Reese’s Halloween Candies Escape Lawsuit Alleging Deceptive Packaging
September 24, 2025 – Hershey’s Reese’s candies dodged a legal bullet Friday after a judge dismissed a class-action lawsuit claiming the company misled consumers with its Halloween-themed packaging. the suit alleged that the spooky designs depicted on the wrappers – jack-o’-lanterns, ghosts, and snowmen – weren’t reflected in the plain chocolate shapes inside.
U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian,presiding over the case in southern Florida,ruled that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate any actual economic harm resulting from the discrepancy. In essence,the judge found that while consumers might have been disappointed that their unwrapped Reese’s pumpkins lacked carved faces,the candy still functioned as intended: it tasted good.
“Plaintiffs’ conclusory allegations…have allegedly been deprived of the benefit of their bargain,” Damian wrote in her ruling, “are insufficient to establish a concrete economic injury.”
The Core of the Complaint
The lawsuit,originally filed in 2024,took aim at several popular Halloween and holiday-themed Reese’s products,including:
* Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins
* reese’s White Ghosts
* Reese’s Peanut Butter Shapes Assortment (snowmen,Stockings,Bells)
Plaintiffs argued that Hershey engaged in deceptive advertising by showcasing detailed artistic designs on the packaging that simply didn’t exist on the candies themselves.They claimed the difference between the promise of the wrapper and the reality of the chocolate constituted a misleading practice.
Why the Lawsuit Failed
Judge Damian’s decision hinged on the legal principle of “economic injury.” The plaintiffs needed to prove they suffered a quantifiable financial loss as a direct result of the packaging. The judge persistent that disappointment alone wasn’t enough. She explicitly stated the candies weren’t “so flawed as to render them worthless,” meaning consumers still received a satisfactory product despite the lack of detailed designs.
Implications and Ongoing Trends
This case highlights a growing trend of lawsuits targeting food companies over perceived discrepancies between product packaging and the actual product. While some of these suits have found success, this ruling underscores the difficulty of proving economic harm in cases where the product itself is not defective, merely different from its advertised appearance.
Consumers can expect to see continued scrutiny of advertising practices, but this decision suggests that simply being “underwhelmed” by a product’s appearance won’t be enough to win a legal battle.
Keywords: Reese’s, Hershey’s, lawsuit, Halloween Candy, Deceptive Advertising, Class Action, Judge ruling, Consumer Protection, Food law, economic Injury.
