Reese's Halloween pumpkins hit shelves unchanged after lawsuit victory

Last year, Hershey prevailed in a lawsuit that claimed Reese's featureless Halloween pumpkins were a consumer letdown. Starting this month, the spooky treats will return to store shelves, though without any changes to their smooth, oval shapes.

"We know what consumers love," said Katie DeCapria, senior brand manager for Halloween at Hershey, in a press conference about the candy company's fall lineup. "We have not made any changes to the Reese's shapes."

Of course, fans of the candy might say it's hard to go wrong with a combination of peanut butter and chocolate, regardless of a candy's shape or features. The legal dispute over the Reese's pumpkins kicked off in 2024, when a lawsuit alleged that Hershey's ads for the candies were deceptive because the smiling pumpkin designs on the wrappers were absent from the actual candies.

In September 2025, a judge dismissed the lawsuit, noting that consumers could still enjoy the treats even if they felt tricked by the wrappers.

On Thursday, almost a year after that court victory, Hershey said it is introducing 20 Halloween-themed products that will hit stores this week, marking the company's largest Halloween rollout. The annual event is now celebrated for roughly one-third of the calendar year as consumers kick off their spooky celebrations earlier, beginning with "summerween" celebrations in the warmer months, according to Hershey.

Summerween refers to Halloween-themed celebrations that some consumers organize in the summer months, with retailers participating by unveiling fall-themed products earlier in the year. Halloween spending reached a record $13.1 billion in 2025, according to the National Retail Federation.

About two-thirds of the roughly 1,000 parents polled by Hershey reported having already bought Halloween candy this summer. Reese's pumpkins remain one of the company's most popular Halloween items, Hershey said.

The company is also introducing some non-chocolate treats, such as LesserEvil pumpkin spice popcorn and LesserEvil cheesy corn balls with Halloween packaging.