December 29, 2023
Richard B. Levine/Imagn
The suit claims the candy manufacturer misled shoppers into thinking Reese's pumpkins (above), ghosts, footballs and more featured faces and other designs.
A Florida woman is suing Hershey's, claiming the candy company misrepresents Reese's products on their packaging.
Cynthia Kelly, of Tampa, filed the $5 million class-action lawsuit Thursday in federal court. She says Hershey's falsely advertised multiple Reese's candies, packaging the treats in wrappers printed with pictures that suggest the chocolates inside were decorated cutout shapes to resemble jack-o'-lanterns when the actual chocolates contain no such designs on them.
Among the varieties of chocolate treats included in the suit are Reese's peanut butter pumpkins, ghosts, bats and footballs. The Pennsylvania-based company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
Court documents state that Kelly purchased a bag of peanut butter pumpkins at Aldi for $4.49, thinking the candy would have jack-o'-lantern carvings as pictured. Upon opening, the pumpkins "did not contain any of the artistic carvings of the mouth or eyes as pictured on the label," the filing says, adding that Kelly would not have purchased the pumpkins had she known.
YouTube videos featuring the same complaint are cited in the suit.
"Reese’s what are you doing! Look at the picture on the packet. It’s like a pumpkin with faces and a little mouth — then you open up the packet and you are presented with that monstrosity," a person says in one video, according to the filing.
Kelly's complaint also argues that Hershey's changed packaging in recent years, adding the carvings that have deceived shoppers.
Hershey's has 21 days to respond to the lawsuit. Kelly and attorney are seeking to have the case tried before a jury.
The Pennsylvania company is the largest chocolate manufacturer in the United States. In addition to Reese's, it produces Kit Kats, Twizzlers, Hershey's Kisses and other popular candies. Earlier this year, research by Consumer Reports found that Hershey's had "concerning" amounts of lead and other heavy metals in the cocoa powder used in its products.
