Chocolate’s journey from sacred drink to Valentine’s Day staple
Chocolate’s journey from sacred drink to symbol of Valentine’s Day has been shaped by history, marketing, and even chemistry.
Mr. Reese’s peanut butter cup inventor’s grandson, H.B. Reese, accused Mr. Hershey of replacing the candy’s original ingredients with cheaper alternatives. But brands are fighting back.
In an open letter to Todd Scott, The Hershey Company’s corporate brand and editorial manager, posted on LinkedIn on February 14, Brad Reese accused the company of replacing milk chocolate with a composite coating and peanut butter with a peanut butter-like cream in several Reese’s products.
“Reese’s story is divorced from the substance of Reese’s products,” Reese wrote. “And that discrepancy puts the lease and the heritage behind it at risk.”
According to LinkedIn, Reese, who is based in West Palm Beach, Florida, questioned how Hershey’s continues to “position Reese’s as a flagship brand” and “symbolize trust, quality and leadership” while quietly replacing the very ingredients that built Reese’s credibility in the first place (milk chocolate and peanut butter).
Hershey replies to grandson’s post
Meanwhile, the Hershey Company responded: “Our iconic Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are still made the same way they’ve always been made.”
The company said in a Feb. 19 statement to USA TODAY that the candy manufacturing process “begins by roasting fresh peanuts to create our unique, unique peanut butter, which is then combined with milk chocolate.” The mixture is then dropped into a mold and pressed, giving the cup its “iconic shape”.
“As we grow and expand the Reese’s product line, we continue to stay true to the essence of what makes Reese’s unique and special: the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter, while adjusting our product recipes to create new shapes, sizes and innovations that Reese’s fans love and desire,” the statement said.
According to the chocolate website, Hershey’s factories produce about 25 million Reese’s Cups each day.
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Who invented Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups?
According to Hershey’s, Harry Barnett (HB) Reese, a former employee of the Hershey Chocolate Company, created Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Candy in 1928 in the basement of his home in Hershey, Pennsylvania. H.B. Reese’s six sons took over the family business in 1956 before selling it to the Hershey Company in 1963.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Contact her at sshafiq@usatodayco.com and follow X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
