Orange is nearly synonymous with Halloween: pumpkins, trick-or-treat baskets and costumes are joined by towering displays of Reese’s products at checkout aisles across the country. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were the top Halloween candy in Instacart’s and DoorDash’s order data last year, while about one-third of October candy sales occurred in the final week of the month.

The cups have been sold for nearly a century. H.B. Reese, a former dairy farmer and shipping foreman for chocolatier Milton Hershey, combined chocolate and peanut butter and began selling candy from his home. The product quickly became popular, and its orange wrapper remains closely associated with the brand.

For years, parents sorting through children’s Halloween candy have joked about taking away the “good ones” to prevent cavities. Reese’s products were often among the candies parents reserved for themselves. But recent arguments about changes to some Reese’s recipes have prompted consumers to question whether the candy tastes different from when they were children.

Those questions led to a public dispute this year between H.B. Reese’s grandson, Brad Reese, and The Hershey Co., which acquired his grandfather’s company.

“Hershey’s killing Hershey”

Brad Reese, 71, has spent eight months accusing Hershey of cheapening the candy his grandfather invented. He lives in a retirement community in West Palm Beach, Fla. In Hershey, Pa., where the cups are still made, his cousin Becky Hilgers has spoken for the rest of the family and wants him to stop.

“Hershey’s killing Hershey,” Brad Reese told Fortune. “This is not the Hershey Company. It’s not the H.B. Reese candy. It’s not my company. My grandfather founded it. It is a total imitation. It’s a fraud.”

“I’m not sure what motivates him,” Hilgers said. “But he periodically does this.”

Hershey has acknowledged changing the coating on some Reese’s products and said it plans to change those products back in 2027. The company has also said the changes were made before its current leadership took over. Hershey maintains that Brad Reese, who has never worked for the company, does not understand the complexities of running a global candy business. It pointed to its third-quarter earnings, released Thursday, as evidence that consumers continue to buy Reese’s products.

A brand worth a quarter of Hershey’s sales

Hershey sells a broad range of products, including Kisses, milk chocolate bars, Kit Kats and Almond Joys. Reese’s, however, is by far the company’s largest brand by volume. It became Hershey’s top seller in 1969 and has held that position ever since.

Hershey does not report sales by brand, but a person familiar with the company’s operations said Reese’s generates about $3 billion annually, or roughly one-quarter of Hershey’s total sales.

The Reese family’s connection to Hershey began in 1963, when H.B. Reese’s six sons merged their father’s company into Hershey. According to Hershey’s 1963 annual report, Hershey exchanged 666,316 shares of its stock for the Reese company in a transaction valued at about $23 million at the time.

Not every branch of the family retained its shares. “Some people hung on to their money more than others,” Hilgers said, declining to elaborate. “We were all fortunate and blessed to share in the success of my grandfather. I’ll just put it that way.”

Brad Reese was 7 when the sale took place. He declined to say whether he still owns Hershey stock.

The Valentine’s Day letter

The dispute began on Feb. 14, when Reese opened a bag of Reese’s Unwrapped Mini Hearts, tried one and threw the candies away. He then posted an open letter on LinkedIn.

Reese said the product’s label listed “chocolate candy” and peanut butter crème rather than milk chocolate and peanut butter. “How does The Hershey Co. continue to position Reese’s as its flagship brand, a symbol of trust, quality and leadership, while quietly replacing the very ingredients (Milk Chocolate + Peanut Butter) that built Reese’s trust in the first place?” he wrote.

His post attracted responses from consumers who said they had noticed a difference. “I had one recently, and it tasted gross and waxy,” one user wrote on X. Another wrote, “I believe this, they don’t taste the same, and there’s an aftertaste they tastes chemical yuck.” A third wrote: “Goodbye Hersheys forever. You had to cut corners on Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Justins is my new favorite. They still use real peanut butter. I read labels, but I trusted these guys. My mistake.”

After Hershey announced that it would switch some products back to the previous recipe, comments spread to Reddit. One person wrote, “I tried a Reese’s yesterday for the first time in years and I thought I got a bad one or something. Nope, they’re just terrible now.” Another wrote: “Sorry guys, lost me as a customer. I’d rather pay more for something of quality once-in-awhile than buy your s–t that’s constantly losing ingredients over time until you get caught and put them back and then start the cycle over again.”

