‘I took two bites and had to spit it out’: candy makers are phasing out real cocoa in chocolate
Mar 11, 2026
Due to the volatile cocoa market, companies like Hershey are using replacement ingredients such as sugar, oil, milk and nutsJust before Valentine’s Day, Brad Reese bought a bag of Reese’s Unwrapped Peanut Butter Creme Mini Hearts from his local convenience store in West Palm Beach, Florida. It w
as a brand-new product, released especially for the holiday, tagline: “We’ll never break your heart.”Reese is a Reese’s aficionado who makes a point of trying everything the company produces. This isn’t a coincidence: he’s one of the Reeses, a grandson of HB Reese, the former Hershey dairy farmer who invented the peanut butter cup in 1928. Although he’s never worked for Reese’s or Hershey, which acquired the peanut butter cup company in 1963, Reese considers himself a custodian of HB’s legacy. He also takes an avid interest in the Hershey company and its leadership. Continue reading...
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