Grandson of Reese’s inventor accuses Hershey of quietly swapping out original ingredients
Brad Reese is passionate about his family’s connection to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
It’s why the grandson of the inventor of the famed peanut butter cups recently penned a letter to The Hershey Company, producer of the beloved candies, accusing the company of swapping out key ingredients for inferior ones.
In the letter, published Feb. 14 on LinkedIn and addressed to Todd Scott, Hershey’s senior communications manager, Brad Reese claims the company has reformulated ingredients.
“As someone who has spent his career shaping narratives, elevating reputations and stewarding brand meaning, you understand better than most that a story only works when it’s anchored in truth,” he said.
Noting his grandfather H.B. Reese created the peanut butter cup on a “simple, enduring architecture: Milk chocolate + peanut butter,” Brad Reese, 70, accuses Hershey of replacing milk chocolate with compound coatings and peanut butter with peanut butter cremes.
“How does The Hershey Company continue to position Reese’s as a flagship brand, a symbol of trust, quality and leadership, while quietly replacing the very ingredients that built Reese’s trust in the first place?” he said.
The Hershey Company said its peanut butter cups are made the same way they always have, with peanut butter made with fresh-roasted peanuts and milk chocolate.
“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,” the company said.
It’s not unusual for candy manufacturers to adjust recipes. Many have changed formulas in recent years in response to skyrocketing cocoa prices related to bad weather and crop disease in Ghana and the Ivory Coast in Western Africa.
Some manufacturers have swapped “cocoa butter” with other fats such as vegetable oil, a switch that means the product no longer qualifies as “milk chocolate” under U.S. standards.
As a result, consumers will notice the words “candy coatings” or “chocolate candy” on product labels.
During a February 2025 earnings call, Hershey’s Chief Financial Officer Steve Voskuil addressed a question about reformulated products.
Voskuil said, “It’s a place we look at, we test, and in some parts of our portfolio, over time we’ve made some changes,” adding, “there’s been no consumer impact whatsoever.”
In a phone interview with PennLive, Brad Reese, who lives in Palm Beach, Florida, said he wrote the letter because he is frustrated and disappointed.
His family sold Reese’s to Hershey in 1963. For the past 20-plus years, Brad Reese has served as a Reese’s ambassador by wearing branded merchandise and operating a blog.
Despite only being associated with the brand by name, Brad Reese said he feels a connection.
“The point I’m trying to make is I understand the whole history of it, so I feel like I really do own Reese’s. I know I don’t have control, but I have a voice,” he said.
In his letter, Brad Reese said it’s not a supply chain issue, but rather a “brand governance question,” noting consumers are being “asked to believe a story that no longer matches what’s inside the Reese’s orange wrapper.”
He said Hershey continues to sell some products in the U.S. with milk chocolate and Reese’s peanut butter. But he worries it won’t be long until more product ingredient lists change.
“Reese’s is so well loved, but that can turn in a heartbeat. I’m not buying the Reese’s products. I’m not putting up with the degradation of ingredients. I think it’s going to be disastrous for Hershey long-term,” he said.
This story was updated to include a response from the Hershey Company.
