- Cynthia Kelly bought a pack of Reese's peanut butter pumpkins in October
- She says she wouldn't have bought the candy if she knew it didn't come with the face cut out on the package
- A class action lawsuit now seeks to recover $5 million in damages from Florida customers who purchased the affected Reese products
Hershey's has been hit with a $5 million lawsuit over its “misleading” advertising of Reece's Halloween candies – because the packages showed the chocolates had faces cut into them when they didn't.
Customer Cynthia Kelly of Tampa filed the class action lawsuit Thursday in Florida's Middle District Court.
Kelly claims the packaging of several Reece products was “misleading” because it appeared the candy had cut-out eyes and mouths.
In fact the actual chocolate in it was blank.
The package included images of Reese's peanut butter pumpkins, Reese's white pumpkins, Reese's peanut butter ghost, Reese's white ghost and Reese's peanut butter bats.
Hershey's has been hit with a $5 million lawsuit over its 'misleading' advertising for Reece's Halloween candies, which showed the chocolates had faces when they didn't
Kelly claims the packaging of several Reece products was 'misleading' because they appeared to show the candy had eyes and mouths cut out while the actual chocolate inside was blank
Kelly herself purchased a bag of Peanut Butter Pumpkins for $4.49 in October 2023, but she claims she wouldn't have done so had she known the engravings weren't on the candy itself.
“Hershey's labels for the products are materially misleading and countless consumers have been misled and misled by the images on the products' packaging,” the complaint reads.
It also links to several videos from customers mocking the apparent blunder.
A video posted by a YouTube account called Shippoprecordings – the video above – is titled “Reese's Halloween candy SONG to me.”
Meanwhile, a second video clip from a different account shows a man complaining, “Reese, what are you doing?
'Look at the picture on the package. It's like a pumpkin with faces and a mouth – then you open the package and you see that monstrosity.'
The complaint alleges that the case shows Hershey violated Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
It calls on Hershey's to correct the packaging to reflect the actual contents of the product.
If a judge grants class action status to the lawsuit, it would mean that “all consumers in the state of Florida” who purchased the product could be eligible for a payout.
The package included images of Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins, Reese's White Pumpkins, Reese's Peanut Butter Ghost, Reese's White Ghost and Reese's Peanut Butter Bats
“Hershey's labels for the products are materially misleading and countless consumers have been misled and misled by the images on the products' packaging,” the complaint reads.
It is not the first lawsuit that has hit the chocolate manufacturer in recent years.
In December 2022, Hershey's was hit with a lawsuit over claims that it misled customers by failing to disclose the amounts of lead and cadmium in three dark chocolate bars.
The lawsuit, filed by Christopher Lazazzaro in New York, was the reason This is evident from research by Consumer Reports who found dangerous levels of heavy metals in the brand's dark chocolate.
According to court documents, Lazazzaro voluntarily dismissed the case without an award of costs or fees.