Reese’s Founder’s Grandson Accuses Hershey Of Diluting Ingredients And Misleading Fans
I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up, Hershey was considered the best chocolate brand around. I actually have a special relationship with it because I briefly attended Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pennsylvania where the company originated, and have fond memories of eating large chunks of chocolate, cut from a massive block that the company would gift us once every year. Ahh yes, those were the days.
A lot has changed since then. While Hershey bars are still made of milk chocolate, according to the New York Times, the same can’t be said for some of the chocolate brands it produces. Brad Reese, the grandson of Reese’s inventor, H.B. Reese, just wrote an open letter to Todd Scott, Hershey’s manager of corporate brand and editorial, expressing disappointment over what ultimately boils down to allegedly false advertising.
He starts off with, “As someone who has spent his career shaping narratives, elevating reputations and stewarding brand meaning, you understand better than most that a story only works when it is anchored in truth.” Reese says his grandfather built Reese’s on transparency, particularly it being made of milk chocolate and peanut butter, which at one point, it in fact was.
“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,” he continues, also pointing out that it doesn’t have to do with supply chain issues, but how the brand is being led.
According to him, Reese’s was built on “trust, quality, and leadership.” But now that it’s marketed as something it no longer is, it betrays the consumer trust that his grandfather worked hard to gain. “It’s about whether REESE’S, the world’s No. 1 chocolate brand, is being protected or diluted,” he adds. Reese simply wants Scott to echo the leadership qualities of his grandfather by ensuring that the marketing matches what the candy actually contains.
In the comments, he admits that his goal wasn’t to receive a response, but to start a dialogue that may inspire the Reese’s team to reflect on the brand. However, he knows the likelihood of that isn’t very high. Most of the comments, many from people old enough to remember when Reese’s was made with real milk chocolate and peanut butter, share his sentiment.
Almond Joy, Mr. Goodbar, and Rolo are other Hershey chocolate brands that no longer contain real chocolate, but instead, “chocolate candy.” So, if not a supply issue, why the sudden change in ingredients? The Times reports that it’s a result of increased cocoa and oil prices.
But, since the change was made without customers being informed, it makes one wonder whether it was a money-saving play by Hershey, or just cutting corners?
