Reese’s is owned by The Hershey Company , the U.S.-based chocolate and snacks giant headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Quick Scoop

  • Reese’s began as the H.B. Reese Candy Company, founded by Harry Burnett Reese in Pennsylvania in the 1920s.
  • After Reese died, his sons merged the H.B. Reese Candy Company with Hershey in a stock-for-stock deal on July 2, 1963.
  • Since then, Reese’s has operated as a Hershey brand, and the Reese’s business is one of Hershey’s top revenue drivers, generating around $3 billion in annual sales in recent years.
  • Legally, Reese’s is maintained as a subsidiary (the H.B. Reese Candy Company) within the Hershey corporate structure, but ultimate ownership and control rest with The Hershey Company.

Today’s ownership picture

  • Parent company: The Hershey Company (publicly traded on the NYSE under the ticker HSY).
  • Brand/operating entity: H.B. Reese Candy Company, a Hershey subsidiary that manufactures Reese’s products (and, in the U.S., Kit Kat as well).

So when you buy a pack of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups today, you’re effectively putting your money into The Hershey Company’s business, via its Reese’s subsidiary.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.