Woman sues Hershey’s for $5 million over Reese’s pumpkins without faces
A Florida woman filed a federal lawsuit against The Hershey Company over claims some of its seasonal shaped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were advertised deceptively.
Cynthia Kelly, of the Tampa area, is suing the company for $5 million in Florida’s Middle District Court.
In the lawsuit, Kelly claims the company is misleading consumers with inaccurate packaging, including depicting Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pumpkins with carved out eyes and mouths. However, she said the actual candies contain no such carvings.
Kelly’s class-action suit also points out Reese’s White Pumpkins, Reese’s Pieces Pumpkins, Reese’s Peanut Butter Ghost, Reese’s White Ghost, Reese’s Peanut Butter Bats, Reese’s Peanut Butter footballs and Reese’s Peanut Butter Shapes Assortment Snowmen Stockings Bells.
“Hershey’s labels for the Products are materially misleading and numerous consumers have been tricked and misled by the pictures on the Products’ packaging,” the lawsuit states.
Several photos comparing products’ packaging to their actual shapes are featured in the document. They include a football shape that Kelly said resembles an egg. The lawsuit suggests Hershey correct the packaging to reflect the actual contents.
The document also includes links to several YouTube videos of people reviewing the products and complaining about a lack of details on the candies. One of the videos is titled “Reese’s Halloween Candy LIED To Me!” and another states “Reese’s Drops First 2023 Halloween Candy … BUT FAILS!”
Kelly said that she noticed the Reese’s pumpkins while shopping in October at Aldi and “believed that the product contained a cute looking carving of a pumpkin’s mouth and eyes as pictured on the product packaging.”
In the lawsuit, Kelly noted she would not have purchased the product if she knew it didn’t contain detailed carvings of the eyes and mouth as pictured on the label.
The document also notes that Hershey’s packaging didn’t always include the detailed carvings, something it added in the past two or three years. The Hershey Company didn’t immediately respond when reached for comment.