US confectionery giant Hershey’s has joined the UK biscuit category with new Reese’s Rounds.

According to Kantar Worldpanel, biscuit value sales are down 0.3%, but this hasn’t deterred American confectioner Hershey’s from launching Reese’s Rounds to the UK market.  

This follows the Reese’s launch from doughnut chain Krispy Kreme, which introduced a Reese’s Peanut Butter and Jelly-flavoured offering in June.

The peanut-flavoured Reese’s Rounds, which will be on sale from the end of this month, are Hershey’s first entry into the biscuit category. Sold in packs of eight, they will retail for £1.50.

The Rounds have a biscuit base, layered with peanut butter and chocolate. Lightbody Ventures, the manufacturer and licence holder of the new range, has claimed this is the first time a real peanut butter biscuit has launched in the UK, as other peanut biscuits use flavouring or peanut chips.

John Steele, commercial controller at Lightbody, said: “The manufacturing challenges around producing any biscuit in the UK with real peanut butter has meant there has been a large gap in the market.

“It is the second biggest spread in the UK, with 17.9 million tonnes sold in the take-home market in 2015.”