Reese's family member criticizes Hershey for "quietly replacing" ingredients

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Brad Reese, the grandson of the inventor of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, is criticizing The Hershey Co. for "quietly replacing" the candy's flagship cocoa and peanut food ingredients.

Reese claimed connected LinkedIn past week that the institution has replaced beverage cocoa with compound coatings and peanut food with peanut butter‑style crème crossed aggregate Reese's products, a determination helium alleges has eroded the Reese's marque and jeopardized user trust.

"How does The Hershey Company proceed to presumption Reese's arsenic its flagship brand, a awesome of trust, prime and leadership, portion softly replacing the precise ingredients (Milk Chocolate + Peanut Butter) that built Reese's spot successful the archetypal place?" Reese wrote successful a Feb. 14 LinkedIn post successful which helium shared an unfastened missive addressed to Hershey's firm marque manager.

Brad Reese is the grandson of H.B. Reese, who spent 2 years astatine Hershey earlier forming his ain candy institution successful 1919. H.B. Reese invented Reese's Peanut Butter Cups successful 1928, and his six sons yet sold his institution to Hershey successful 1963.

"Reese's became iconic due to the fact that my gramps built it connected existent ingredients and existent integrity," Reese wrote successful a separate LinkedIn post connected Tuesday.

Hershey defends its decisions

In a connection to CBS News, Hershey said it sometimes makes "product look adjustments," though it noted that "Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are made the aforesaid mode they ever person been."

"As we've grown and expanded the Reese's merchandise line, we marque merchandise look adjustments that let america to marque caller shapes, sizes and innovations that Reese's fans person travel to emotion and inquire for, portion ever protecting the essence of what makes Reese's unsocial and special: the cleanable operation of cocoa and peanut butter," the institution said.

Elevated cocoa prices person led immoderate candy manufacturers to experimentation with utilizing little cocoa successful caller years. Cocoa prices person dropped successful caller months, but, arsenic experts have told CBS News, retail prices stay sticky due to the fact that of a lag betwixt purchases of earthy cocoa beans and erstwhile companies nutrient their candies.

Brad Reese said helium thinks Hershey went excessively far. He said helium precocious threw retired a container of Reese's Mini Hearts, which were a caller merchandise released for Valentine's Day. The packaging notes that the heart-shaped candies are made from "chocolate candy and peanut food crème," not beverage cocoa and peanut butter.

"It was not edible," Reese told The Associated Press successful an interview. "You person to understand. I utilized to devour a Reese's merchandise each day. This is precise devastating for me."

Strict cocoa standards

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has strict constituent and labeling requirements for chocolate. To beryllium considered beverage chocolate, products indispensable incorporate astatine slightest 10% cocoa liquor, which is simply a paste made from crushed cocoa beans and contains nary alcohol. Products besides indispensable incorporate astatine slightest 12% beverage solids and 3.39% beverage fat.

Companies tin get astir those rules by utilizing different wording connected their packaging. The wrapper for Hershey's Mr. Goodbar, for example, contains the words "chocolate candy" alternatively of "milk chocolate."

Reese claims Hershey changed the recipes for aggregate Reese's products successful caller years. Reese's Take5 and Fast Break bars utilized to beryllium coated with beverage chocolate, helium said, but present they aren't. In the aboriginal 2000s, erstwhile Hershey released White Reese's, they were made with achromatic chocolate. Now they're made with a achromatic creme, helium said.

Reese said Reese's Peanut Butter Cups sold successful Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland are besides antithetic than U.S. versions. On Wednesday, a bundle advertised connected the website of British online supermarket Ocado described the candy arsenic "milk chocolate-flavored coating and peanut food crème."

In a league telephone with investors past year, Hershey Chief Financial Officer Steven Voskuil said the institution made immoderate changes successful its formulas. Voskuil did not accidental for which products but said Hershey was precise cautious to support the "taste illustration and the specialness of our iconic brands."

"I would accidental successful each the changes that we've made frankincense far, determination has been nary user interaction whatsoever. As you tin imagine, adjacent connected the smallest marque successful the portfolio, if we were to marque a change, there's extended user testing," helium said.

But Brad Reese said helium often has radical archer him that Reese's products don't sensation arsenic bully arsenic they erstwhile did. He said Pennsylvania-based Hershey should support successful caput a celebrated punctuation from its founder, Milton Hershey: "Give them quality, that's the champion advertising."

"I perfectly judge successful innovation, but my penchant is innovation with quality," Reese said.

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