Grandson of Reese's Inventor Swipes at Hershey

The grandson of the inventor of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups is lashing out at the Hershey Co., accusing the candy company of hurting the Reese's brand by shifting to cheaper ingredients in many products. Hershey acknowledges some recipe changes but said Wednesday it was trying to meet consumer demand for innovation, per the AP. High cocoa prices also have led Hershey and other manufacturers to use less chocolate in recent years. Brad Reese, 70, said in a Feb. 14 letter to Hershey's corporate brand manager that for multiple Reese's products, the company replaced milk chocolate with compound coatings, and peanut butter with peanut creme.

"How does the Hershey Co. continue to position Reese's as its flagship brand, a symbol of trust, quality, and leadership, while quietly replacing the very ingredients ... that built Reese's trust in the first place?" Reese wrote. He's the grandson of HB Reese, who spent two years at Hershey before forming his own candy company in 1919. HB Reese invented Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in 1928; his six sons eventually sold his company to Hershey in 1963. Hershey said Wednesday that Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are made the same way they always have been: with milk chocolate and peanut butter that the company makes itself from roasted peanuts and a few other ingredients, including sugar and salt.

But some Reese's ingredients vary, Hershey said. "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 company said. Brad Reese, however, said he recently threw out a bag of Reese's Mini Hearts, a new product for Valentine's Day. The packaging notes the heart-shaped candies are made from "chocolate candy and peanut butter creme," not milk chocolate and peanut butter.

"It was not edible," Reese says. The FDA has strict ingredient and labeling requirements for chocolate. To be considered milk chocolate, products must contain at least 10% chocolate liquor, which is a paste made from ground cocoa beans that contains no alcohol. Products also must contain at least 12% milk solids and 3.39% milk fat. Companies can get around those rules by using other wording on their packaging. The wrapper for Hershey's Mr. Goodbar, for example, contains the words "chocolate candy" instead of "milk chocolate." "I absolutely believe in innovation, but my preference is innovation with quality," Reese said. More here.