What We Need to Know About Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter has been in the news recently with some bad news and good news.

Peanut Butter

The Bad News

The downside could relate to the taste of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

Our story starts when H.B. Reese worked for Hershey from 1917 to 1919. After leaving to create his own candy company, H.B. invented the Peanut Butter Cup in 1928.  Then, in 1963, Hershey bought the Reese family’s candy business.

Now, Brad Reese, the grandson, complained that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups might have a different taste. According to him, Hershey replaced peanuts with peanut crème and the chocolate with a compound coating. Hershey denied any major changes.

The Good News

On the other hand, peanut butter is the most popular….condiment??

In a YouGov survey, with condiments “broadly” defined as “shelf-stable dressings, spreads, and toppings people typically keep at home and add to food for extra flavor,” peanut butter was #1:

But also, when YouGov asked which condiments participants currently had in their home and which was their favorite, then, peanut butter moved down a notch or two:

Our Bottom Line: Affordability

As economists, we can conclude with some price history.

The one thing to keep in mind is that an inflation rate takes a price upward. So, even if the rate goes down, the price of the item goes up. Below, the red rectangles display deflation. However, they were not enough to eliminate consumers’ awareness that prices have gone up substantially.

Currently, the average national price per pound of creamy peanut butter is $2.48. Comparing 2020 to 2026, those prices rose by 16.79%. However, from January 2025 to January 2026, the price dipped by 1.3%:

My sources and more: Our thanks go today to Sherwood, for inspiring today’s post and YouGov for taking the next step. From there, for more detail, we also went to A.P. News. Then, these websites, here and here, had the prices. Meanwhile, econlife also looked at affordability for beef, coffee, and breakfast.