Reese’s grandson: Hershey changed recipe

Saman Shafiq

USA TODAY

The grandson of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups inventor H.B. Reese has accused Hershey of replacing the candy’s original ingredients with cheaper alternatives.

But the brand is pushing back.

Brad Reese posted an open letter to Todd Scott, corporate brand and editorial manager at The Hershey Co., on Feb.14 on LinkedIn. In the letter, Reese accused the company of replacing milk chocolate with compound coatings and peanut butter with peanut butter-style creamy filling across multiple Reese’s products.

'Reese’s story is diverging from what’s inside Reese’s products,' he wrote. 'And that divergence puts Reese’s and the legacy behind it, at risk.'

He went on to question how Hershey’s continues 'to position Reese’s as its flagship brand,' and 'a symbol of trust, quality and leadership, while quietly replacing the very ingredients (milk chocolate and peanut butter) that built Reese’s trust in the first place?'

Harry Burnett Reese, a former employee of the Hershey Chocolate Co., created Reese’s peanut butter chocolate candy in his basement in Hershey, Pennsylvania, in 1928, according to Hershey’s. Reese’s six sons took over the family business in 1956, then sold it to Hershey in 1963.