The Best Discontinued Snacks From the 90s

Butterfinger BB's

The cancellation of Butterfinger BB's hit hard. Butterfinger was (and still is) one of the most popular candy bars on the market, but it wasn't until the 90s that some genius at Nestle decided to make Butterfinger in bite-sized BB pellet form, with the same great taste. A movie theater must-have, Butterfinger BB's took the nation by storm with hip new packaging, and Bart Simpson was the spokesperson. Unfortunately, they were discontinued for unspecified reasons, but some speculate it was due to choking hazard potential.

Kudos Bars

Created by the wonderful people at Marc Inc, Kudos bars were essentially sugary granola bars drizzled with different forms of candy and chocolate, ranging from M&M's to bits of Snickers bars. Odds are, if you were a kid in the 90s, at least a few people at your lunch table would have one of these bars in their lunchboxes. Like many items on this list, Kudos bars were eventually phased out of the market, in part due to their misleading claims about their nutrition level.

Dannon Sprinkl'ins

Sometimes it's the simplest ideas that make the most money. Dannon, the 90s king of yogurts (sorry Yoplait), figured out all they needed to do was take their already tasty yogurt flavors, and add candy sprinkles on top, which became an immediate hit for kids. Some of the sprinkles were used with white colored yogurt, which made awesome rainbows in the cup when mixed. Unfortunately, due to low sales (somehow) Sprinkl'ns met their demise in the early 2000s.

Shark Bites

Fruit Snacks were a lunch staple for children of the 90s. From Spider-Man to Garfield, there were a plethora of types to choose from. Arguably the most infamous of all the snack gummies were Shark Bites. They were fruit-flavored gummies in the shape of sharks. Each shark was a different flavor and the ever-so-special Great White was the most sought-after. Unfortunately, Shark Bites were another treat that was phased out due to less than stellar nutritional factors.

Squeezeit

Whether it be a birthday party, a tee ball game, or just an afternoon by the pool, it was hard to miss Squeezeits being served at a children's function. It was fruit flavored juice, varying in flavors, housed in a delightful plastic bottle with different funny faces, and you had to squeeze to drink it. No matter what flavor you chose, it was hard to go wrong, as these were delicious (and perhaps slightly addictive) as most kids couldn't drink just one. It didn't help they weren't that big to begin with. Squeezeits had a stellar run until 2001 when the line was cancelled due to wavering sales and a rise in health consciousness, which resulted in less moms wanting to put them in their kids' lunches.

Starburst Hard Candy

Everyone knows what Starburst candies are-they're a tried and true American classic-but many don't remember Starburst Hard Candy. For those who didn't want something to chew on, and were looking for a flavor to last longer than a few seconds, Starburst Hard Candy was the way to go. It contained the same flavors you found in regular Starburst, as well as a new flavor not originally available: green apple. Despite this novel idea, after some initial success, the candy's popularity soon wavered and was eventually pulled from the shelves.

Snackwell's

The people behind Snackwell's had the best intentions, but of course, no good deed goes unpunished in this world. Snackwell's were "healthier" alternatives to classic snacks like cookies, chips, and small cakes. And, in fact, they technically were better for you. Maybe they weren't as craving-curing as an Oreo or Dorito's, but you could at least consume these treats with far less guilt. While they were stressed as lower in fat, however, they did not stress the importance of portion control, and many Americans incorrectly thought that Snackwell's were "healthy" and thus meant they could eat however many they wanted (as we all know now, this wasn't the best idea for a proper diet). Snackwell's had a very decent run into the later 2000s, but eventually they went away like many 90s creations.

P.B. Crisps

P.B. Crisps absolutely slapped. These wonderful deserts were peanut-shaped graham cracker cookies, filled with peanut butter. Available in flavors from original peanut, chocolate, and PB&J (breathtaking), every iteration of P.B. Crisps was fantastic. Planters, the people behind the Crisps, cited that low sales were the reason the item was discontinued, while other sources stated that the machine needed to make the intricate snack was hard to maintain and broke often, so in order to cut costs, they stopped production.

