Two Stories, One Brand

In February, Brad Reese, grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, published an open letter on LinkedIn criticizing Hershey for using cheaper ingredients. In April, Hershey said it would use classic recipes for all Reese’s products starting in 2027, which includes moving a small group of products back to their classic milk and dark chocolate recipes, according to the Associated Press.

This month, a second story followed. Reports showed Hershey had added a new disclaimer to Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins, "Carving not on actual product," after a lawsuit claimed the carved faces shown on the pack were missing from the candy. A federal judge had already dismissed that case twice.

Neither story is a scandal. The court dismissed the lawsuit twice, and the core Reese’s recipe never changed. That is exactly what makes them useful. Both show how small decisions about what is inside a product, or what its packaging suggests, can become brand stories nobody planned.

Lesson One: A Recipe Is a Promise

According to the AP, Hershey says Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are made the same way they always have been, with milk chocolate and peanut butter. The change affected a small part of the range, such as mini Easter eggs, which moved to a coating with less chocolate. Hershey said the changes reflected consumer demand for innovation.

On a spreadsheet, that is a minor reformulation on a few seasonal items. To shoppers, the brand is the recipe. Brad Reese’s letter asked how Hershey could position Reese’s as a symbol of trust and quality while replacing the ingredients that built that trust.

The technical size of a change and its brand size are two different measurements. Most reformulation reviews only take the first one.

Lesson Two: The Pack Is Part of the Product

The pumpkin case began in 2024, when Florida consumers sued over seasonal Reese’s shapes whose packs showed decorative details the candy did not have. Hershey argued the images were labeled as a "decorating suggestion." The court dismissed the case, twice. The new disclaimer replaced that wording anyway, though Hershey has not said whether the change is linked to the case.

Winning in court is not the same as winning at the shelf. Every image, claim and serving suggestion on a pack sets an expectation. When the product does not meet it, the cost shows up in reviews, social posts and repeat purchase long before it shows up in a courtroom.

In most companies, pack artwork is approved in a different place, by different people, at a different time from the product itself. That gap is where these surprises live.

Winning in court is not the same as winning at the shelf.

Three Checks Before a Change Reaches the Shelf

Measure brand size, not just technical size. Add one question to every reformulation review: if this change were a headline, how would loyal buyers read it? Changes to a hero ingredient, a heritage product or a brand’s founding claim deserve a consumer acceptance test and a senior sign-off, however small the recipe change looks.

Review the pack and the product together. Before launch, someone should hold the final pack next to the final product and ask one question: does what is inside match what the outside shows and says? That check belongs in the same gate as product approval, not in a separate artwork workflow.

Record the reason behind the change. Cost pressure, supply issues and health targets are all legitimate reasons to reformulate. Writing down the reason, the test results and who approved it means the company can explain its choice clearly when someone asks. And in 2026, someone will ask in public.

The Bottom Line

Hershey did nothing unusual. Recipe tweaks on seasonal lines are common across the industry, and seasonal packs have shown decorated treats for decades. That is the point. The decisions that turn into brand stories are rarely the big launches that get full reviews. They are the routine changes that pass through quietly.

As more innovation effort goes into renovating existing products, the quiet changes are becoming most of the work. They deserve a process built for them.

Innovation Cloud gives innovation teams clear decision rights at every gate, a complete record of what changed, why and who decided it, and governance frameworks that keep reformulation and packaging decisions as visible as new launches.