Quick Scoop

The Hershey Company is the parent company that makes Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. The iconic peanut butter and chocolate candy became part of Hershey's empire in 1963 when the H.B. Reese Candy Company merged with the chocolate giant, and today it's Hershey's best-selling confection.

The Sweet History Behind the Merger

The story of Reese's and Hershey goes way back to the 1920s, with roots that are almost as intertwined as chocolate and peanut butter themselves. Harry Burnett Reese, the creator of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, was actually a former dairy employee of Milton S. Hershey, the founder of Hershey Foods Corporation. Reese worked for Hershey managing one of the company's experimental dairy farms before venturing out on his own.

When Reese started making candies from his basement in the early 1920s, he used Hershey chocolate to create his products, making Hershey one of his biggest suppliers. In 1928, Reese invented the peanut butter cup, initially called the "Penny Cup" because it sold for just one cent. The candy quickly became so popular that during World War II sugar rations, Reese had to downsize his operation and focus exclusively on producing peanut butter cups.

The Billion-Dollar Acquisition

After H.B. Reese passed away in 1956, his six sons took over the business. On July 2, 1963, the Reese brothers made the strategic decision to merge the H.B. Reese Candy Company with The Hershey Chocolate Corporation in a tax-free stock-for-stock merger worth nearly $24 million. By 1969, just six years after the acquisition, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups had become Hershey's top-selling product.

Reese's Dominance Today

Fast forward to today, and Reese's has become an absolute powerhouse in the candy world. The brand earned over $3 billion in sales for Hershey in 2023, making it the company's best-selling candy. In 2012, Reese's was the best- selling candy brand in the United States with sales of $2.603 billion. The candy has consistently battled M&M's for the top spot as America's favorite candy, though M&M's edged it out in 2024.

The H.B. Reese Candy Company still operates as a subsidiary of Hershey, maintaining its own identity while benefiting from Hershey's massive distribution network and marketing power. Today, approximately 25 million Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are manufactured each day at Hershey facilities. The brand has expanded far beyond the original cups to include Reese's Pieces, Reese's Big Cup, seasonal shapes like Mini-Eggs, and numerous other variations.

TLDR: The Hershey Company owns and manufactures Reese's Peanut Butter Cups after acquiring the H.B. Reese Candy Company in 1963 for nearly $24 million. The brand has grown to become Hershey's top seller with over $3 billion in annual sales, and about 25 million cups are made daily at Hershey factories. Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.