Reese’s peanut butter cups have come a long way – from its creation in a basement in 1928 to earning a national day of honor in 2010. May 18 is “I Love Reese’s Day” in the United States. The holiday was created after more than 40-thousand lovers of the chocolate-peanut butter candy signed an online petition.
“My favorite Reese’s design is the pumpkin Reese’s because I really only get Reese’s on Halloween, Carter Ostroff, a sixth grader, said. “I really like Reese’s because they taste really good.”
According to National Today, a website created to share national holidays, H. B. Reese, or Harry Burrnet Reese, created the Reese’s peanut butter cup in his basement while working for the Hershey company. He became very successful in selling these “penny cups” named for the original selling price in 1917. Once Reese became successful, he started his own company called H. B. Reese Candy Company and sold the peanut butter cups under his name in 1928. Later when Reese died in 1956, his six sons sold the company back to Hershey. Reese’s peanut butter cups are among the best-selling candies of today. The candy earned the title Licensing International Excellence Award for Best Food, Beverage, or Restaurant Brand in 2025.
Ava Samuels, also a sixth grader said, “When it comes to Reese’s, I like the pumpkin and trees because it’s fun to see if it actually looks like the shape or if it ends up being just a weird blob.”
Over the years, Reese’s has come out with various variations, and many different shapes of Reese’s. In 2024, for example, the Hershey company developed Medal Reese’s in honor of the Olympic game held in Paris. Pumpkin, ghost, and bat Reese’s for Halloween hit stores in 1993, Reese’s eggs for Easter came out in 1966. There are many shapes, but there are also many flavors, too, such as chocolate lava and caramel. Lastly, there are also different sizes ranging from miniature, thin, snack size, original, and king size. The biggest Reese’s ever made by Hershey was a Thanksgiving pie in 2021. It was 3.25 pounds but is now discontinued, according to the Hershey website.
Dezi Gullin Smith, another sixth grader, likes Reese’s because of its soft texture and how it melts in the mouth. “I also enjoy it because it’s mostly made of chocolate, and who doesn’t like chocolate?” Smith said. “I also really enjoy peanut butter and feel the peanut butter is the best part of Reese’s.”
