Why Reese’s partnered with basketball star Angel Reese—beyond the obvious reason

It happened, as many sweet things do, thanks to a post.

“Reese’s pieces where yall at?????” Angel Reese, one of the brightest rookie stars in the WNBA, wrote on X in June, a reference to both the candy and what Reese’s own fans have begun calling themselves. Last week, Reese’s announced an official partnership with the Chicago Sky forward for…clear reasons.

“We had definitely been keeping our eyes on Angel for a while, given the obvious name connection,” Melissa Blette, senior brand manager of Reese’s, told Marketing Brew. “But once we learned Angel’s fans had started to call themselves the Reese’s Pieces, and she was calling them the Reese’s Pieces, we felt naturally invited to be a part of the fandom.”

Reese’s name isn’t the only reason why the brand wanted to work with her, Blette said. The agreement, which so far centers around a line of merch, is also about good timing, personality alignment, and audience fit.

We spoke with Blette to hear more about the plans for the partnership.

Fan cam

Like many others, Blette said Reese first caught her eye during March Madness in 2023, when Reese’s team, Louisiana State University, won the championship. At the time, the game broke viewership records, but that milestone was handily surpassed by this year’s women’s college tournament.

Reese recently said on X that she’d wanted to work with the brand for several years, but it wasn’t until this summer that the team at Reese’s felt the time was right to connect, according to Blette. After Reese posted “Reese’s pieces where yall at?????,” the Reese’s brand account replied to the post, calling Reese its favorite player. She reposted, fans started to engage, media caught wind of a potential collab, and days later, Reese’s and Reese’s team connected, Blette said.

“This time, we were invited into the conversation,” she said. “That doesn’t happen to a brand every day, for people to be saying, ‘Please do this collaboration.’ To hear that excitement from the fans and from Angel herself that they wanted to make this happen, I think was why this was the time that really made sense for us.”

The collab marks Reese’s first official partnership with a WNBA player. The brand has also never worked with an NBA player, though parent company Hershey has worked with NBA players like Shaquille O’Neal, Karl Anthony Towns, and Joel Embiid across brands including Kit Kat and Jolly Rancher.

Ideal fit

With the WNBA rookie’s fans being central to the partnership, Blette said the brand team wanted to activate in a way that would get them excited. After working with Reese’s team, they landed on the idea of limited-edition merch.

The first collection, which features eight items that showcase the Reese’s Pieces logo and Reese’s first name, dropped Aug. 21 on Reese’s official site. The second drop, a Reese x Reese’s jersey, became available Tuesday at midnight. Another eight products inspired by the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup—like a Reese’s cup crowning Reese, a reference to her status as the WNBA’s double-double queen—are up next.

The Reese’s team wanted to make the collab happen as soon as possible, especially considering the WNBA is still in season, Blette said, and added there could be more to come depending on fan feedback.

Go CraZy

Blette declined to share sales numbers, but said that so far, the partnership has exceeded expectations. When the brand released the looks in its initial announcement, “the fans went crazy,” especially over the jersey, she said. There have also been thousands of social posts about it, leading to higher-than-average engagement for the brand, Blette added.

That may be a positive sign considering one of Reese’s main goals in teaming up with Reese was to connect with Gen Zers. Reese, who is the most-followed WNBA player on social media, has a significant following within that demographic, Blette said.

Her audience plus her personality—and, of course, her name—made Reese an inevitable teammate for Reese’s, a longstanding NCAA and March Madness partner, which has recently been leaning further into women’s sports.

“The name alone probably wasn’t what mattered to us,” Blette said. “This fanbase that started calling themselves the Reese’s Pieces and really connecting it to the brand and getting excited was one piece, but the second was just how Angel shows up and the person that she is. She’s so unapologetically herself, and that’s very much representative of the Reese’s brand.”