Reese's family member escalates battle with Hershey over chocolate ingredients, blasts 'PR stunt'
· Fox News
The grandson of the Reese's candy founder continues to blast Hershey after the company said it will return some products to classic recipes by 2027 — as he argues the fix isn't coming fast enough.
Brad Reese, grandson of founder H.B. Reese, has criticized The Hershey Company in recent months for allegedly switching real milk chocolate for cheaper ingredients.
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In a recent interview with NewsNation this month, Reese accused the Pennsylvania-based candy giant of swapping out "milk chocolate for compound coating."
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Compound coating is a cheaper, chocolate-like product that does not contain cocoa butter — a key requirement for real chocolate. Instead, it uses vegetable fats.
"If it doesn't say milk chocolate, then it doesn't have cocoa butter — and they're using vegetable oils, and they quietly swapped that out," Reese said in the interview.
His criticism appears to focus on certain seasonal or specialty items, specifically Reese's Unwrapped Chocolate Peanut Butter Crème Mini Hearts.
Hershey told FOX Business earlier this month that it intends to phase out certain compound coatings and transition those products to traditional milk or dark chocolate by next year — but Reese told NewsNation that response was merely "a PR stunt."
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"They have the ability to switch back [to] using real milk chocolate in three days," Reese said.
"This is all a stunt. They're hoping that the outrage will die down."
Reese, who is based in Florida, previously told FOX Business he discarded a bag of Reese's Unwrapped Chocolate Peanut Butter Crème Mini Hearts candies after sampling a few bites.
"I couldn't eat it," Reese said. "It was not edible, and I looked at the packaging. … There was no milk chocolate. There was no peanut butter. It was all vegetable oils and fats."
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He added, "I can't go on representing being the grandson of Reese's when the product is total bunk. You have no idea how devastating it is."
A Hershey official told Fox News Digital on Monday that the company "is committed to making products consumers love, and that means continually reviewing our recipes to meet evolving tastes and preferences."
"A series of enhancements taking effect in 2027 reflect that commitment: We're transitioning to colors from natural sources across our sweets portfolio, enhancing Kit-Kat's recipe for a creamier taste and texture, and bringing a small portion of remaining Hershey's and Reese's products in line with their classic milk and dark chocolate recipes," the statement said.
"The core recipes for our Hershey's chocolate bars and Reese's peanut butter cups have not changed."
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The official also shared a statement from the Reese family.
It stated that they "would like to make it clear that we have no involvement in, nor do we support, the recent claims made by Brad Reese regarding The Hershey Company."
The comment went on, "His statements and opinions are entirely his own and do not reflect the view or position of our family. … 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."
Brad Reese's comments went viral earlier this year.
In an X post that drew some 26,000 likes and more than 820,000 views, thousands of commenters sounded off, with almost no positive response to the changes.
"Reese's were my favorite chocolate candy as a kid. I had one recently, and it tasted gross and waxy," one user said. "Literally could not finish it."
"I got roasted last Halloween at work for saying they aren't the same anymore and that I don't even eat them now," another person wrote. "They said I was crazy. Vindicated."
Sophia Compton of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.