If you wanna talk nostalgia, there's literally nothing more nostalgic than the snacks and drinks we grew up eating. The fact that most of them have been discontinued is — to put it bluntly — criminal.
Recently, we shared a list of discontinued childhood foods that people desperately wanted back, and readers did not hold back when it came to sharing some of their personal favorites. Since there's no shortage of nostalgic food items that were tragically ripped from grocery store shelves forever, we're sharing some of the best responses — including the reasons why they were discontinued in the first place.
Buckle up, folks. It's time for a trip down memory lane.
1. PB Crisps
@jonstefaniak @RealJoltCola @MrPeanut We appreciate the love for PB Crisps, unfortunately, there was not enough consumer demand for us to continue producing it. TY!
"Not enough consumer demand" or not, it's evident that the people want their creamy-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside PB Crisps back. So if you're one of those people, follow @PBCrispsFanatic on Twitter and make it happen.
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2. Viennetta Ice Cream
The TWIST? Last year, it was announced that Viennetta would be making a glorious return to stores nationwide with a re-release through Good Humor. That's right — if you miss this stuff as much as I do, you can theoretically grab a box whenever you want it.
3. Hubba Bubba Bubble Jug
4. Waffle Crisp
Just when we thought all hope was lost, in 2021, Post announced that they were re-releasing Waffle Crisp in select Walmart stores nationwide. They even sent packages to snack influencers (which is a job I would very much like to have), so yep, we won this fight, folks!
6. Keebler Magic Middles
7. Pepsi Blue
The food coloring responsible for the instantly recognizable Windex-blue hue? That's blue #1 — aka the food dye that's now been banned in many countries due to health concerns.
Here's where things get even juicier: After blowing all their money on an aggressively expensive marketing campaign — which, in addition to Britney, included product placement in major films and cross-promotions with both the Super Bowl and the Winter X Games — they switched gears entirely and adopted a genuinely cringey guerilla marketing campaign...
So, yeah. Pepsi Blue was a pretty major fail. Oddly enough, it re-surfaced in The Year of Product Returns 2021, but it only lasted until supplies ran out last summer. Perhaps for the better?
Feels like a good #TBT to announce this – throwing it back to 2002… #PepsiBlueIsBack
8. Froot Loops Cereal Straws
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WHAT HAPPENED: Am I the only one who can still recite every word of the Cereal Straws commercial? Here's the deal: Offer me a cold glass of milk, and I will politely decline. Pop a Froot Loops Cereal Straw in said glass of milk, and I'll happily drink a gallon. I was one of those kids who really, really didn't like the taste of milk, but putting a straw *made of cereal* into a beverage that would otherwise be a true struggle to get down always did the trick. Sadly, Froot Loops Cereal Straws were discontinued in 2009, and I was never the same...
Whether it was the viral tweet below or the Change.org petition with over 80,000 signatures, for some reason, Kellogg's decided to listen to the desperate pleas from '90s kids everywhere and brought Cereal Straws back last October. There's even a Cocoa Krispies variety this time around, so BRB while I go pick up every package I can find.
Since we're starting to become more environmentally savvy and ditching plastic straws, may I recommend bringing these bad boys back
9. Sprite Remix
Oddly enough, Coca-Cola did bring Sprite Remix "back" in 2016 to all the people who desperately missed it. This time, they used the slightly tweaked name Sprite Tropical Mix...since obviously it was the "re-" in "remix" that caused the tank in sales.
10. Hershey's Swoops
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WHAT HAPPENED: The other day I ate a cookie that contained (in no meaningful order): pretzels, M&M's, salt and vinegar potato chips, toffee, and popcorn. I think back to 2003 me that was genuinely shocked to see Hershey's candy-covered potato chips at my local grocery store, and I wish I could tell him that things would get much, much wilder. Let's be real — whatever you thought of these, their instantly recognizable TV ad still plays in my mind to this very day.
Some hypothesize that they were quietly discontinued due to their packaging and serving sizes. They were shaped like Pringles, and if you know anything about Pringles, you know how easy it is to devour an entire can in mere minutes. Swoops came six to a pack, so if you're eating them at a Pringles rate, they'll be gone pretty quickly. For many consumers, it may have just not been worth it.
11. Cheetos Twisted Puffs
12. Betty Crocker Warm Delights
As the self-proclaimed president of the Warm Delights fan club, I have a theory: Since each and every container of Warm Delights came in its own plastic serving bowl (bad for the environment!), I think Betty replaced them with the Mug Treats line since they're likely more cost-efficient to produce and use a lot less packaging. Since mug cakes were all the rage a few years ago, it also makes sense that they'd capitalize on the trend.
Still...I miss my Warm Delights, and I'm not the only one 😭.
Reaching into your backpack to reveal a *tin* of gum was the coolest thing you could ever do as a school-aged kid...but I guess it wasn't cool enough, as Ouch! gum scrapped the tin cans in 2009 for THIS...
