In the early 1920s, H.B. Reese, an employee of The Hershey Company, started making candy in the basement of his Hershey home. When Reese created Peanut Butter Cups as part of an assortment of candies in 1928, the first generation of chocolate and peanut butter fans made the candy his bestselling item.

The Hershey Company supplied H.B. Reese with the chocolate coating for his candy and maintained a close relationship with him throughout his candy ventures. In 1956, his six sons took over the business and eventually sold it to The Hershey Company in 1963.