October 31, 2023 – Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Happy Halloween! Today we’re talking about America’s most popular Halloween candy – Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups!
They were created in November 1928 by H.B. Reese, a former employee of Milton Hershey. While working for Hershey, he realized there was good money in the candy business. So he struck out on his own and incorporated the H.B. Reese Candy Company in 1923. He invented his peanut butter cups after one of his customers in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania complained about supply issues with another confectioner who made chocolate and peanut butter candy. So chocolate and peanut butter wasn’t a new combination, but Reese created an automated manufacturing process and the peanut butter cups became part of his assorted chocolate line. Soon the company was selling them in 120-piece boxes under the official name “Penny Cups” because you could buy them for just one cent each.
During World War II, sugar and chocolate rations made things difficult for many candy companies. Luckily for Reese, peanut butter wasn’t rationed, and the process of making his peanut butter cups was automated. The company stopped making all of its other products and decided to focus solely on peanut butter cups. Their popularity only grew after the war. In 1963, the company merged with Hershey, and just 6 years later, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were the Hershey Company’s top seller. Today, Reese’s are the top-selling candy brand worldwide, with more than $2 billion in sales. Learn more here.

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