The Hershey company is facing criticism from an unexpected source: the grandson of Reese’s founder, H.B. Reese. Brad Reese, the grandson, has spoken out against the company’s alleged decision to replace key ingredients in Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups with lower-quality alternatives, specifically “compound coatings” instead of milk chocolate and “peanut-butter-style crèmes” instead of peanut butter.
Reese addressed Hershey via a LinkedIn post on Valentine’s Day, which has since gone viral, questioning how the company can continue to position Reese’s as its flagship brand while making such changes. Hershey has defended its recipes, stating that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups “are made the same way they always have been,” from milk chocolate and peanut butter. However, consumers across social media are siding with Reese, claiming that they’ve noticed a difference in taste across Reese’s products. Many have shared their own experiences, with one user stating, “I love my Reese’s but I stopped eating them last Halloween because that’s when I noticed a big change. They got mad nasty. The chocolate was off and the peanut butter got really grainy and disgusting.”
Reese himself has also shared his own firsthand account, trying a new Reese’s product, Reese’s Mini Hearts, but ultimately throwing out the bag due to the poor quality. He has called on Hershey to take a cue from its own founder, Milton Hershey, who emphasized the importance of quality. The controversy has sparked a broader discussion about the “enshittification” phenomenon, with many wondering why beloved products seem to be getting worse over time. As one user put it, “Why is so much of the stuff we all grew up with slowly getting shittier with each passing year?”
The impact of this controversy remains to be seen, but it’s clear that Hershey is facing a public relations challenge. With many consumers siding with Brad Reese and expressing their own disappointment with the alleged changes to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey will need to respond to these concerns and reassure its customers that it is committed to maintaining the quality of its products. As the discussion continues, it will be interesting to see how Hershey addresses these allegations and whether it will make any changes to its recipes or manufacturing processes in response to the backlash.
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