Reese’s Fast Break (History, Commercials & Marketing)

Reese’s is known by most people for their Peanut Butter Cup products. While this is arguably their most successful candy product, the company actually makes lots of other different kinds of candies. The Reese’s Fast Break was first sold in 2001 in Canada under the name Hershey Sidekick. Later on, when the product was first sold in the US, it was renamed Fast Break.

This is a slightly different twist on other Reese’s products that was not as popular as the company had hoped but which has a loyal fan following even today. The product is hard to find, but you can still order it online and try it out if you are willing to wait for it to be shipped to you.

History

The Reese’s candy company has been around since the early 1920s. H.B. Reese founded the company, but when he had his first ideas for candy products, he was working for the Hershey Company. While he was working for Hershey, he started experimenting with candy product recipes in his home basement.

It took him until 1928 to come up with the recipe for the Reese’s Peanut Butter cup. This is one of the most well-known of all peanut butter candies on the market today, and it has been the flagship of the Reese’s brand ever since the company opened up for business.

Reese and his sons managed their candy company until 1956 as a joint venture, but after Reese passed the business on to his children, it was sold to the Hershey Company in 1963. Many people are not aware that Reese’s products actually belong to the Hershey company due to their choice to preserve the branding and styling of Reese’s products.

It is a common misconception that the Reese’s company still exists. The Hershey Company has actually maintained the branding of various products that they have purchased from other companies in order to ensure that consumers do not worry they have been changed in some way.

There are actually more than 100 candy bars, spreads, cookies, and cereals that are part of the Reese’s product label. All of these products actually belong to the Hershey Company, but they are all sold as if Reese’s is their brand name. The products run the gamut with regard to flavors, and you can get milk, dark, and white chocolate products within most of their brands.

Reese’s Fast Break was first sold in Canada in 2001. It was sold in Canada under the name Hershey’s Sidekick. A couple of years later, the candy bar was sold in the US under the name Reese’s Fast Break. Unlike most of the other Reese’s products, this was not a simple chocolate and peanut butter-flavored snack. The Fast Break is made with peanut butter and chocolate, but the interior layers of the candy bar are made with nougat. This is a candy bar that is more like a Funny Bones bar, according to those who enjoy this treat. 

Part of the reason that so many people were not aware of the Fast Break bar was that the company did not run a single ad about its existence between 2001 and 2003. The only ads that created any lasting impact for the brand were ads that were created with racecar drivers. This was the entire advertising plan for the candy product, and this did not connect well with most consumers.

Word of mouth did not prove to be an effective means of advertising this product that was so divergent from the rest of Reese’s products. On top of this, this candy product was not sold in many markets either. The process of marketing, or rather the lack of marketing of this product by the Hershey Company, is a lasting mystery. The ingredients in this candy bar are so classic that no one ever complains about being given a Reese’s Fast Break to snack on, and yet most people have no idea that this candy bar was ever on the shelves of stores or that they can order it online today.

The original candy bars were sold with a blue wrapper with orange letters. This was probably another instance of a missed opportunity to brand the product like the rest of the Reese’s lineup of products that are sold in orange wrappers and packages. In 2003, the product livery was altered to match the rest of the products in the Reese’s family more closely. This is still the product wrapping that you will receive when you order a Fast Break bar to be sent to you.

When the product livery was changed to Orange and blue, they also added more peanut butter to the formula. This apparently did not connect with consumers well either, but it is hard to imagine that the three years of lag time between the release of this product and these adjustments did anything to help the product to sell well. The entire story of the Reese’s Fast Break is one of casual neglect on the part of the Reese’s company.

The livery on bars that are sold today is the Reese’s bright orange, and the word “Fast Break” is listed on the wrappers on top of a light blue rectangle. The wrapper states that the product inside the wrapper is made from milk chocolate, peanut butter, and nougat. There is always a picture of the inside of the candy bar as well, which actually looks a little like a Butterfinger Bar. There are no additional varieties of the candy bar or other sizes that it is sold in. 

Today, you cannot buy the Hershey Sidekick bar in Canada. Your only option to get to try this candy bar is to order it from the US from Hersheyland’s site and a few other online sellers. If you enjoy other peanut butter candy bars, you will love this candy bar as well.

Reese’s Fast Break Taste

Many people love the Fast Break bar because it is lighter than the other Reese’s products and a bit saltier. This product is more like a traditional candy bar which can be a nice change of pace if the soft and chewy texture of the other Reese’s products is not for you. The peanut butter taste is not as front and center as it is in the other Reese’s products, which can also be nice for those who are not peanut butter fans.

The texture is slightly chewy, but the buttery and soft nature of the center of the bar is really enjoyable. Most people also report that they can eat the whole Fast Break Bar without getting too full, which is certainly much different than many other candy bars that are too rich for this. The salty and roasted flavoring of the center of this candy bar is probably part of why it is easier to eat in one sitting than some other candy bars.

Some people also like the vanilla notes in the recipe as they are a bit of a departure from the peanut butter offerings that flesh out the rest of the product lineup under the Reese’s heading. There is a lovely caramel taste to the interior of the bar as well, which is really popular with those who like candy bars like the Snickers Bar. 

As with all the other Reese’s products, the chocolate on the outside of the candy bar is silky-smooth and has just enough sweetness to it. There is also chocolate flavoring in the nougat center of the candy bar as well. This helps to make for a well-rounded taste that is really enjoyable and offers many notes of different kinds of sweetness. 

Knowing all of this about this candy bar makes it even more confusing that this candy bar is not promoted more intensely by the Hershey Company. This is the kind of candy bar that has been a huge hit for so many other candy companies. Perhaps they are worried about competition in this space, but most people love this candy bar so much that it seems like it is not smart to neglect this product in this way.

Perhaps this will be one of the candy products that consumers end up petitioning to get moved back onto the shelves of stores in the US and Canada. Some other products have been successfully returned to the shelves of stores due to this kind of effort in the past.

Logo

Ingredients

From the Reese’s Fast Break page on the Hershyland website:

• Peanuts
• Sugar
• Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate, Skim Milk, Milk Fat, Lactose, Lecithin, PGPR)
• Corn Syrup
• Dextrose
• Vegetable Oil (Palm Oil, Shea Oil, Sunflower Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Safflower Oil)
• Contains 2% or Less of:
• High Fructose Corn Syrup
• Chocolate
• Skim Milk
• Salt
• Cocoa Processed With Alkali
• Whey
• Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Oil)
• Egg Whites
• Cornstarch
• Hydrolyzed Milk Protein
• Glycerin
• Lecithin
• TBHQ (Preservative)
• Citric Acid (TO MAINTAIN FRESHNESS)
• Vanillin (ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR)

The company lists allergen warnings for soy, eggs, milk, and peanuts on the site as well.

Nutrition

Serving Size:	0.5 bar (50g)	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories	230
Calories from Fat	90
Total Fat	11g	17%
Saturated Fat	4g	20%
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg	0%
Sodium	170mg	7%
Total Carbohydrates	31g	10%
Dietary Fiber	1g	4%
Sugars	27g
Protein	4g
Vitamin A		0%
Vitamin C		0%
Calcium		2%
Iron		6%

• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet.

Pictures

Commercials

An ad from 2000:

Another racecar-based ad: