Hershey’s Promises Real Chocolate Comeback After Viral Backlash and Fan Pressure
Following viral criticism, Hershey’s says it will restore real chocolate in parts of its product line by 2027
The Hershey Company announced it will return to using “classic milk and dark chocolate recipes” across its Reese’s and Hershey’s products by 2027, following public criticism and viral social media scrutiny over ingredient changes.
CEO Kirk Tanner made the announcement in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, March 31.
“We’re going to make some small investments to really align the portfolio to what the brand stands for,” Tanner said. “That consistency is important across the brand.”
What’s changing at Hershey’s—and when
Beginning in 2026, products inspired by original Reese’s items — including mini cups, seasonal shapes and the Fast Break bar — will be made with real milk chocolate instead of chocolate compound coatings, Tanner said.
He added that all classic Hershey’s chocolate bars will be made with “pure milk and dark chocolate,” and that the company is “enhancing” Kit Kat for “a creamier taste and texture.”
The company said the shift from compound coatings to real chocolate affects less than 3% of Reese’s products and a small portion of Hershey’s products. Hershey also said it is “on track” to remove all artificial colors from its products by the end of 2026.
Reese’s grandson’s public fight
The announcement follows a high-profile campaign by Brad Reese, the grandson of H. B. Reese, who publicly criticized Hershey earlier in 2026 after discovering some products used chocolate-flavored coatings instead of milk chocolate.
He shared a letter of complaint on LinkedIn that went viral.
“My grandfather,” Reese wrote, “built REESE’S on a simple, enduring architecture: Milk Chocolate + Peanut Butter.”
He added that Hershey had replaced the original formula “with compound coatings and Peanut Butter with peanut-butter style cremes across multiple REESE’S products.”
In an April 2026 interview with NBC News, Reese credited consumers for forcing the company’s hand.
“If this is true, the people who deserve the credit are the loyal fans who were alarmed by what Hershey was doing,” he said.
But he expressed skepticism about whether the company would follow through.
“But I am seeing a lot of red flags here. I think what Hershey is trying to do here is change with PR narrative,” he said.
Reese set a personal benchmark for judging the company’s sincerity: “If something like the Valentine’s Day Reese’s Mini Heart still doesn’t taste like real milk chocolate next year, I’ll know they’re lying.”
He also disputed Hershey’s timeline for the change. “You know when this became an issue?” he said. “Valentine’s Day. This has been going on since Valentine’s Day.”
Hershey says changes were already planned
Tanner said the shift back to real chocolate was already underway before Reese’s criticism.
“Right when I started with the company, we did a deep dive across our portfolio,” he said. Tanner joined Hershey in August 2025.
The company said the original Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups have used the same ingredients — milk chocolate and peanut butter — since their creation in 1928. However, Hershey acknowledged that some expanded Reese’s products use different formulations. Products such as Reese’s Mini Eggs and Reese’s Pieces do not contain milk chocolate, according to their labels.
In early 2026, videos on TikTok showing Hershey’s chocolate bars bending instead of snapping gained traction online. Users posted clips testing the texture of the chocolate, with some suggesting the formula had changed.
Why Hershey’s changed their formula
The ingredient changes come amid significant cost pressures across the chocolate industry. Cocoa prices increased approximately 70% in 2024 due to crop disease, aging trees and extreme weather in West Africa, according to the Associated Press. Prices reached a record high in late 2024.
Chocolate prices rose 14.4% in early 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, according to data shared with ABC News by Datasembly. West Africa produces about 70% of the world’s cocoa supply.
During a February 2025 earnings call, former CEO Michele Buck said the company could adjust pricing, packaging and recipes in response to rising costs.
How to read your Hershey’s labels
Products labeled “milk chocolate” meet FDA standards. Labels using terms such as “chocolate candy,” “chocolatey” or “crème” may indicate the use of alternative ingredients, including vegetable oils instead of cocoa butter.
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