Nearly two months after the grandson of H.B. Reese accused Hershey of quietly changing the formula of various Reese’s products, the company announced it would bring “a small portion” of the brand’s candies back with their classic milk and dark chocolate recipes.
The Hershey Company confirmed the change during its 2026 Investor Day event on March 31, and in a statement to USA TODAY on April 2.
Stacy Taffet, chief growth officer for the Hershey Company, said at the March 31 event that the company is enhancing its Kit Kat recipe to give customers a “creamier chocolate,” and “transitioning our sweets portfolio to colors from natural sources, and ensuring that all Hershey’s and Reese’s offerings are consistent with their brand’s classic milk and dark chocolate recipes.”
In its statement to USA TODAY, the company said these changes should go into effect in 2027, adding that its core recipes and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups have not changed.
The move comes after Brad Reese, grandson of Reese’s candy founder H. B. Reese, penned an open letter to Hershey in a LinkedIn post on Feb. 14, in which he said his grandfather created the brand using real milk chocolate and peanut butter, something he alleges the chocolate company changed sometime after buying the Reese’s brand in the 1960s.
The Reese’s brand and identity are “being rewritten, not by storytellers, but by formulation decisions that replace Milk Chocolate with compound coatings and Peanut Butter with peanut‑butter‑style crèmes,” Reese wrote in the LinkedIn post.
Hershey made some recipe changes after welcoming CEO Kirk Tanner in August, which, according to the company, were announced to the public through marketing materials and during investor events. The chocolate company said it decided to revert to classic recipes after seeing a 25% increase in research and development to fund talent, technology and nutrition science.
Here’s what the Hershey Company and Reese’s grandson have said, as well as his other family members.
Hershey Company Says Most Products Are Already Made With Classic Recipes
Hershey said on April 2 that most of the company’s Reese’s products, including Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and classic shapes, are made using the classic recipes. The products being shifted back to this recipe make up about 3% of select Reese’s products.
While the company’s popular Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are described on the packaging as “milk chocolate and peanut butter,” other products are listed as containing “peanut butter creme.”
Reese, who has publicly accused Hershey of quietly changing the recipe for certain Reese’s products, is a lifelong fan of the candy his grandfather created, he told USA TODAY on April 2. It wasn’t until Valentine’s Day 2026, when he tried the Reese’s Unwrapped Chocolate Peanut Butter Creme Mini Hearts, that he noticed a difference in the candy’s taste.
“I opened it up, and I had about two of them, and I had to spit them out,” he said. “I dumped the entire contents into my kitchen garbage can, and I kept the pouch. I checked it and it wasn’t milk chocolate, it wasn’t real peanut butter … I’ve never in my entire life spit out a Reese’s product.”
He was shocked after trying the candy because he could not find an announcement about Hershey changing the chocolate and peanut butter it uses to make its Reese’s products. Customers have to look very carefully and try the treats themselves to notice, he said, adding that Hershey often uses words and phrases like “chocolatey,” “chocolate-covered,” or “made with chocolate” instead of describing products as “milk chocolate.”
Reese alleged that other products Hershey changed include Reese’s Unwrapped Chocolate Peanut Butter Creme Mini Eggs and Cadbury Creme Egg Milk Chocolate Eggs.
“If it does not say milk chocolate, that means it’s vegetable oil,” Reese told USA TODAY.
According to a Hershey ingredients document, vegetable oil is used in some of the company’s products. Reese said Hershey’s changing of its chocolate formula set off a chain reaction because the vegetable oils the company uses to make the chocolate coating don’t mesh well with peanut butter. To fix that issue, Reese alleges that Hershey stopped using real peanut butter and instead used ingredients described as “peanut butter creme.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines contain two grades for peanut butter (A and B). The agency requires companies to use peanut butter “that has a good color, that has a good consistency, that is practically free from defects, that has a good flavor and good aroma,” and that scores at least 90 points for grade A peanut butter and 80 points for grade B. Products that don’t meet these requirements must be labeled differently, according to California’s Riverside County Law Library.
Hershey used “crème” instead of “peanut butter” to avoid using the exact term “peanut butter” as the USDA defines it, the library states.
Brad Reese Says Hershey’s Going Back to Classic Recipes Is a ‘PR Stunt’
Reese said the damage to Hershey’s reputation is done, despite the company’s vow to go back to the classic milk chocolate and peanut butter ingredients.
“This is way larger than I think people realize,” he said, later adding that the company’s estimated 2027 timeline of reversing the change “makes absolutely no sense.”
He said the timeline will allow the company to make more money while still cutting corners with its ingredients. Reese said he just wanted people to know they have to pay attention to the ingredients when consuming products like Reese’s creme candy and other snacks, and that changes may be being made behind the scenes.
“Everybody thinks ‘Oh, my taste buds are changing,'” he told USA TODAY. “They think they’ve got a bad batch.”
Reese called the recipe reversal, slated for 2027, a “PR stunt,” and said the company is hoping people will forget about it all.
“If it was real, they would do it immediately because the damage is occurring every day,” he said.
Reese Family Says Grandson’s Statements Do Not Represent Them
The Hershey Company sent USA TODAY a statement on April 2 from the Reese family, who said they do not support Brad Reese’s claims.
“His statements and opinions are entirely his own and do not reflect the view or position of our family,” the family wrote. “We continue to respect The Hershey Company, its leadership, and its longstanding role in our community. We believe H.B. Reese would take great pride in the products produced under his name today and in the integrity with which the brand continues to be managed.”
Reese’s brother, Andrew Reese, has the right of publicity for their grandfather’s name, image, likeness, and more. Since Brad Reese began airing his criticism of the Hershey Company via LinkedIn, Andrew has reposted them, seemingly in agreement that Hershey has changed the recipes without notifying customers.
In a LinkedIn post on April 2, Brad Reese said the family’s statement is nothing more than Hershey’s attempt to “discredit the messenger.”
“Hershey can issue all the statements it wants. But until REESE’S ingredients match the REESE’S brand story, the public record stands,” he wrote. “They changed the REESE’S product. They got caught. And now they’re trying to manage perception instead of fixing the problem. The evidence chain isn’t going away.”
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s trending team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hershey says ‘classic’ Reese’s returning; founder’s grandson cries PR
Reporting by Saleen Martin, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
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