United States District Court for the Middle District of Forida
A woman in Florida is suing Hershey, claiming its Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins and other holiday products are not as cute as they appear on their packaging.
Cynthia Kelly filed the class action lawsuit on Friday in Florida Middle District Court, according to court records. The lawsuit demands a trial by jury.
The complaint alleges that "several" Reese's Peanut Butter products contain specific carved-out artistic designs on their packaging that are not present on the actual product inside. The document points to the Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins and the Reese's White Chocolate Ghosts, which are typically sold in October around Halloween, as examples.
"Reese's Pieces Pumpkins are pictured on the product label as containing carved out eyes and a mouth as follows," the lawsuit says. "However, the actual Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins product contains no carvings for the eyes and mouth."
United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
Hershey did not immediately return a request for comment from Business Insider on Sunday.
The lawsuit also takes issue with the Reese's Peanut Butter Footballs, which have carved out laces on their packaging, but instead "look like an egg" when viewing the actual product.
The complaint claims that the products' labels are "materially misleading" and that "numerous consumers have been tricked and misled" by their packaging.
The suit includes links to several YouTube videos of people who opened Reese's products and were disappointed in the product inside compared to the one pictured.
"Reese's what are you doing! Look at the picture on the packet. It's like a pumpkin with faces and a little mouth -- then you open up the packet and you are presented with that monstrosity," the lawsuit quotes from one YouTube reviewer.
The lawsuit also quotes another reviewer who said they were "a little disappointed" to find that the pumpkin had no face carved into it and was instead a "chocolate blob"."
The lawsuit alleges that Hershey changed the packaging of Reese's products to "boost sales and revenues" within the last three years.
Hershey is not the only company slapped with a class-action lawsuit for misleading advertising this year.
In March, a man sued Buffalo Wild Wings claiming the restaurant's "boneless wings" were "more akin" to chicken nuggets.
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, previously told BI that the suit against Buffalo Wild Wings is weak because in order to justify a class action lawsuit, damages have to be "substantial."
"You're getting all white meat chicken breast," Rahmani said. "Have you really suffered any damage?"
Kelly's lawsuit against Hershey claims that it falls under the class action jurisdiction because the "matter in controversy" exceeds the amount of $5 million and affects more than 100 people.
