Reese鈥檚 Peanut Butter Cups are getting the vegan treatment.

The Hershey Co. said Tuesday that Reese鈥檚 Plant Based Peanut Butter Cups, which go on sale this month, will be its first vegan chocolates sold nationally. A second plant-based offering, Hershey鈥檚 Plant Based Extra Creamy with Almonds and Sea Salt, will follow in April.

The chocolates are made with oats instead of milk, Hershey said.

Hershey has experimented with vegan chocolate before. It sold an oat-based chocolate bar called Oat Made in some test markets starting in 2021. But the new products will be the first sold throughout the U.S. under the 鈥淧lant Based鈥� label.

Hershey said consumers want choice and are looking for products they consider healthier or with fewer ingredients, including reduced sugar and plant-based options. Hershey also introduced an organic version of Reese鈥檚 Cups in February 2021.

Younger consumers, in particular, are looking to reduce consumption of animal-based products, says Euromonitor, a market research firm. In a 2021 survey, Euromonitor found that 54% of Generation Z consumers were restricting animal-based products from their diets, compared to 34% of Baby Boomers.

Nestle has sold its KitKat V, a vegan KitKat bar, in Europe since 2021, while Cadbury sells a vegan chocolate bar in the United Kingdom. But so far, U.S. vegan chocolate options have generally been limited to premium brands, like Lindt, or organic chocolatiers like Hu Kitchen.

Hershey said it developed plant-based versions of Reese鈥檚 Cups and Hershey bars __ some of its most popular products __ because there鈥檚 a dearth of mainstream plant-based chocolates in the U.S. market.

The plant-based versions will cost more. Hershey wouldn鈥檛 share details because it said retailers set final prices. But Rite Aid lists a 1.4-ounce package of two plant-based Reese鈥檚 Cups at $2.49; that鈥檚 about $1 more than consumers would pay for a regular package. Hershey charges a similar premium for organic versions of its Reese Cups, which went on sale in 2021.

And ditching the dairy won鈥檛 cut calories. While Hershey didn鈥檛 release all of the nutritional facts, the 1.4-ounce package of plant-based Reese鈥檚 Cups have 210 calories; that鈥檚 the same number of calories as a 1.5-ounce package of traditional Reese鈥檚 Cups.

鈥擠ee-ann Durbin, The Associated Press

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