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Grandson of Reese’s founder alleges Hershey has switched to cheaper ingredients – sparking family feud
NY Post ^ | 02/18/2026 | Taylor Herzlich

Posted on 02/19/2026 4:13:59 AM PST by DFG

The grandson of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups creator is slamming the Hershey Co. for allegedly switching to cheaper ingredients to make the iconic snacks – and his accusations are sparking fierce pushback from his relatives, The Post has learned.

Brad Reese, 70 – whose grandfather HB Reese invented the famous treat – claimed Hershey has swapped out milk chocolate for cheap compound coating made from vegetable oils. He also claims Hershey has sneakily replaced real peanut butter with peanut-butter flavored cremes.

“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, a retiree living in West Palm Beach, told The Post. “I’m really embarrassed as a member of the Reese family.”

The Hershey Co. told The Post its original Peanut Butter Cups are still made with peanut butter and milk chocolate – though it has made “recipe adjustments” in new products that “allow us to make new shapes, sizes and innovations that Reese’s fans have come to love and ask for.”

“What consumer that you know of has said, ‘Hey, I don’t want milk chocolate in my Reese’s products anymore. I prefer compound coating!’” Reese shot back with a laugh, adding that the statement does not specifically deny changing ingredients in other Reese’s products.

His LinkedIn posts blasting the alleged quality compromises quickly went viral – and his cousin, whose daughter works for the Hershey Company, pleaded with him to stop in a heated text message.

“Brad, this is your cousin Becky. You have created a nightmare for our family and the company,” read a copy of the text message obtained by The Post, which matched the phone number for his cousin, Becky Hilgers.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: candy; hershey; reese
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To: logi_cal869

Most peanut butter you can buy is absolute garbage loaded with dead oils and emulsifiers and unfortunately peanuts are mostly garbage nutritionally —love the flavor but have avoided for years


61 posted on 02/19/2026 7:20:28 AM PST by Manuel OKelley
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To: Manuel OKelley

*seed oils


62 posted on 02/19/2026 7:22:31 AM PST by Manuel OKelley
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To: Jolla

that’s absurd. The processed food everyone is eating has lead to the largest increases in metabolic syndrome, cancer, heart disease and other maladies in history.


63 posted on 02/19/2026 7:23:49 AM PST by Manuel OKelley
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To: DFG

Absolutely. The stuff tastes like crap last number of years.


64 posted on 02/19/2026 7:28:14 AM PST by If You Want It Fixed - Fix It
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To: Mathews
I don’t think the Europeans even recognize milk chocolate as real chocolate

Actually, they invented it.

Milton Hershey struggled to replicate the milk chocolate produced by Cadbury and Nestle. He was so confident in himself that he began construction on the town of Hershey before he had his formula completed.

He could never exactly copy the European milk chocolate, but he came up with a formula using condensed milk, which produced his famous milk chocolate, which has a slight bitter aftertaste (which Europeans say tastes like vomit!)

65 posted on 02/19/2026 7:31:14 AM PST by Jeff Chandler (The issue is never the issue. The issue is always the revolution.)
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To: Jeff Chandler

Yes, See’s is a staple holiday candy for us. No stores here in the Florida panhandle as we had in Colorado, but ordering online has worked just fine.


66 posted on 02/19/2026 7:33:01 AM PST by CodeToad
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To: DFG

I don’t understand why I seem to be the only person who misses the old Butterfinger. It was one of the greatest candy bars on earth. Now it tastes like a block of salt. That’s an “improvement???”


67 posted on 02/19/2026 7:43:53 AM PST by Zionist Conspirator (בראשית ברא אלקים את השמים ואת הארץ)
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To: MarlonRando
Ice cream used to taste like ice cream

Most of that frozen stuff is not ice cream at all, and doesn't even claim to be. "Frozen Dairy Dessert" is not ice cream.

READ THE INGREDIENTS LIST.

It is possible to find actual ice cream; both Breyers and Turkey Hill have a few actual ice cream products. Read the labels carefully to find the genuine article.

