The grandson of the man who invented Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups claimed the candy has become inedible, accusing The Hershey Company of swapping real ingredients for cheap substitutes.
Brad Reese, whose grandfather H.B. Reese created the treat in 1928, told Fox Business he recently bought a bag of Reese’s Unwrapped Chocolate Peanut Butter Creme Mini Hearts and couldn’t finish them. He spoke with the outlet after accusing The Hershey Company of replacing milk chocolate with “compound coatings” and peanut butter with “peanut-butter-style crèmes” in the Feb. 14 letter posted to LinkedIn.
“I went and bought a bag, and I took a couple bites, and I had to throw the bag in the garbage,” Reese told Fox Business. “I couldn’t eat it. It was not edible, and I looked at the packaging … and there was no milk chocolate, there was no peanut butter — it was all vegetable oils and fats.”
The 70-year-old Florida resident said he can no longer stand behind the family brand. “I can’t go on representing being the grandson of Reese’s when the product is total bunk,” Reese told the outlet. “You have no idea how devastating it is.” (RELATED: Iconic Chocolate Company Moves To Rid Products Of Artificial Dyes)
Reese wrote an open letter to The Hershey Company out of frustration, according to PennLive. His family sold the company to Hershey in 1963, but he has spent at least 20 years serving as an unofficial brand ambassador. “The point I’m trying to make is I understand the whole history of it, so I feel like I really do own Reese’s. I know I don’t have control, but I have a voice,” Reese told the outlet.
Brad Reese, the grandson of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups inventor H.B. Reese, has some harsh words for The Hershey Co. https://t.co/bAhke4XIwe
— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) February 19, 2026
Hershey disputed the claims in a statement to CBS News, noting they occasionally make “product recipe adjustments” but insisting that “Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups are made the same way they always have been.”
“As we’ve grown and expanded the Reece’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 firm said.
During a 2025 investors’ call, Chief Financial Officer Steven Voskuil said there had been “no consumer impact whatsoever” from any formula changes, according to CBS News. Reese disagreed, telling the outlet that fans regularly tell him the candy no longer tastes the same.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires “milk chocolate” labels to contain at least 10% chocolate liquor, at least 12% milk solids and 3.39% milk fat. Companies can avoid these standards by using terms like “chocolate candy” on packaging.
Reese also claimed that Reese’s candy serves as The Hershey Company’s flagship product.
The Daily Caller reached out to The Hershey Company for comment.