butter Cups are made with real milk chocolate or dark chocolate and peanut butter, a small portion of its portfolio, such as its mini Easter eggs, are currently made with a coating containing less chocolate.
Hershey says that in 2027, it will return those particular products to ‘their classic milk chocolate and dark chocolate recipes’.
Hershey CEO Kirk Tanner claimed that the major switch-up was scheduled long before Brad delivered his criticism via social media.
Speaking to Bloomberg, the businessman claimed a portfolio ‘deep-dive’ was completed when he started working at the company in August 2025.
As well as the Reese’s change-up, Hershey’s plans to increase its research and development funding by 25 percent in 2027.
“We’re going to make some small investments to really align the portfolio to what the brand stands for. That consistency is important across the brand,” Tanner confirmed.
Other switches set to come into action next year include transitioning to natural colours and enhancing KitKat’s recipe to make it creamier, the company informed FOODbible.
Following the news that the Reese’s recipe would revert, Brad took to LinkedIn to call the original deviation a ‘cost-cutting strategy [that] should not have been approved in the first place’.
He added: “Restoring REESE'S ingredients is the easy part. Restoring REESE'S trust is the part The Hershey Company still hasn’t even begun.”
Topics: US Food, News, Social Media
Ella Scott