Your Freezer Section is Boasting a New Color: Reese’s Orange

The Reese’s brand is now showing up in a big way in the ice-cream aisle, with that famous orange design popping out from seven—yes, seven—new ice cream and frozen confections: Reese’s Peanut Butter Sandwich, Reese’s Peanut Butter Light Ice Cream, Reese’s Chocolate Frozen Dairy Dessert, Reese’s Mini Pieces Light Ice Cream, Reese’s Peanut Butter Frozen Dairy Dessert Bar, Reese’s Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cones and the Reese’s Peanut Butter Frozen Dessert Cup. Sitting side-by-side, the packages serve as a veritable billboard for America’s favorite candy.

An evolving partnership

If Reese’s-as-ice-cream sounds familiar, it should. For more than 20 years, Hershey has partnered with Unilever to make Reese’s ice cream. In fact, we believe that Unilever and The Hershey Company go together like chocolate and peanut butter: they’re the ice cream experts, we’re the candy experts, and that’s a winning combination.

Reese’s Ice Cream was previously co-branded with Breyers, Good Humor and Klondike. But with the January launch, we decided to let the Reese’s brand stand on its own. While leaning on Unilever for its category knowledge, technical expertise and product innovation, we’re also letting Reese’s personality play to its fullest.

A disruptive design

With seven new items, we knew that we had the power to be disruptive in the freezer section and created designs that showcase the iconic Reese’s brand. When consumers see that distinctive orange beacon, they’re already anticipating chocolate-peanut-butter perfection.

During taste testing, we gleaned inspiration for our packaging design as we observed how each treat melted and how cones crumbled. Those takeaways played into the artwork’s appetite appeal. We also illustrated the chocolatey ridge of a Reese’s cup, because Reese’s lovers know exactly what that foreshadows. 

And then there’s the text. Attitude is a big part of the Reese’s brand. It’s confident and unapologetic, and that comes through in tone and voice. We developed a series of playful taglines that could be used on packaging, social media and advertising, like “Totally worth the headache,” “This is what they’re screaming for,” “Makes vanilla look, well, vanilla,” “And you thought we couldn’t get any cooler.”  The beauty of the Reese’s brand is we always have fun with it.

Building brand loyalty

Brand collaborations help grow our presence in different categories and attract new audiences while also offering existing customers exciting and novel versions of their favorite candy. Past partnerships have led to a sneaker collaboration with Jolly Rancher, New Balance and Kawhi Leonard, and a chocolate porter with Yuengling and Hershey’s, to name a few.

Our research shows that these licensing agreements have a ripple effect for the brand. When a customer purchases a licensed Hershey product, they’re about five times as likely to have purchased a Hershey confection, and they spend two times more on Hershey confections annually. 

We all scream for Reese’s Ice Cream

While the latest launch includes seven products, we tested far more than that—and many were wins. Our lips are sealed at the moment, but retailers and consumers can expect more innovations in 2024. For now, we’re excited to see how consumers react to the latest new products as they roll out to retailers nationwide.

We all have our favorites. Andy loves the Reese’s Peanut Butter Sandwich while Anthony prefers Reese’s Mini Pieces Light Ice Cream. Mary loves them all so much she can’t pick a favorite. And we believe these are all correct answers! Reese’s lovers are loyal, and they’re also eager to try new versions of their favorite chocolate-and-peanut butter cup, like Reese’s Big Cup with Potato Chips and Reese’s Big Cup with Reese’s Puffs.

Now, there are seven new offerings to try, and they’re all waiting for you in the freezer section. With all that orange, you can’t miss them.