The grandson of the inventor of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup has publicly questioned The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) over what he claims are alterations to the iconic candy’s ingredients.
Brad Reese, grandson of H.B. Reese, posted an open letter on LinkedIn criticizing Hershey for allegedly substituting traditional components such as milk chocolate and peanut butter with lower-cost alternatives across parts of the Reese’s product range. Hershey and the Reese business combined in the 1960s.
In recent years, several chocolate makers have adjusted product recipes after cocoa prices surged to a record above $12,000 per metric ton in late 2024. To manage higher input costs, some companies replaced cocoa butter and cocoa powder with more affordable non-cocoa substitutes in certain products.
“My grandfather built Reese’s on a simple, enduring architecture: milk chocolate + peanut butter,” Brad Reese wrote.
“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.”
Hershey rejected claims of sweeping changes to the brand’s formula. “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.”
Cocoa prices have since dropped more than 70% from their peak, as softer demand and improved supply conditions weighed on the market. With consumers cutting back on chocolate purchases and manufacturers shrinking package sizes or reformulating products, prices have reversed sharply.
The downturn has created new challenges for farmers in leading cocoa-producing nations such as Ghana and Ivory Coast, who are reportedly struggling to sell their beans and are stockpiling supplies.