Reese's Puffs Cereal Is Changing Up Its Chocolate For The First Time In Over 30 Years

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Thirty-one years. That's how long Reese's Puffs has kept the exact same chocolate formula in those crunchy little spheres, and honestly, nobody was really asking them to change it, which is precisely why this announcement from General Mills is a rather pleasant surprise: dark chocolate's taking over our familiar breakfast cereal.

While Reese's Puffs have experimented with different sizes (like Reese's Puffs Minis), a straight peanut butter version, even adding Reese's Puffs cereal into Reese's Cups, the chocolate in the cereal has always been milk... until now. The new Reese's Puffs Dark Chocolate swaps the sweeter milk chocolate that's defined this cereal since 1994 for richer and more intensely flavored dark chocolate made with Hershey's dark cocoa.

This marks the first actual flavor departure the cereal has made since hitting shelves back when "Friends" premiered and dial-up internet was cutting-edge technology. Now, fans can get that deeper cocoa-forward taste that dark chocolate fans have been getting from other Reese's products straight into their breakfast bowl.

Before you rush to the grocery store to stock up on your childhood favorite version, the good news is that the original Reese's Puffs with milk chocolate isn't going anywhere. In their statement, General Mills is insistent that this dark chocolate version will be available side-by-side with the original, not replacing it. You'll be able to freely choose between classic sweetness and deeper cocoa intensity depending on your mood.

So, why now? And why dark chocolate in particular? Megan Brooks, who runs this product line at General Mills, pointed out something interesting in her statement to Tasting Table: people have been crushing Reese's Puffs way beyond breakfast time, especially late at night. And since dark chocolate has been gaining serious momentum across the entire Reese's brand anyway, this new version's basically the company catching up to what snackers already figured out on their own.

The new dark chocolate boxes will feature special collectible packaging called "Reese's After Dark," created with design agency Vault49 at launch. These limited boxes showcase a neon cityscape theme with playful hidden details throughout. Reese's Puffs Dark Chocolate is rolling out to retailers across the country throughout December, so fans should start seeing it on shelves soon. No word on pricing yet, but it shouldn't be different from the original version.