When a 37-year-old woman opened a five-pack of Reese’s cups, she found something strange: none of them had peanut butter in them. The internet quickly became interested in her strange find.
Her name is Vivian de Walque and she is a frequent Reddit user. When she reached for a five-pack of Reese’s peanut butter cups, she was just trying to relax after a stressful day at work. She had no idea that what happened would become a big deal online.
Reese’s peanut butter cups surprise
“I thought it was just a coincidence,” Vivian said in a funny way. “When I bit into the next one, there was still no peanut butter.” I thought, “Surely it couldn’t happen three times in a row.” Newsweek says she talked about her funny and frustrating journey through all five cups, which were all solid chocolate with “no trace of peanut butter.”
When Vivian’s story was posted on Reddit’s “mildly interesting” subreddit, it got a lot of attention, with 100,000 upvotes. Her story got Newsweek, an online newspaper, to ask Hershey, the parent company of Reese’s, for a comment.
As an assistant director at the tour company Orbridge, De Walque was longing for a short break from her busy work schedule. Most recently, she had been working 11-hour days and “stress eating” to deal with the stress.
A Sweet Escape Turned Sour
While she was shopping at Dollar Tree, she found a deal on five Reese’s that was too good to pass up: it was only $1.25 each. “At Dollar Tree, I usually look for sour gummies, but this time I saw the big display of Halloween candy and was interested.” Five Reese’s for $1.25? “Sign me up!” she exclaimed with excitement.
An Unexpected Disappointment
That Wednesday morning began in a strange way when she accidentally drank a cup of caffeine-free tea. This set a spooky tone for the rest of the day. That familiar rush of peanut butter goodness made her feel better, so she reached for her Reese’s.
Each bite, however, brought her disappointment. It was so bad that all she got was solid chocolate bricks when all she wanted was a hit of peanut butter. It makes me feel a little down.
In a strange turn of events, Vivian went to get a bag of peanut butter M&Ms to make up for her disappointing snack, but one of them also didn’t have the peanut butter filling she was expecting.
The Peanut Butter-less Cups Saga
The story of these peanut butter-less cups quickly went viral on the internet, turning Vivian’s simple snack mistake into a big deal.
From Threads to Viral Fame
Vivian took the advice of her Threads followers and told Reese’s about her bad experience. They quickly sent her a coupon in response. Vivian thought, “I thought maybe a few hundred people would see my post, laugh, and move on.” “But it looks like it’s grown up on its own.”
An Unanticipated Response
People from everywhere were interested in Vivian’s story. Many people sent her messages, including factory workers, Reese’s fans, and even a note from someone claiming to work in Hershey’s Marketing and wanting to connect directly.
- Factory workers shared their insights.
- Reese’s fans offered words of encouragement.
- A contact from Hershey’s Marketing reached out.
One very excited fan went even further and offered to buy the peanut butter-free cup just because it was different. They even offered to pay for the shipping and give Vivian an extra $5 as a bonus. This would have turned her small mistake into a one-of-a-kind chance for collectors.
Redditors were quick to weigh in on the mess and share their own funny stories of mishaps.
Redditors Share Their Amusing Mishaps
One user who found the picture funny said, “I can feel the desperation growing with every bite.”
Someone else on Reddit shared their own experience: “I bought a box of 48 tampons that didn’t have any cotton in them.” It was fun, haha.
A Sweet Response from Reese’s
In a lovely turn of events, Reese’s responded to De Walque’s situation by sending her five jars of their famous peanut butter in a fancy hamper with a handwritten note.
In a follow-up post, she talked about this kind gift, which got 52,000 votes right away in the same subreddit.
A Note to Remember
The funny note said, “This basket has five jars of Reese’s peanut butter cup filling that were made just for you.” We don’t sell this stuff by itself (yet) because it’s so uncommon. But what about you? Anything.”
Community Reactions
The kind thing that Reese’s did really impressed people online.
“Isn’t that cool?” “Like, it’s cool that a company sends out free stuff, but this shows so much effort and care,” one user said, expressing how many others felt.
