FL Woman Sues Hershey For Selling Reese's Without 'Cute' Faces

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — A Hillsborough County woman filed a class-action lawsuit against Pennsylvania-based Hershey last week, accusing the company of false advertising after she purchased a package of Reese’s chocolates and realized the product did not feature the same "cute" designs shown on its packaging.

According to the lawsuit filed on Dec. 28 in federal court, Cynthia Kelly is suing Hershey for $5 million after she purchased a package of Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins at the grocery store in October 2023.

According to court documents, Kelly purchased the chocolates believing the product contained a "cute-looking carving of a pumpkin’s mouth and eyes as pictured on the product packaging."

Much to her disappointment, Kelly opened the package only to realize the product did not contain any of the "artistic carvings" depicted on the packaging, according to the lawsuit.

"(Kelly) would not have purchased the Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins product if she knew that it did not have the detailed carvings of the mouth and/or eyes as pictured on the product label," the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit identifies several Reese's products that were sold based on "false and deceptive advertising," including Reese's Peanut Butter Ghosst, Peanut Butter Bats and Peanut Butter Footballs.

The lawsuit also cites several online reviews of the products where consumers voiced their dissatisfaction with the company's advertising.

"This is a trick, this is not a treat….come on now Hershey’s," one review stated. Meanwhile, another reviewer said they were "flabbergasted" when they opened the package, according to court documents.

"Awe man, I thought it would have a face on it, it's just a chocolate blob," the review stated, according to court documents. "That’s a little disappointing."

When contacted by news outlets including CNN, the Washington Post, and USA Today, Hershey declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Hershey joins a long list of companies targeted by lawsuits over claims of false advertising.

In 2023, a Chicago man sued the restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings for using false and deceptive marketing to promote its boneless wings. And in 2021, a woman sued TGI Friday’s and accused the company of not using mozzarella in its mozzarella sticks.

Other lawsuits, according to the Washington Post, have targeted Burger King over its Whopper burgers, Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza, Starbucks’s Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade and Red Bull’s energy drinks.