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Grandson of Inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Goes Public With the Obvious: They Taste Like Shit Now
Brad Reese, on LinkedIn last week:
My grandfather, H. B. Reese (Who Invented Reese’s), built Reese’s
on a simple, enduring architecture: Milk Chocolate + Peanut
Butter. Not a flavor idea. Not a marketing construct. A real,
tangible product identity that consumers have trusted for a
century.
But today, Reese’s identity is being rewritten, not by
storytellers, but by formulation decisions that replace Milk
Chocolate with compound coatings and Peanut Butter with
peanut‑butter‑style crèmes across multiple Reese’s products.
The Associated Press:
Hershey said Wednesday that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are made
the same way they always have been, with milk chocolate and peanut
butter that the company makes itself from roasted peanuts and a
few other ingredients, including sugar and salt. But some Reese’s
ingredients vary, Hershey said.
“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.
Brad Reese said he thinks Hershey went too far. He said he
recently threw out a bag of Reese’s Mini Hearts, which were a new
product released for Valentine’s Day. The packaging notes that the
heart-shaped candies are made from “chocolate candy and peanut
butter crème,” not milk chocolate and peanut butter.
“It was not edible,” Reese told The Associated Press in an
interview. “You have to understand. I used to eat a Reese’s
product every day. This is very devastating for me.”
Enshittification came for Reese’s Cups (along with just about everything else Hershey makes) long ago. Both the “milk chocolate” and “peanut butter” require dick quotes around them. Compare and contrast the taste — and ingredients list — to the peanut butter cups from, say, Justin’s (who also makes them with dark chocolate).
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Grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups accuses Hershey of cutting corners
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The grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups is lashing out at The Hershey Co., accusing the candy company of hurting the Reese’s brand by shifting to cheaper ingredients in many products. (AP video: Sahar Akbarzai, Carrie Antlfinger)
[A package of Reese’s Hearts is shown on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in New Jersey. (AP Photo/Pablo Salinas)]
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A package of Reese’s Hearts is shown on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in New Jersey. (AP Photo/Pablo Salinas)
[These are Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in Pittsburgh Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)]
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These are Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in Pittsburgh Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
[Reese's Candies are shown in Carmel, Ind., Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)]
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Reese’s Candies are shown in Carmel, Ind., Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups accuses Hershey of cutting corners
1 of 4
The grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups is lashing out at The Hershey Co., accusing the candy company of hurting the Reese’s brand by shifting to cheaper ingredients in many products. (AP video: Sahar Akbarzai, Carrie Antlfinger)
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[A package of Reese’s Hearts is shown on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in New Jersey. (AP Photo/Pablo Salinas)]
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A package of Reese’s Hearts is shown on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in New Jersey. (AP Photo/Pablo Salinas)
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A package of Reese’s Hearts is shown on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in New Jersey. (AP Photo/Pablo Salinas)
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[These are Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in Pittsburgh Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)]
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These are Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in Pittsburgh Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
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These are Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in Pittsburgh Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
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