Reese’s Peanut Butter cup heir rips Hershey’s claim to use quality ingredients: ‘They’re untrustworthy’

Hershey’s brand said it will return to quality ingredients following a dust-up with the grandson of the creator of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

The changes will be subtle, however, according to The New York Post, which reported changes “will impact less than 3% of Reese’s products and less than 1% of the Hershey’s portfolio.”

Specialty candies that break from the traditional Reese’s cups, like Reese’s Fast Break and minis, will undergo ingredient changes in 2027, while the original Hershey’s Bar and Reese’s cups will stay the same as they reportedly still contain real-food ingredients.

Brad Reese took heat in February when he called out the company for using cheap, imitation ingredients designed to taste like chocolate and peanut butter.

“I can’t just let it go. They’re lowering the quality of ingredients, charging the same price, and probably giving you a smaller product size,” Reese, West Palm Beach retiree, told The Post in February. “I’m really embarrassed as a member of the Reese family.”

Hershey CEO Kirk Tanner took over the company before Reese’s criticism and said changing back to quality ingredients had been a mission for him from the get-go.

“Right when I started with the company, we did a deep dive across our portfolio,” Tanner told Bloomberg. “We’re going to make some small investments to really align the portfolio to what the brand stands for.”

Reese, who wasn’t buying it, despite being slammed by his own family for his public criticism, sounded off again.

“They’re untrustworthy. I don’t believe them for a minute,” he told The Post on Wednesday. “They’re going to try to milk this compound they’re using as long as they can.”

“Saying it only affects 3% of their portfolio, that’s total bunk. They’re trying to minimize, and they’re trying to change the narrative.”

Hershey maintained that the company has “committed to making products consumers love and that means continually reviewing our recipes to meet evolving tastes and preferences,” and reportedly ramped up research-and-development investments by 25%, according to The Post.

Reese isn’t the only skeptic:

A lot of companies do this. They will slowly chip away at the recipe for profits until the public starts to notice. Then they will revert back so people will praise them and buy them again. It’s a Marketing tactic.

— JustDrew (@AstroDr3w) April 1, 2026

“Starting next year” They want people to forget about this so they can continue using the same garbage ingredients

— Jeff D (@JDHD30) April 1, 2026

Make Reese’s Great Again!

— James (subscribe on YouTube) 🍻 (@MKUltraMoney) April 1, 2026

Yes!

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