Reese’s Class Action Says White Peanut Butter Cups Don’t Contain White Chocolate

A class action lawsuit says Reese’s White Peanut Butter Cups don’t actually contain white chocolate, and instead contain a cheaper imitation ingredient.

The Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup class action lawsuit was filed against The Hershey Company by Curtis Winston who claims the candy maker misleads customers into thinking that the candy contains white chocolate.

Winston says this perception is based on the advertisement of the product, which is simply labeled as “white.”

The Hershey’s class action lawsuit asserts that the candy maker intentionally uses vague language to play upon customers’ assumptions about Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and leads them to assume that the candy contains white chocolate.

The Hershey’s white chocolate class action lawsuit notes that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups also come in milk and dark chocolate varieties. The Hershey’s class action lawsuit asserts that Hershey intentionally uses the fact that the milk and dark chocolate varieties contain real chocolate to help mislead customers into thinking that the white variety also contains white chocolate.

Winston’s Reese’s class action lawsuit goes on to argue that Hershey’s knows that genuine white chocolate is desirable to consumers, and notes that customers are willing to pay more for white chocolate than they would for an imitation ingredient.

Winston asserts that the ingredient list does not list white chocolate, but only lists imitation flavors and confections.

The Hershey’s class action lawsuit claims that Winston and other customers were financially injured by The Hershey Company’s conduct because had they know that the product contained imitation white chocolate and not real white chocolate, they would not have purchased it or would not have paid as much as they did for it.

Allegedly, The Hershey Company knew or should have known that most customers would not read the ingredient list before purchasing the product, and relied only on the front labeling of the product to make their purchasing decision.

In support of the claim that customers assume that the Reese’s White Peanut Butter Cup is made of white chocolate, the Hershey’s candy class action lawsuit cites instances in which customers and news outlets have referred to the White Reese’s as made of white chocolate.

The Hershey’s class action lawsuit notes that federal law requires products labeled as white chocolate to contain a certain amount of cocoa fat, to protect customers from purchasing lower-quality products labeled as white chocolate.

Winston is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC.

The Hershey’s Reese’s White Peanut Butter Cups Class Action Lawsuit is Curtis Winston, et al. v. The Hershey Company, Case No. 1:19-cv-03735-ENV-JO, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

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