Reese's Pieces
 
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| Product type | Confectionery |
|---|---|
| Owner | The Hershey Company |
| Country | U.S. |
| Introduced | 1977 |
| Website | www.hersheys.com/pieces |
Reese's Pieces are a peanut butter candy manufactured by The Hershey Company solely for the North American market; 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 candy was introduced in 1977, and introduced to Canada in 1980. The then relatively new product became very popular with the 1982 release of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, in which the candy is featured.
Reese's Pieces are a product extension of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups line; this new product was designed to capitalize on the success of the chocolate-covered peanut butter cups. Though, unlike the cups, they have no chocolate.
The developer of the project turned the problem over to a team of outside scientists, who created a peanut-flavored penuche filling. 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 goal color distribution is 50% orange, 25% brown, and 25% yellow.
In 1982, the Mars candy bar company rejected an offer for the inclusion of its key product M&M's in the new Steven Spielberg movie, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Hershey accepted the offer, and with the film's blockbuster success its product sales dramatically increased, perhaps as much as 300%.
In 2010, The Hershey Company expanded the Pieces line to include York Peppermint Pattie Pieces, Hershey's Special Dark Pieces, and Almond Joy Pieces.Hershey's Milk Chocolate with Almonds Pieces became the fourth expansion of this line in 2012.
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