68 posted on 02/19/2026 7:53:16 AM PST by NorthMountain (... the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed)
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To: DFG

I do not eat most commercially made candies b/c they’re sweetened with corn syrup - Hershey’s chocolate bars are an exception:

“Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars: Sweetened with sugar, not corn syrup.”

Corn syrup changes the taste, IMO. For me, it’s See’s and only See’s - also made with REAL sugar...


69 posted on 02/19/2026 8:18:44 AM PST by Bon of Babble (You Say You Want a Revolution?)
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To: DFG
“He’s an attention-getter,” Hilgers told The Post. “He walks around everywhere he goes with a Reese’s jacket on just so people will make conversation with him. He’s bitter because his father blew through all the money he got and there was nothing left for his children.”

Checks out! Every photo of this dude online he is wearing this jacket.
Hey, save some chicks for the rest of us, pal!


70 posted on 02/19/2026 8:24:46 AM PST by montag813
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To: Skwor

hershey products totally suck for anyone who is truly a chocolate lover: they’ve mostly replaced actual chocolate with more sugar, and of course kids basically can’t tell the difference because all they care about is the sugar ...

do a blind taste test: give someone a little square of hershey’s chocolate to taste, rinse and rest, and then give them a square of chocolove dark chocolate and have them tell you which one is real chocolate ...


71 posted on 02/19/2026 8:40:22 AM PST by catnipman ((A Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils Still Counts As A Vote For Evil))
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To: mikey_hates_everything

“Lindt Chocolate Truffles have allegedly gone the same way with some sort of vegetable oil based goo inside.”

no chocolate flavor in those anymore: they’re pretty much mostly sugar now ...


72 posted on 02/19/2026 8:42:33 AM PST by catnipman ((A Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils Still Counts As A Vote For Evil))
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To: newfreep

chocolove [made in the USA from Belgium chocolate] ... if you REALLY love chocolate, buy their 70% or 85% chocolate bars ...


73 posted on 02/19/2026 8:44:03 AM PST by catnipman ((A Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils Still Counts As A Vote For Evil))
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To: DFG

There is NO doubt that Hershey has degraded their ingredients. It’s been literally years since I had a piece of Hershey’s chocolate or a Reece’s cup. A month ago, my wife brought home both Reece’s and Hershey Kisses. We BOTH remarked on how inferior the taste was, compared to what we had experienced in the past.


74 posted on 02/19/2026 8:44:37 AM PST by Sgt_Schultze (When your business model depends on slave labor, you're always going to need more slaves.)
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To: Manuel OKelley

we switched to almond butter ... costco and sam’s club both sell it, and both are made with nothing but dry-roasted almonds and a bit of salt ... really incredible with a bit of honey ...


75 posted on 02/19/2026 8:48:30 AM PST by catnipman ((A Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils Still Counts As A Vote For Evil))
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To: DFG
2 Peanut Butter Cups – Reese's – 42 g
76 posted on 02/19/2026 8:51:15 AM PST by Responsibility2nd (Import the third world. Become the second world.)
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To: catnipman

Same here, I don’t eat it but the kids do so that’s what we get


77 posted on 02/19/2026 8:55:15 AM PST by Manuel OKelley
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To: Skwor

Same experience here... recently tried one and it wasn’t the same. Something has changed.


78 posted on 02/19/2026 9:04:55 AM PST by DesertRhino (When men on the chessboard, get up and tell you where to go…)
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To: newfreep
I rarely eat chocolate...but after reading this thread, any recommendations for true quality chocolate treats?

If you don't mind spending money then go online and look for Leonidas.

They are from Belgium and if you want chocolate with a soft bite then they are the best in the world. I order a couple of kilos now and then and when I have to go over for work I'll come back with two or three kilos, plus a couple for some of our friends.

79 posted on 02/19/2026 9:14:55 AM PST by OldMissileer (Atlas, Titan, Minuteman, PK. Winners of the Cold War)
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To: NorthMountain

yeah frozen dairy. You’re right. And I like , “ processed cheese-food”


80 posted on 02/19/2026 9:15:10 AM PST by MarlonRando
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