So yeah, Wrigley's did away with Ouch! gum shortly after this rebrand. And TBH, I think it's *his* fault...
14. Bagel-fuls
Just to connect some dots: Kraft's Bagel-fuls hit the market in 2008, nearly 10 years before Bantam Bagels started selling at Starbucks locations nationwide and became all the rage. Obviously the market for cream cheese-stuffed bagels was out there, but Bagel-fuls were quietly pulled off the shelves nonetheless.
Perfection 🌟 #bantambagels
Had we (as a society) just not come to grips with our insatiable craving for bite-size bagels yet? Were Bagel-fuls not trendy enough? IDK, but Bantam Bagels sold their business in 2018 for $34 million, so color me confused.
Theories as to why exactly the mighty Fruit Twist was discontinued range from "likely" to "LOL can you imagine." According to a Wrigley's rep, they were "forced to discontinue them" due to poor sales, but other fans theorize that Hershey's (the makers of Twizzlers) actually paid them off so they'd stop selling a superior version of their product.
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(FWIW, Twizzlers Rainbow Twists are actually pretty great! They don't come close to the magic of Starburst Fruit Twists, but while we await their much-anticipated return, they'll do just fine.)
17. Nestlé BonBons
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WHAT HAPPENED: True BonBons fans know that Dibs will never, ever compete when it comes to bite-size, snackable frozen ice cream treats. BonBons walked so Dibs could run, and TBH, they deserve better. Believe it or not, there was a time when you could get a container of these for less than a dollar at the movies... But eventually, Nestlé revamped the brand with the launch of Dibs and phased BonBons out entirely.
The original BonBons were truly a feat of creamy deliciousness — they were considerably bigger than Dibs, which meant each and every bite had a bigger ice cream-to-chocolate ratio...which for ice cream fans was definitely a great call. Even Peggy Bundy from Married With Children was obsessed with these, and it's not hard to see why.
18. Slice
PepsiCo let the Slice trademark expire pretty unceremoniously — but in early 2018, an entrepreneur by the name of Mark Thomann scooped it up with plans to bring it back to the life. The new Slice isn't soda at all: It's sparkling water sweetened with natural fruit juice.
According to Thomann, "People remember the brand, but they don't always remember the specifics." Well, to be clear, I remember the specifics pretty darn well in this case (and I want my original Slice back).
Reese's Bites officially hit the market in the early 2000s — however, many parents started to complain that the tiny, ball-shaped candies were a choking hazard to young children, and eventually Hershey's halted production altogether.
@Jcaa1996 We hear you, Julian, and we're glad you were a fan. We'll certainly count your vote for their return!
20. Clearly Canadian
The venture capitalist who acquired the brand launched a massive crowdfunding campaign that relied on Clearly Canadian fans to pre-order cases of the beverage...but after two years of waiting for their cases to arrive, many folks were still waiting on their deliveries.
It seems like any delivery snafus have been successfully remedied at the time of writing this post, but woof: "We are still not much of a 'company'" is perhaps one of the oddest customer service replies I've ever seen?
21. Carnation Breakfast Bars
1976 Retro Breakfast: -- Introducing Carnation Breakfast Bars
WHAT HAPPENED: Elder millennials, this one's for you. Released in the mid-'70s and reaching *peak* popularity in the '80s, Carnation's breakfast bars were a much-loved staple for kids (and adults) in search of an easy, grab-and-go breakfast. I mean, people really loved these things — one fan describes them as having a "soft, nutty crunch" reminiscent of an oatmeal-chocolate chip cookie. As far as Carnation products go, the drinks may have been sub-par...but the bars? The bars were everything.
Ever since the early '90s (when Carnation replaced them with the less-loved Breakfast Essentials Bar), people have been trying to get them back. Luckily, the internet is absolutely filled with copycat recipes that will at least bring back some of the nostalgia, even if they can't fill the void left when these bars were discontinued.
Carnation® Breakfast Bars - Sign the petition to bring them back. http://t.co/V5LDGjEa
22. Fruit String Thing
Fruit String Thing was pulled off of shelves in the early 2000s, with many citing that it was likely due to the "new wave" of healthy snacks being marketed to children. Plus, Betty Crocker had (and continues to sell) two other massively popular fruit snacks in the market — Fruit Roll-Ups and Fruit Gushers — so competition was pretty intense.
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23. Pillsbury Waffle Sticks
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WHAT HAPPENED: TBH, I really admire this tenacity of the man in this commercial to DUNK 👏 THOSE 👏 STICKS 👏 against all odds. Hot take — when compared to Toaster Strudel, these reigned supreme in every way. For me, it was that warm cup of syrup-adjacent goodness that sealed the deal.
While an official reason for their quiet discontinuation in the early 2000s has never been confirmed, fans speculate that it had something to do with the closure of a Pillsbury Factory in Allentown, Pennsylvania. General Mills acquired Pillsbury (and all their products) in 2001, and there were massive changes in the following years...including, apparently, the removal of our favorite waffle sticks.
24. Heinz EZ Squirt
