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Reese's Pieces are a peanut butter-flavored candy manufactured by The Hershey Company for the North American market. They are circular in shape and covered in candy shells that are colored either yellow, orange, or brown. They can be purchased in plastic packets, cardboard boxes, or cup-shaped travel containers. The candy was introduced in 1978 and launched throughout the United States in 1980.
Reese's Pieces are a product extension of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups line; this new product was designed to capitalize on the success of the chocolate-covered peanut butter cups.
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Manufacture
The candies were first manufactured using the panning machines that were left over from the failed "Hershey-ets" project. Designers knew that they wanted a peanut-flavored candy but had some problems with the filling. Original plans called for filling the candy shells with peanut butter, but the oil leaked out into the shell, leaving it soft, rather than crunchy.
The developer of the project turned the problem over to a team of outside scientists, who created a peanut-flavored penuche filling. More experimentation was needed to determine the correct thickness of the shell. Finally, the colors of the candy coating were designed to coordinate with the color of the Reese's package.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1978 | Reese's Pieces are introduced |
| 1982 | Reese's Pieces appear as E.T.’s favorite candy in the feature film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial |
| 1995 | Pastel egg shape Reese's Pieces introduced |
| 2002 | 20th anniversary and re-release of the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial |
| 2003 | Introduction of Mini Reese's Pieces |
| 2004 | Limited release of Reese's Pieces with Nuts |
| 2008 | Limited edition black- and blue-colored Reese's Pieces, as a promotion for the feature film The Dark Knight |
E.T. product placement
Steven Spielberg originally approached Mars with the idea of product placement of M&M's in his 1982 movie, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Mars declined the offer. Spielberg later approached the Hershey Chocolate Company, who turned down the idea of using their flagship product Hershey's Kisses but chose to use Reese's Pieces instead. Immediately after the movie was released, sales of Reese's Pieces increased by 65%.[1][2]
Hershey's took a large risk in licensing the product, as Universal Studios refused to allow Hershey's to see the script; all it was allowed to know was a basic plot synopsis and that the alien was a friendly creature. Hershey's was given permission to utilize images during a time window of about six to eight weeks during the film's release date. In return for a relatively small sum of approximately $1 million USD, Hershey's reaped well over $15 million dollars in free advertising for the then languishing product.[3][4]
References
- ^ "How Sweet It Is". Time. 1982-07-06. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922960,00.html. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
- ^ "A Product-Placement Hall Of Fame". BusinessWeek. 1998-06-22. http://www.businessweek.com/1998/25/b3583062.htm.
- ^ Joël Glenn Brenner (1999). The Emperors of Chocolate.. Random House. ISBN 0-7679-0457-5.
- ^ Stephanie Mansfield (July 14, 1982). "Sweet Success: Reese's Cashes in on E.T.'s Candy Cravings". The Washington Post.
See also
External links
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