A woman opened a five-pack of Reese's cups, only to find each one missing peanut butter—a discovery that captivated the internet.
When Vivian de Walque, a 37-year-old Reddit user, reached for a five-pack of Reese's peanut butter cups to ease her workday stress, she wasn't prepared for what would become a viral candy catastrophe.
"I figured it was a one-off, so I bite into the next one. Nope, no peanut butter. Well, there's no way I could get three in a row... right?" humorously recounting her quest through all five cups, each solid chocolate, "without a trace of peanut butter," she told Newsweek.
Sharing her experience on Reddit's "mildly interesting" sub, Vivian's story struck a chord with 100,000 upvotes.
De Walque, who works as an assistant director at tour operator Orbridge, was hoping for a momentary escape from her hectic work schedule and explained that she'd been working 11-hour days recently, "stress eating" to cope.
She'd picked up the pack during a shopping trip to Dollar Tree, where the Reese's five-pack sold for $1.25.
"Typically, I go for sour gummies at Dollar Tree, but they had this big Halloween candy set up... a five-pack of Reese's for $1.25? Sign me up," she recounted.
On the fateful Wednesday morning, an accidental cup of caffeine-free tea had already set an ominous tone for her morning.
So, reaching for her Reese's, she was anticipating that familiar rush of peanut butter—only to be met with disappointment, bite after bite. "I just wanted that hit of PB," she explained, "but they have all come up solid chocolate bricks. I despair a little bit."
Adding to the hilarity, Vivian reached for some peanut butter M&Ms to compensate, only to discover one of those also lacked peanut butter.
Following the advice of her Threads followers, Vivian messaged Reese's about her misfortune and was promptly offered a coupon.
"I thought maybe a couple hundred people would see it and giggle and move on," Vivian mused, reflecting on her now-viral story, "but it's kind of taken on a life of its own."
Messages poured in from factory workers, Reese's enthusiasts, and one surprising contact claiming to be from Hershey's Marketing department, interested in connecting directly.
One fan even offered to buy a peanut butter-less cup as a novelty item, covering shipping and adding an extra $5 as a bonus.
Redditors weighed in on the debacle and shared similar experiences.
"I can sense the desperation growing with every bite in this picture," said one user.
"I bought a box of 48 tampons with no cotton once. That was fun lol," said another user.
In a welcome twist, Reese's sent De Walque five jars of Reese's peanut butter in a hamper with a handwritten note.
She shared the gift in a follow-up post, which garnered 52,000 upvotes in the same subreddit.
"Inside this basket you'll find five jars of the Reese's peanut butter cup filling, made just for you. This stuff is so rare, we don't sell it on its own (yet). But for you? Anything," the note playfully read.
Redditors were impressed with the thoughtful response from Reese's.
"Isn't that awesome? Like, cool that a company sends out free product, but this shows so much effort and thoughtfulness," said one user.
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