FOOD NEWS
Who Is The 'Reese' Of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups?
By Kalea Martin
Many food products have famous names attached to them, such as Chef Boyardee or Betty Crocker. The renowned candy brand known for its peanut butter cups, Reese’s, sold chocolate bars — Lizzie Bars and Johnny Bars — when it first began, and although they sound random, they’re actually the names of Harry Burnett Reese’s children, the company’s founder.
After initially failing to start a candy business, Reese began saving up enough money from his job working in the shipping room of the Hershey Chocolate Factory and tried again, making and selling candy out of his basement. Once he sold enough to move production into a factory, he would go on to invent the now iconic Reese’s peanut butter cups in 1928.
Peanut butter cups were already a popular candy before Reese's Cups came about, but H.B. Reese used his own peanut butter made from peanuts that were roasted until they were nearly burned. After his business survived the chocolate shortage during World War II, Reese’s was acquired by Hershey’s for $23.5 million in 1963.