Was The Reese Behind Reese's Peanut Butter Cups A Real Guy?

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are one of the most well-known chocolate-peanut butter candies out there. For peanut butter lovers worldwide, there's nothing better than biting into the milk chocolate treat and being rewarded with a creamy peanut butter filling. Since 1928, the product has been flying off shelves. These days, Reese's Cups (and its other spin-off candies, like the ever-popular Reese's egg) are well-known as being affiliated with the Hershey Company, but, as it turns out, it was not the original developer of the candy. 

The original Reese's Peanut Butter Cup was produced by the H.B. Reese Candy Company, named after its owner Harry Burnett Reese. So, yes, the "Reese" in Reese's Peanut Butter Cups is indeed a real person. In 1963, seven years after the death of Reese himself, the H.B. Reese Candy Company merged with the Hershey Company. While the famous peanut butter cup is certainly Reese's legacy as a confectioner, it was far from the only candy his company produced.

Harry Burnett Reese was a Pennslyvania native, born in Frosty Hill in 1879. After working as a farmer and managing fishing operations for a cannery, he eventually took a job at the Hershey dairy farms as a dairyman in 1916. His time at Hershey inspired him to begin making candy on his own, which soon became the H.B. Reese Candy Company, using the brand's chocolate to coat his own confections.

While the Reese's cup is his most lasting invetion, they were not his first candy venture. After making sweets like mints and hard candy, he made the "Lizzie" and "Johnny" bars, named after two of his 16 children. These chocolate candy bars were both filled with coconut, corn syrup, butter, and molasses, with the difference between the two being that the Johnny Bar also contained peanuts. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups became the sole focus of the company after the effects of World War II led sugar prices to spike. After Reese passed in 1956, his six sons succeeded him, before merging the company with Hershey's.

Nowadays, the variety of Reese's products extends far beyond the standard peanut butter cup. From bite-sized Reese's Pieces to giant Reese's Big Cups with Pretzels, there are more than enough products to satisfy fans. Even those on a vegan diet can now get in on the fun after the creation of Reese's Plant Based Peanut Butter Cups. 

Reese was inducted into the Candy Hall of Fame in 2009, and will undoubtedly remain an iconic name in the candy world.