See the breakdown of Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins incident
A lawsuit was filed in 2024 alleging that Hershey had “falsely marked” some of its Reese’s peanut butter products.
Nearly two months after Mr. H.B. Reese’s grandson accused Mr. Hershey of secretly changing the formulations of various Reese’s products, the company announced it would bring back “a small portion” of the brand’s candies with classic milk chocolate and dark chocolate recipes.
The Hershey Company confirmed the change during its 2026 Investor Day event on March 31st and in a statement to USA TODAY on April 2nd.
The Hershey Company’s chief growth officer, Stacey Taffet, said at a March 31 event that the company is enhancing KitKat recipes to offer customers “creamier chocolate,” and “transitioning our sweets portfolio to colors derived from natural sources to ensure all Hershey and Reese’s products match the brand’s classic milk and dark chocolate recipes.”
The company said in a statement to USA TODAY that these changes should take effect in 2027, adding that the core recipe and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups remain unchanged.
The move comes after Brad Reese, the grandson of Reese’s Candy founder H.B. Reese, wrote an open letter to Hershey in a LinkedIn post on February 14, saying his grandfather created the brand using real milk chocolate and peanut butter and claiming that the chocolate company changed at some point after acquiring the Reese’s brand in the 1960s.
Reese’s brand and identity “has been rewritten not by the storyteller, but by the formulation decision that replaces milk chocolate with a composite coating and peanut butter with peanut butter-like cream,” Reese wrote in a LinkedIn post.
Hershey made some changes to the recipe after hiring CEO Kirk Tanner in August, which the company said were announced publicly through marketing materials and investor events. The chocolate company said it decided to return to classic recipes following a 25% increase in research and development to fund talent, technology and nutritional science.
Below are comments from Hershey Co., Reese’s grandson, and other members of his family.
The Hershey Company says most of its products are already made with classic recipes
Hershey said April 2 that most of its Reese’s products, including Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and classic shapes, are made using classic recipes. Products returned to this recipe represent approximately 3% of the Reese selection.
The company’s popular Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are listed on the package as “milk chocolate and peanut butter,” while other products are listed as containing “peanut butter cream.”
Reese, who has publicly accused Hershey of quietly changing recipes for certain Reese’s products, told USA TODAY on April 2 that he has been a lifelong fan of the candy made by his grandfather. It wasn’t until I tried Reese’s Unwrapped Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream Mini Hearts on Valentine’s Day 2026 that I noticed a difference in the taste of the candy.
“I opened it and there were about two of them in there so I had to spit them out,” he said. “I threw everything inside in the kitchen trash can and kept the pouch. I looked it up and it wasn’t milk chocolate or real peanut butter. This is the first time I’ve ever thrown up a Reese’s product.”
After trying the candy, he was shocked because he couldn’t find an announcement that Hershey would change the chocolate and peanut butter it uses to make Reese’s products. He said customers need to look carefully and try the treats for themselves to find out, adding that instead of describing products as “milk chocolate,” Hershey often uses words and phrases like “chocolatey,” “chocolate covered,” and “made with chocolate.”
Mr. Rees claimed that other products Mr. Hershey had changed include Reese’s Unwrapped Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream Mini Eggs and Cadbury Creme Eggs and Milk Chocolate Eggs.
“If it doesn’t say milk chocolate, that means it’s vegetable oil,” Reese told USA TODAY.
According to Hershey’s ingredient documents, some of the company’s products use vegetable oils. Reese said the change in chocolate formulation caused a chain reaction because the vegetable oil Hershey uses to make its chocolate coating was incompatible with peanut butter. To solve this problem, Reese claims Hershey stopped using real peanut butter and instead used an ingredient called “peanut butter cream.”
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines include two grades of peanut butter: A and B. The agency requires companies to use peanut butter that is “of good color, good consistency, few defects, and good taste and aroma,” with peanut butter scoring at least 90 points for Grade A peanut butter and 80 points for Grade B peanut butter. Products that do not meet these requirements must be labeled differently, according to California’s Riverside County Law Library.
Hershey used “cream” instead of “peanut butter” to avoid using the exact term “peanut butter” as defined by the USDA, the library said.
Brad Reese says Hershey’s return to classic recipes is a ‘PR stunt’
Reese said Hershey’s reputation has been tarnished, even though Hershey has vowed to return to its classic milk chocolate and peanut butter ingredients.
“This is much bigger than people realize,” he said, later adding that the company’s estimated timeline for reversing this change in 2027 “makes no sense at all.”
He said the schedule allows the company to cut corners on materials while still making more profit. Reese said he just wants people to know that they need to pay attention to ingredients when consuming products like Reese’s Cream Candies and other snacks, and that changes may be happening behind the scenes.
“Everyone would think, ‘Oh, my tastes have changed,'” he told USA TODAY. “They think they have a defective product.”
Reese called the recipe reversal, scheduled for 2027, a “PR stunt” and said the company hopes people will forget all about it.
“If it’s true, we’ll deal with it right away because damage is happening every day,” he says.
Reese family says grandson’s comments do not represent them
The Hershey Company sent a statement to USA TODAY on April 2 from the Reese family saying they do not support Brad Reese’s claims.
“His statements and opinions are entirely his own and do not reflect the views or positions of our family,” the family wrote. “We continue to respect the Hershey Company, its leadership, and its long-standing role in our community. We believe that Mr. HB Reese takes great pride in the products produced under his name today and the integrity with which the brand continues to be stewarded.”
Rees’ brother, Andrew Rees, has the right to publish his grandfather’s name, image and likeness. Since Brad Reese began airing his criticisms of Hershey via LinkedIn, Andrew has also reposted them and appears to agree that Hershey changed recipes without notifying customers.
Brad Reese said in an April 2 LinkedIn post that the family’s statement was nothing more than an attempt to “discredit Hershey’s Messenger.”
“Hershey can make all the statements it wants, but until Reese’s ingredients align with Reese’s brand story, it remains public record,” he wrote. “They changed the product on the lease. They got caught. And now they’re trying to manage the perception rather than solve the problem. The chain of evidence doesn’t go away.”
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s Trends team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – 757. Please send your email to: sdmartin@usatoday.com.
