Hershey Introduces Vegan Chocolate Bars And Reese's Cups

People who eat a plant-based diet will soon have another reason to rejoice. While many foods designed to please those who opt to avoid animal-based products are geared toward main dishes, like plant-based chicken or beef, life without dessert just might not be worth living.

While you might assume chocolate is vegan since it's made primarily from the cocoa bean, many forms of chocolate include dairy-based milk powder. There are alternatives to dairy milk that can be used to make chocolate, like oat, soy, or nut-based milk, and as more consumers look to add plant-based foods to their diets, it's becoming increasingly common to find vegan chocolate. 

If you're craving it, you'll be thrilled about the news from Hershey. According to a press release, the company states that in an effort to "create more moments of goodness for consumers," it has created a nationwide release of Reese's Plant-Based Peanut Butter Cups, scheduled to launch in March, as well as Hershey's Plant-Based Extra Creamy with Almonds and Sea Salt, slated for an April release. 

Go Dairy Free shares that Hershey test-market two vegan chocolate bars in 2021 and 2022, Hershey's Oat Made Classic Dark and Hershey's Oat Made Extra Creamy with Almonds and Sea Salt. It looks like the latter treat may have been a keeper. As for the two new releases, each features chocolate that includes oat milk as its dairy substitute, suitable for people who choose to eat a vegan diet or for those who wish to avoid dairy. 

Pennsylvania-based Hershey's new sweet and salty snacks are packaged with labels declaring the chocolate to be vegan, certified non-GMO, and under the "Better For You" category. These include treats packaged in smaller sizes, confections with reduced or zero sugar, bars that are high in protein, and now, plant-based options to please more chocolate lovers than ever. Billed as "everything you love about milk chocolate ... minus the milk," Hershey aims to bring vegan chocolate into the mainstream.