Hershey is returning its Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins to store shelves this month without altering the candies' smooth, oval shapes, roughly a year after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit alleging the packaging was deceptive, the company said at a press conference about its fall lineup.
Hershey returns Reese's pumpkins unchanged after 2025 lawsuit dismissal
Hershey is returning its Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins to store shelves this month without altering the candies' smooth, oval shapes, roughly a year after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit alleging the packaging was deceptive, the company said at a press conference about its fall lineup.
A lawsuit filed in 2024 alleged that Hershey engaged in deceptive advertising by depicting chocolate pumpkins with carved, smiling faces on product wrappers when the unwrapped candies were featureless. A judge in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Florida dismissed the suit on Sept. 19, 2025, noting that consumers could still enjoy the treats even if they felt misled by the packaging.
On Thursday, Hershey announced it is introducing 20 Halloween-themed products hitting stores this week, which the company described as its largest Halloween rollout. Other returning items include Hershey's cookies 'n' creme fangs — absent from shelves in 2025 — and KitKats shaped like a vampire count and a witch. New non-chocolate offerings include LesserEvil pumpkin spice popcorn and LesserEvil cheesy corn balls in Halloween packaging.
Halloween spending reached a record $13.1 billion in 2025, according to the National Retail Federation. Hershey cited the growth of 'summerween' — Halloween-themed celebrations held in summer months, with retailers unveiling fall products earlier in the year — as a factor in extending the Halloween season to roughly one-third of the calendar year. About two-thirds of approximately 1,000 parents polled by Hershey said they had already purchased Halloween candy this summer.
- The source does not state the identity of the plaintiff or plaintiffs in the 2024 lawsuit.
- The source does not state whether the plaintiffs appealed the Sept. 19, 2025 dismissal.
- The source does not state the methodology or margin of error for Hershey's poll of approximately 1,000 parents.
- The source does not state the total number of Halloween products Hershey offered in prior years for comparison with this year's rollout of 20.
- The source does not state the specific retail locations where the new Halloween products will be available.