The grandson of the man who invented Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups is speaking out against The Hershey Company, accusing the multinational confectionery company of cheaping out on ingredients and spoiling the product his family created.
Brad Reese, 70, claims that real ingredients have been replaced with cheap, ultra-processed additives that have altered the taste of the popular candy.
“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,” Reese shared in a LinkedIn post.
“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,” the post continued.
“I can’t just let it go. They’re lowering the quality of ingredients, charging the same price and probably giving you a smaller product size,” Reese told The New York Post in a follow-up interview. “I’m really embarrassed as a member of the Reese family.”
The Hershey Company, based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, said in a statement that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are made with real peanut butter and milk chocolate, but admits they’ve done “recipe adjustments.”
“Our iconic Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are made the same way they always have been; starting with roasting fresh peanuts to make our unique, one-of-a-kind peanut butter that is then combined with milk chocolate,” a statement from The Hershey Company said, per ABC27 News.
“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.”
According to the website, traditional Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups include: Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate, Skim Milk, Milk Fat, Lactose, Lecithin, PGPR), Peanuts, Sugar, Dextrose, Salt, and TBHQ & Citric Acid (TO MAINTAIN FRESHNESS).
Reese indicated that the spinoff versions of the classic candy are the culprits. The Florida resident said he recently purchased and tossed out a Valentine’s Day-themed bag of Reese’s Mini Hearts.
“It was not edible,” Reese told The Associated Press in an interview. “You have to understand. I used to eat a Reese’s product every day. This is very devastating for me.”
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