Hershey’s initial responses were brief. In February, the company acknowledged that some recipe adjustments had been made to accommodate new shapes, sizes and innovations. A spokesperson also said that the peanut butter cups “are made the same way they always have been.”

Reese said that response addressed a question he had not asked because his letter concerned the heart-shaped products rather than the classic cups. “They hijacked the conversation,” he told Fortune. “I’ve gotten zero response from the Hershey Company. They’ve been totally radio silent.”

The changes affected some products, not the classic cups

Hershey has not denied making changes to certain products, but the company says the classic Reese’s taste remains unchanged in the products covered by its original recipe.

According to Hershey, the classic cups—including two-, three- and four-cup packs, king-size packages and seasonal shapes such as pumpkins—have not changed. The products that were changed were extensions of the lineup, including foil-wrapped molded shapes sold around Valentine’s Day and Easter, Reese’s Minis, Reese’s Thins and Reese’s Sticks.

Those products moved to a cocoa butter equivalent coating. Under federal labeling rules, products using that type of coating must be labeled “chocolate candy” rather than milk chocolate. Cocoa butter equivalent coatings replace some or all of the cocoa butter with vegetable oils and cost less. Stick formats such as Reese’s Take5 and Fast Break have used the coatings for years, according to a Hershey insider who spoke with Fortune.

Hershey said the use of the word “crème” is also a labeling issue. The federal standard for what may be called peanut butter was established decades ago. Products other than the original 1928 cup use “crème” because their fillings may be thicker to hold a particular shape or thinner to line a stick.

Hershey’s principal argument is that changing an ingredient list takes time. The company says every change goes through consumer testing and requires coordination among suppliers, manufacturing facilities, equipment and packaging. Packaging changes alone can take six to eight months.

Kirk Tanner, Hershey’s current CEO, spent decades at PepsiCo and about 17 months as CEO of Wendy’s before joining Hershey in August 2025. His arrival came after failed West African harvests and record cocoa prices. Hilgers, whose daughter works for Hershey, said the company had already planned to change the recipes back in summer 2025, months before Brad Reese posted his letter. Tanner has said he made the decision shortly after taking over.

Six weeks after Reese’s letter, at Hershey’s March 31 investor day, the company said all Hershey’s and Reese’s products would be made “consistent with their brand’s classic milk and dark chocolate recipes” by 2027. Tanner told Bloomberg that the change affects less than 3% of Reese’s products.

A person familiar with Hershey’s operations said the molded hearts for Valentine’s Day 2027 are already being made with the classic cup recipe. Minis, Thins and Sticks are expected to follow next year.

“It’s a stall”

Brad Reese rejects Hershey’s explanation and timeline.

“It’s a brilliant publicity, public relations stunt,” he said. “I haven’t won anything, because it’s total bunk. They’re not going back to the original recipe.

“They could go back to the original recipe in three days,” he added. “They’re just kicking the can down the road, hoping that what I brought up would blow over. It’s a stall.”

A Hershey spokesperson said Reese’s accusations reflected a lack of experience with candy manufacturing. “Making and evolving products within a global snacking portfolio involves far more than a single decision and takes time,” the spokesperson said. “Each decision moves through extensive consumer testing and requires careful coordination across sourcing, manufacturing, equipment and packaging, with packaging changes alone taking six to eight months.”

Reese has also criticized Hershey’s statement that every ingredient “earns its place,” a phrase the company has used since its investor day.

“The original Reese’s recipe doesn’t have to earn anything,” Reese said. “It created the number one candy brand in the United States and Canada.

“Did consumers say, ‘Look, we’re tired of eating milk chocolate. We want to eat vegetable oil’?”

Criticism of Hershey’s strategy

Reese has directed harsh criticism at Hershey’s leadership and said the company’s recent purchases of snack brands, including LesserEvil, reflect a strategy of cutting costs while expanding its portfolio.

“Watching Hershey buy a consumer-packaged-good company that’s backed by private equity is like watching baby seals being clubbed,” he said.

He also accused the company of relying on the reputation of its founder, including through Hershey, a film about Milton Hershey scheduled to open Nov. 25.

“They’re hiding behind the heritage of Mr. Hershey, but it’s not the Hershey Company anymore,” Reese said.

In a statement to Fortune, Hershey defended its leadership and reiterated that the recipe changes were made before Tanner and other current executives took charge. The company also said that people making such allegations had “no affiliation with our company” and lacked “direct knowledge or experience.”

