Reese's Pieces
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Reese's Pieces are a peanut butter candy manufactured by The Hershey Company; they are oblate spheroid in shape and covered in candy shells that are colored yellow, orange, or brown. They can be purchased in plastic packets, cardboard boxes, or cup-shaped travel containers. The Reese company was founded by H.B. Reese. The H.B. Reese Candy Company was merged with The Hershey Company in 1963.
OverviewEdit
The candy was introduced to the US market first in September 1978.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Shortly after, Reese's Pieces were introduced to the Canada market in 1980.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The then relatively new product became very popular with the 1982 release of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, in which the candy is featured.<ref name="sweet">Template:Cite news</ref>
Reese's Pieces were introduced in the UK in 1996,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> but are produced in the US.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Reese's Pieces are a product extension of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups line; they were designed to capitalize on the success of the chocolate-covered peanut butter cups, though unlike the cups, they have no chocolate.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
VariationsEdit
Reese's Pieces has been included in many Reese's and Hershey's products since its introduction. Below is a list of available products that contain Reese's Pieces, from the candy pieces being stuffed inside of existing chocolate bar variations to bags of baking chip mixes.Template:Cn
| Product | Description | Sizes | Ingredients | Nutrition value | Year introduced | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reese's Pieces | A peanut butter candy in bite-size pieces containing Reese's peanut butter wrapped in a crunchy shell | Template:Plainlist | Sugar, partially defatted peanuts, hydrogenated vegetable oil palm kernel oil, soybean oil, corn syrup Solids, dextrose
Contains 2% Less of: corn syrup, palm kernel oil, salt, confectioner's glaze, modified corn starch, lecithin soy, artificial colorants yellow 6 lake, yellow 5 lake, red 40 lake, blue 1 lake, vanillin, artificial flavor, carnauba wax, milk<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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Template:Nutritionalvalue | September 1978<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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| Reese's Pieces Peanut | The original Reese's Pieces candies with the inclusion of peanuts. | Template:Plainlist | Sugar, Peanuts, Partially Defatted Peanuts, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Palm Kernel And Soybean Oil), Corn Syrup
Contains 2% Or Less Of: Dextrose, Artificial Color (Yellow 5 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Red 40 Lake, Blue 1 Lake), Palm Kernel Oil, Confectioner's Glaze, Cornstarch, Modified Cornstarch, Salt, Lecithin (Soy), Carnauba Wax, Vanillin (Artificial Flavor), Milk. <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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| Reese's Mini Pieces Baking Chips | Mini Reese's Pieces peanut butter candy for baking | Template:Plainlist | Sugar, Partially Defatted Peanuts, Hydrogenated, Vegetable Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Soybean Oil, Corn Syrup Solids, Dextrose
Contains 2% or Less of: Palm Kernel Oil, Corn Syrup, Artificial Color, Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Red 40 Lake, Blue 1 Lake, Cornstarch, Salt, Confectioner's Glaze, Lecithin, Modified Cornstarch, Carnauba Wax, Vanillin (ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR), Milk <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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| Reese's Baking Cups and Reese's Pieces Candy | A mixture of mini Reese's Pieces peanut butter candies and mini Reese's Peanut Butter cups for baking | Template:Plainlist | Milk Chocolate, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate, Skim Milk, Milk Fat, Lactose, Lecithin, PGPR, Sugar, Partially Defatted Peanuts, Peanuts, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Oil, Soybean Oil, Dextrose, Corn Syrup Solids
Contains 2% or Less of: Cocoa Butter, Palm Kernel Oil, Salt, Corn Syrup, Confectioner's Glaze, Lecithin, Modified Cornstarch, Artificial Color, Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Red 40 Lake, Blue 1 Lake, PGPR, Vanillin (ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR), Carnauba Wax, TBHQ (Preservative), Citric Acid (TO MAINTAIN FRESHNESS)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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ProductionEdit
In the 1970s, the candies were produced by The Hershey Company using panning machines that had been used to make Hershey-ets, a chocolate-filled candy that had been discontinued. The candy was first called "PBs" and was later rechristened as Reese's Pieces.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Designers wanted a peanut-flavored candy but had problems with the filling. Original plans called for filling the candy shells with peanut butter, but the oil leaked out into the shell, leaving it soft, rather than crunchy.Template:Cn
The developer of the project turned the problem over to a team of outside scientists, who created a peanut-flavored penuche filling.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> More experimentation was needed to determine the correct thickness of the shell. Finally, the colors of the candy coating were designed to coordinate with the color of the Reese's package. The color distribution goal is 50% orange, 25% brown, and 25% yellow.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialEdit
In 1982, the Mars candy bar company rejected a product placement offer for the inclusion of its key product M&M's in the Steven Spielberg film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Hershey accepted an offer for use of Reese's Pieces in the movie, and with the film's blockbuster success its product sales dramatically increased, perhaps as much as 300%.<ref>Snopes: Taking it E.T.
Business by its very nature is cut-throat; competitors rarely aid one another because one company's success almost invariably comes at the expense of the other's vitality. When such leg-ups occur, they are often inadvertent — the result of one firm's having failed to take advantage of an opportunity that its competitor later cleaned up on. Such was the case when Mars, Inc. passed on the chance for its flagship product, M&Ms, to be the candy used in 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Its turn-down cleared the way for Hershey Foods Corporation to make a remarkable splash for its Reese's Pieces.</ref>
Product line expansionEdit
In 2010, The Hershey Company expanded the Pieces line to include York Peppermint Pattie Pieces, Hershey's Special Dark Pieces, and Almond Joy Pieces.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Hershey's Milk Chocolate with Almonds Pieces became the fourth expansion of this line in 2012.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
PartnershipEdit
Chicago Sky player Angel Reese became an official brand ambassador for Reese's Pieces, after fans' enthusiasm for the idea.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Angel Reese's fans are known as Reese's Pieces.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The most notable creations were the customized basketball jersey with Reese's Pieces colors and her Chicago Sky number, and Angel Reese appearing on the Reese's Puffs cereal box.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Senior brand manager Melissa Blette stated Reese was chosen for her personality and excited fanbase, in addition to her name.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Blette reported that Reese's sales exceeded expectations.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
- Galaxy Minstrels
- M&M's
- Smarties—chocolate candies that are not sold in the U.S.