Hershey said it will return to “classic” recipes for all Reese’s products starting next year, after criticism that the company had changed ingredient choices in parts of the line. In a statement, Hershey said Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups “have always been made with real milk chocolate or dark chocolate and peanut butter,” and that some smaller items had shifted to a different chocolate setup in recent production.
Hershey also said the change would come in 2027, when it plans to shift products that it said were previously made with a coating containing less chocolate to “their classic milk chocolate and dark chocolate recipes.” The company tied the broader ingredient direction to how it seeks to meet consumer demand for innovation, and it pointed to industry pressures that have led manufacturers to adjust chocolate usage in recent years.
The company said the company will make other changes to its sweets portfolio next year as well. Hershey said it plans to transition to natural colors, and it said it intends to enhance Kit-Kat’s recipe to make it creamier. Hershey also said it will increase its research and development funding by 25% next year.
Hershey’s statements came after Brad Reese posted a public letter dated Valentine’s Day that questioned whether the company was maintaining the ingredients that originally built the brand. Reese sent the letter to Hershey’s corporate brand manager, and he posted it on his LinkedIn profile.
In the letter, Brad Reese asked, “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?” In the Associated Press report, Hershey acknowledged that some recipe changes had occurred but said it was trying to meet consumer demand for innovation.
The company cited broader market conditions as part of the reason chocolate-related formulations have been changing across the industry. The Associated Press report said high cocoa prices have contributed to Hershey and other manufacturers experimenting with using less chocolate in recent years.
Brad Reese is the grandson of H.B. Reese, who spent two years at Hershey before forming his own candy company in 1919. H.B. Reese invented Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in 1928, and his six sons eventually sold his company to Hershey in 1963.