“Our executive team brings deep [consumer packaged goods] experience, complemented by long-tenured commercial and operational expertise throughout Hershey,” a company spokesperson said. “CEO Kirk Tanner and the team are focused on making superior snacks, listening to consumers and evolving our portfolio to meet their changing tastes and preferences.”

Reese has sought support from companies outside the brand that bears his surname. His website features a video of MrBeast promoting Feastables peanut butter cups, a direct competitor. Earlier this year, Mars ran an advertisement for its Snickers Peanut Butter line based on a focus group made up entirely of people named Reese.

“If Mars came out with a peanut butter cup, they would be an instant competitor,” Reese said, “and I think Hershey would be toast.”

A difficult Halloween for the candy industry

The dispute comes as the candy industry faces higher costs and weaker demand. Candy prices have risen 44% over five years, about twice the rate of grocery prices overall. Cocoa fell to $3,241 per ton in March and then climbed again after the Iran war disrupted fertilizer supplies in Africa.

Halloween candy sales fell 6.7% in the month ended Oct. 17, according to NielsenIQ data reported by The Associated Press.

Hershey shares reached a 52-week high of $239.48 earlier this year and have since fallen about 30%. Reese attributes the decline to his campaign, while Hershey has said weaker volume reflects consumers pulling back after price increases.

Hershey’s third-quarter results, released Thursday, showed the impact of higher prices. The company charged about 13% more for its North American candy during the quarter, while the amount it sold fell about 11%. Its U.S. candy sales in stores rose by less than 1% during the 12 weeks ended Sept. 27, and its market share declined.

“Our second-half demand-creation initiatives are gaining momentum, even as consumers grow more cautious,” Tanner said.

A dispute within the Reese family

In April, after Reese called Hershey’s 2027 plan a stunt on NewsNation, the company provided Fox Business with a statement from the Reese family. The family said it had “no involvement in, nor do we support” his claims.

Hilgers, whose mother was H.B. Reese’s youngest daughter and the last of his children to die, said the cousins with whom she remains in contact “are all on the same page.”

“I don’t think the integrity of the piece of candy has changed so drastically that it doesn’t taste good and people aren’t buying it,” she told Fortune. “It’s the most recognizable brand that Hershey Company has. We’re still very proud of the piece of candy that our grandfather invented, and we trust the Hershey Company to be the caretaker of the brand.”

Hilgers said some of the public confusion stems from the expansion of the Reese’s product line. Hershey says the classic cups remain unchanged while newer molded products use the different coating, but she believes that distinction has been lost in the public debate.

“Nothing stays the same forever,” she said. “It still tastes like a peanut butter cup. If you get a piece of candy that’s off the line here in Hershey, it tastes the way it tasted to me when I was a kid.

“[Brad] doesn’t work for the company. He never did,” she added. “He’s not an expert in candy manufacturing, and there’s a whole process and science to it. They have to do what they have to do, and like I said, we don’t feel that it has damaged the quality of the piece of candy.”

Hilgers keeps Reese’s in a candy dish for visits from her grandson. Her favorite is Take5, one of the bars that uses the newer coating. “I don’t know anybody else that reacted that drastically to having to spit the candy out,” she said.

H.B. Reese died the year before Hilgers was born, but the family remained connected to the factory. For years, relatives held an annual reunion every August at an uncle’s farm, followed by a family tour of the plant. H.B. Reese had 16 children, and Hilgers counts about 35 first cousins.

Brad Reese’s father, Dick, was a surviving twin and the youngest son. Hilgers described him as one of her favorite uncles. His branch of the family left Hershey, first moving to Canada and later to Florida. Hilgers said she last spoke with Brad about three years ago.

“I wouldn’t really call it estranged,” she said. “We’re just not on the same wavelength as Brad at this point in time.

“We really would like him to just settle down, calm down, and live his life,” she added. “Be happy.”

For Brad Reese, however, the dispute is a matter of family pride. His grandfather created one of the world’s best-known chocolate candies, and Hershey has acknowledged changing the recipe for products that carry his family name.

“You can’t trust the Reese’s logo,” he said. “Look at the back of the ingredient panel and look to see whether it says ‘milk chocolate.’

“I feel total betrayal, and I’m not gonna sit idly by while they trade on my grandfather’s legacy.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.