Reese's pumpkins get blunt new label: 'Carving not on actual product'
Bags of Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins now carry a plain warning: "Carving not on actual product." The new label comes weeks after a federal judge threw out a $5 million lawsuit claiming the jack-o'-lantern faces on the package were misleading. Hershey has not said whether the change is tied to the case.
If you buy Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins this Halloween, the bag will set your expectations.
The package now reads "Carving not on actual product" under a picture of a pumpkin candy with a jack-o'-lantern face, NBC New York reported. The old label said "Decorating Suggestion." Inside, the candy is still a plain pumpkin-shaped Reese's.
The change follows a lawsuit. In 2024, Florida shoppers accused Hershey of deceptive marketing over several Reese's holiday candies. One plaintiff, Nathan Vidal, said he bought three bags of the pumpkins in 2023. He "believed that the product contained a cool-looking carving of a pumpkin's mouth and eyes," according to court papers cited by Newser. The candies were blank.
The suit also took aim at other Reese's shapes, including ghosts, bats, footballs, snowmen, stockings and bells. Their packages showed details that the candies did not have, the plaintiffs said. They sought $5 million under Florida consumer protection laws.
Hershey fought back. It argued that reasonable shoppers would see the pictures as suggestions, not exact images of the candy. It also said buyers got what they paid for: Reese's candy that was not defective or inedible.
U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian first dismissed the case in September 2025 and let the plaintiffs try again. On Sept. 16, she dismissed it a second time. She found the shoppers had not shown a concrete money loss. Their injury, she wrote, amounted to "subjective disappointment." She also found they had not shown they paid more because of the missing faces.
The dismissal was without prejudice, so it was not a ruling on the merits. The plaintiffs' lawyers said they were disappointed and were weighing an appeal.
Hershey has not said why it changed the wording. The new packs arrived just weeks after the ruling.
What we know: Reese's pumpkin bags now say the carved face is not on the candy, and the lawsuit has been dismissed twice.
What we don't: Whether the plaintiffs will appeal, and whether Hershey changed the label because of the case.
Where outlets agree NBC New York and WGAL both report that the new label reads "Carving not on actual product," replacing the old "Decorating Suggestion" wording.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.