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The family of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups inventor H.B. Reese is tearing its current recipe to pieces.
Brad Reese—the grandson of the man who created the beloved candy—accused The Hersey Company of being disingenuous and “quietly replacing” the cups’ signature milk chocolate exterior and peanut butter center with different ingredients.
“My grandfather, H. B. Reese (who invented Reese’s), built Reese’s on a simple, enduring architecture: milk chocolate + peanut butter,” he wrote to Hershey corporate manager Todd Scott in an open letter posted to LinkedIn Feb. 14. “Not a flavor idea. Not a marketing construct. A real, tangible product identity that consumers have trusted for a century.”
Brad alleged that Hershey—which bought the rights to produce Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in 1963—have replaced “milk chocolate with compound coatings and peanut butter with peanut-butter-style crèmes across multiple Reese’s products” in recent years.
“Right now, the Reese’s story is diverging from what’s inside Reese’s products,” he continued. “And that divergence puts Reese’s and the legacy behind it, at risk.”
The 70-year-old added, “As the grandson of the man who created Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, I’m not asking for nostalgia. I’m asking for alignment. For truth in Reese’s brand stewardship. For a corporate narrative from The Hershey Company that reflects the Reese’s product consumers are actually receiving.”
In response to Brad’s allegstion, Hershey told E! News in a Feb. 19 statement that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are “made the same way they always have been, starting with roasting fresh peanuts to make our unique, one-of-a-kind peanut butter that is then combined with milk chocolate.”
However, other Reese’s products may vary in ingredients, per the company.
“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,” Hershey continued, “while always protecting the essence of what makes Reese’s unique and special: the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter.”
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According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, milk chocolate must contain no less than 10 percent by weight of chocolate liquor—a non-alcoholic paste made from finely ground cocoa beans—for it to be advertised as such.
Milk chocolate is also required to contain at least 12 percent milk solids and 3.39 percent milkfat, leading to some manufacturers to use terms like “chocolate candy” on packaging.
As for Brad’s take on Reese’s newer products? As he bluntly put it to the Associated Press, “Not edible.”
“I used to eat a Reese’s product every day,” he added in an interview published Feb. 18. “This is very devastating for me.”
Read on to see what celebrities are snacking on…
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Lauren Conrad
“Fruit and raw nuts. Recently I’ve made an effort to keep lost of fresh products and nuts on hand for snacking in-between meals.”
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Kate Hudson
“I am snacking so much while I’ve been at home! I think it’s because I’m home and near my fridge all day. I slice up an apple and it fills me up between meals. I love the satisfying crunch and so do my kids.”
Lana Condor
“My go-to snack is canned oysters. I know that might sound weird, but I am absolutely obsessed with canned oysters. They are such a good source of protein, magnesium and vitamin C. They are so tasty and always fill me up. I eat them straight out of the can, but sometimes if I want some extra carbs, I’ll eat them with crackers and the crunch of the cracker with the soft oyster is so good!”
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Joanna Garcia Swisher
“Cheese and crackers.”
Instagram / Padma Lakshmi
Padma Lakshmi
“Green apples with peanut butter.”
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Dorit Kemsley
“Carrots and hummus is always a fave with a handful of raw almonds and/or cashews.”
Koji Watanabe/Getty Images
Naomi Osaka
“I always have a cup of fruit near me, usually with grapes or berries. For drinks, I like homemade green juice. I mix in BODYARMOR Lyte, Coconut for some sweetness and flavor without having to worry about sugar.”
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
Whitney Port
“Handfuls of roasted, unsalted almonds, a slice of sourdough bread with cashew butter and sliced bananas, a smoothie (mine usually have whole milk Greek yogurt, ice, a handful of spinach, some pineapple, whatever milk I have (right now it is Forager Coconut Cashew Oat), a banana, half an avocado, two dates, a dash of cinnamon (and sometimes a scoop of nut butter).”
Francia Raisa
“Hot Cheetos and fruit with tajin and lemon, yummy!”
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Brooke Burke
“Raw macadamia nuts.”
Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Tory Burch
Maggie Q
“Fruit! I can’t think of a more perfect food.”
Craig Barritt/Getty Images
Audrina Patridge
“Cheese and crackers with lots of cheese.”
Rich Polk/Getty Images
Gabby Douglas
“Pretzels and salt & vinegar chips.”
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Genevieve Padalecki
“Avocado with salt. It’s the right amount of indulgent with being super easy to make. If I have more time I’ll add a poached egg with a smidge of hot sauce from Big Reds.”
Chloe Trautman/Instagram
Chloe Trautman
“Apples and peanut butter but not just your average apples and peanut butter, folks. There is a science to this special snack. First, they have to be honeycrisp apples, cut very thin. Then you get your peanut butter, melt it, add some honey and stir all the deliciousness together! This creates almost like a caramel consistency. You don’t use nearly as much peanut butter and you avoid getting it on your thumb every time you dip. Brilliant, I know!”
Aaron Poole/E!
Janel Parrish
“Popcorn because I love the salt. But I don’t feel terrible after I eat it because popcorn is pretty light!”
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
Raye Boyce
“My go-to snack at the moment is going to sound so strange: I like to take a flour tortilla with salted butter melted in a pan and then I top it with Nutella. I know it’s weird! LOL, it’s honestly like an easier version of a crêpe and that’s why I love it.”
Paige DeSorbo
“Prosciutto and mozzarella cheese is my favorite snack, I have it almost every day.”
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Merle Dandridge
“Half an avocado with a drizzle of olive oil, squeeze of lemon and a dash of truffle salt. Extremely satisfying.”
Instagram/Kelsey Owens
Kelsey Owens
“I wish I could say it was something healthy but I’m a child at heart and it’s by far Flavor Blasted Goldfish. LOL!”
Eric Charbonneau/Shutterstock
Madison Prewett
“Apples and peanut butter.”
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