Hershey to resume using chocolate in most products; Reese’s grandson may taste s
The grandson of the inventor of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, who has publicly criticized The Hershey Company for tinkering with the classic formula in its spinoff products, appears to have gotten some sweet revenge.
The candy company has announced that it will return to using “classic milk and dark chocolate recipes” in all its Reese’s and Hershey’s products by 2027.
If this is true, the people who deserve the credit are the loyal fans who were alarmed by what Hershey was doing," Brad Reese told NBC News on Wednesday. "But I am seeing a lot of red flags here. I think what Hershey is trying to do here is change with PR narrative."
Reese, whose demands that Hershey stop skimping on chocolate went viral in February, said he trusts his taste buds more than he trusts the company that produces iconic candies that bear his family name.
"If something like the Valentine’s Day Reese’s Mini Heart still doesn't taste like real milk chocolate next year, I'll know they're lying," he said.
We’re going to make some small investments to really align the portfolio to what the brand stands for,” Tanner said. “That consistency is important across the brand.”
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups have been made with the same ingredients since 1928 — milk chocolate and peanut butter.
Starting next year, Tanner said candies inspired by the originals — like the "mini Reese's cups and shapes," as well as the Reese's Fast Break candy bar — will also be made with real milk chocolate instead of a chocolate compound coating.
In addition, all the classic Hershey's chocolate bars will also be made with "pure milk and dark chocolate," he said. And Hershey is "enhancing" the Kit Kat candy bar "for a creamier taste and texture."
In all, the company said the shift from chocolate compound coatings to the real thing will affect less than 3% of the Reese's products and a tiny portion of Hershey’s products.
And Hershey is "on track" to remove all artificial colors from its products by the end of next year, the company said.
