Who Invented The Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup? A Complete History
The confectionary delight that most associate with their childhood and particular moments in time is Reese’s. With its simple yet eye-catching packaging and reliable taste, Reese’s peanut butter cups are a true classic. They just seem to be there at every celebration, special occasion, and craving that it’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment that they entered your life.
The story of how Reese’s peanut butter cups were born is interesting and inspiring. It’s a true story of a man following his desire for entrepreneurship and to provide for his family. Find out who HB Reese was and his connection to Hershey and who owns Reese’s today.
Mr. Reese
Harry Burnett (HB) Reese was born on May 24, 1879, in York County Pennsylvania. He was an only child and grew up on an agriculture and dairy farm. Since childhood H.B. was an eunterpenuear and created many different ways to create an income. From farming to milking cows and even raising and selling frogs, H.B had a desire for business.
At the age of 21, H.B married Blanch Edna Hyson on August 1, 1900. The couple went on to have 16 children but only 13 survived into adulthood. With such a huge and seemingly growing family, H.B shuffled from fishing operations manager to a dairy farm manager and then onto working in a factory. In 1917 Milton Hershey hired H.B to manage a new dairy farm that was using machines to milk cows rather than by hand. Hershey made visits to the farm every two weeks to monitor the progress of the new milking machines. H.B didn’t last very long because in 1918 he decided that the farm was too expensive to run and it was shut down.
Candy Adventures Begin
Drawing inspiration from Milton Hershey, H.B opened R&R Candy Company a year later in 1919. The first candies made were milk chocolate covered raisins and almonds that were sold at local stores. A year later H.B needed to purchase better equipment to expand the business. R&R Candy Company was renamed Superior Chocolate and Confectionery Company and stocks were sold to raise the needed equity. Unfortunately, the business failed and H.B took a job at a paper mill and another at a butcher shop.
The family moved back to Hershey, Pennsylvania after purchasing a nearby farm. It wasn’t long before H.B was back working for Milton Hershey but this time in the shipping department. This time though H.B began making candies out of the basement of his home. He was back at the chocolate covered almonds and raisins and also perfected two different candy bars naming both after his children. The Lizzie bar was made of coconut, caramel, molasses, cocoa butter, and honey. The Johnny bar was made of the same ingredients with the addition of nuts. The bars were so successful that H.B quit his job at Hershey and jumped back into the candy-making business. H.B Reese Candy Company was born in 1923.
H.B had his candies all over town including in department stores. To gain attention from shoppers he set up stations in display windows where employees coated candy bars live. Other employees would walk around and pass out free samples. The Lizzie and Johnny bars grew and Reese Candy Company was offering 12 different candy bars. By 1935 there were 62 employees working at the company and business was thriving.
In Walks Reese’s Cup
The peanut butter cup seems to be one of the happiest accidents to occur. H.B was at a local store dropping off some of his candies when the store owner expressed frustrations with another candy manufacturer. This other candy maker was not able to keep the shop stocked with this candy made of peanut butter and coated in chocolate. H.B seized the opportunity and struck a deal with the store owner the be the new supplier of this peanut butter and chocolate candy. The candies were originally a small round ball of peanut butter coated in chocolate and lined with a wrapper. They were sold for a penny per piece and even included in the companies assortment boxes. As a bit more time went on the shape changed to a flatter cup as recognized today.
As WWII was waging on H.B found it more and more difficult to source the ingredients that he needed for all his candies and chocolate bars. A decision was made that ultimately pivoted the company to where it stands today. H.B decided to discontinue all of his other candies and solely focused on Reese’s peanut butter cup. In 1943 the peanut butter cup was reshaped and sold for 5 cents. With new automated equipment and a new sized peanut butter cup, sales doubled every 4 years.
H.B died in 1956 while on vacation in Florida. Seven years after his death, the sons of H.B decided to sell the company to Hershey in a stock-for-stock merger. The stocks are currently valued at over $2.5 billion. The Reese’s peanut butter cup remains the number one selling candy in the United States and generates $2.7 billion in sales annually.
Since then there have been over 20 varieties of Reese’s peanut butter cup with a majority of them now discontinued. However there are still many varieties including, white chocolate, big cup, cookie cup, dark chocolate, mini’s, thins, and we haven’t even mentioned the holiday editions. For some odd reason, the Halloween pumpkin and the Easter egg just hit the spot differently.
