Hershey Rewrites the Reese’s Pumpkin Disclaimer After Winning the Lawsuit Over It
A lawsuit claimed Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins packaging showed carved faces the candy does not have. Hershey won, then changed the wording to "carving not on actual product."
Hershey won the lawsuit over its Reese’s pumpkin packaging. Then it changed the packaging anyway.
TLDR
- A lawsuit claimed Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins packaging was misleading.
- The packaging showed carved faces that the candy does not have.
- The case was dismissed because the package called the carving a “decorating suggestion.”
- The new disclaimer reads “carving not on actual product.”
The Lawsuit
The suit alleged that Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins packaging misled shoppers by showing pumpkin candies with decorative carved designs, which the actual chocolates do not have, according to Confectionery News. The case was dismissed after Hershey showed that the packaging carried a disclaimer describing the carvings as a “decorating suggestion” only.
The Change
Hershey has since updated the disclaimer to read “carving not on actual product.” It sits directly below an image of a pumpkin with carved eyes and a mouth.
It is not known whether the change was a direct response to the lawsuit or was already planned, or whether the new wording will appear on all seasonal Reese’s products. Hershey had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
Why It Matters
Hershey won in court, and the package changed anyway. Even a dismissed lawsuit can rewrite a label. More and more, the rules for what a label can show are being set by class actions and the threat of them, not by regulators.
Source: Confectionery News. Read the report.