This Is Why Most Reese's Pieces Are Orange
The candy aisle at your local gas station is lined with dozens of colorful bags and boxes of delicious treats — which one do you choose when your sweet tooth starts calling? If it's the amalgamation of Reese's peanut butter and Hershey's chocolate that gets your mouth salivating, you are not alone. As it turns out, Reese's reigns supreme as one of the best candy bars available, though this should come as no surprise. The mixture of salty and sweet flavors is scientifically proven to be a winning combination, after all.
So now you have landed on Reese's, but in what form? There are the classic peanut butter cups or a newer version of the candy that brings a delightful crunch with the addition of pretzels, but the issue that remains with both of these treats is that you only get one or two at a time. Luckily, there's another way to indulge in your craving that will last more than 30 seconds — Reese's Pieces which, as it turns out, are widely considered to be the best Reese's product out there. And why wouldn't they be? Bite-sized pieces of creamy peanut butter covered in a crunchy coating that's either orange, yellow, or brown. What's not to love? Well, a lot if you're not a huge fan of the color orange, as Delish reveals that there are actually way more candies in this shade than the other two in every package of Reese's Pieces. But why?
There is a color distribution goal for each package of Reese's Pieces
It may be hard not to pour out a handful of Reese's Pieces from the container and immediately pop them straight into your mouth, but if you have the strength to stop yourself first and examine what comes out of the box, you will likely notice that a majority of your candy has a bright, orange coating rather than yellow or brown. Your next handful will probably yield the same results, as will the rest (until you have emptied the bag). Even your next package of the peanut butter and chocolate treats will be dominated by orange candies, but this isn't a fluke. According to Delish, this is exactly how each bag or box of Reese's Pieces is supposed to turn out, as the color distribution goal for each package is 50% orange, 25% yellow, and 25% brown.
There does not seem to be an exact reason for the color ratio, or why orange was chosen over yellow and brown to be the dominant color of the trio. However, orange is the predominant color of the wrapper for Reese's products and the color most associated with the candies, which Hershey's ensured by putting a trademark on the use of the hue as a background color for chocolate packaging (via The Counter). Perhaps the higher-ups at the Hershey's factory wanted the inside of the bag to mimic what was shown on the outside, or maybe the Reese's Pieces-loving alien from "E.T." just had a particular affinity for the orange candies (via Neatorama).