Nestle Magic Ball (later renamed Wonder Ball)

Disney and Nestle banded together to make a great chocolate ball that contained small Disney character figurines. Despite this being a novel idea initially, the idea of putting a plastic toy inside a chocolate ball led to questions about its safety in terms of choking hazards, so it was pulled for a period of time, then later rereleased with candy bites inside the plastic toys-expanding beyond Disney characters to include other IP like Pokémon and SpongeBob Squarepants.

Ritz Bits S'Mores

Ritz Bits is well known for its cheese and peanut butter flavors, but we miss the S'more Ritz Bits. The marshmallow and chocolate-infused cracker was a delight, and for whatever reason, it was discontinued. A lot of people demanded Ritz Bits S'mores to return, but Nabisco refused. While not currently available in the United States, word is that they are still being produced in places like Canada.

Jell-O Pudding Pop

Jell-O Pudding was an important food staple in the 90s, and their dominance didn't stop with pudding or Jell-O. General Mills produced a new item-an ice pop with pudding flavors like chocolate or vanilla or even a swirl-instead of its usual fruit juice flavors. While Pudding Pops were delicious and incredibly popular, General Mills was not a frozen foods manufacturer and having to outsource the production of this item became too costly. The concept was sold to Popsicle, but they changed the formula and consistency, which people were not fans of, ultimately leading to their demise.

Pizzaria Chips

The wonderful people at Keebler brought us countless delicious cookies, but did you also know they were also responsible for a pizza-based snack? In the early 90s, Keebler launched Pizzaria Chips, which were corn chips blasted with flavors meant to mimic pizza toppings like pepperoni, cheese, or pizza supreme (whatever that is). These things were a huge hit, marked as the biggest snack debut in Keebler history, which says a lot! When the Keebler company was sold and restructured, the Pizzarias met their demise, but that hasn't stopped a large community of fans petitioning to bring them back.

Fruit String Thing

It's often the simplest ideas that can go the distance. Fruit String Thing is a fruit snack, but in the form of long strings that are displayed in fun shapes, encouraging you to make your own designs. Fruit String had various kid-friendly flavors, like strawberry, cherry and berry blue. They were loaded in sugar and fructose corn syrup-the stuff parents love. It may not have lasted long, but Fruit String Things undoubtedly left their mark on popular culture.

Ecto Cooler

Is Ecto Cooler the best movie/food product tie-in of all time? When Ghostbusters 2 hit theaters, HI-C released a special new flavor which had a citrus orange/tangerine taste, and featured Slimer (the ghost) on the box. It was deliciously refreshing and became a gigantic hit for years after the movie left theaters (thanks to the success of The Real Ghostbusters cartoon that aired as well). Sadly, the drink left the shelves in 2001, but did return for a brief period of time during the 2016 release of the all female Ghostbusters movie.

Surge

The Coca-Cola company introduced Surge to the masses in the early 90s in an attempt to draw customers away from Mountain Dew (which is owned by Pepsi). The marketing touted Surge as a more edgy and "hardcore" soda, perfect for the anti-authority age of the 90s. It was a radical soda for a radical time. The citrus taste with a caffeine boost made it the go-to soda for a lot of young teens during this time, and many felt they were able to express their lifestyles with the drink. Unfortunately, since the product resonated so well with kids, parents were alarmed with how much sugar and caffeine the soda provided, so sales dipped and eventually Surge met its end in 2003.

Crystal Pepsi

It was a gigantic cultural moment when Crystal Pepsi arrived on the scene. Pepsi execs thought that the 90s generation might be turned off to the blackish brown appearance of their soda, so they made the new drink clear-crystal clear. Marketed with a huge Van Halen-led Super Bowl ad, Pepsi put their entire marketing machine behind this new product. Despite the massive coming-out party, Crystal Pepsi didn't taste like the original Pepsi all that much. In fact, many said it tasted worse. Pepsi also could never explain "why" the world needed a clear soda. After three years, this drink was done.

Juice Squeeze

Juice Squeeze was a delectable option for a hot summer day or just hanging with the crew playing Wave Race on the N64. (No? Just me?) Juice Squeeze was a carbonated juice (70%, matter of fact) based drink that gained mass notoriety through the 90s and into the early 2000s. This was another case of a kids product with a slightly embellished level of nutrition, so as more health and nutrition awareness took over, the popularity with parents wavered.

Flintstones Push Ups

When you went over to your friend's house in the 90s, you prayed that he or she had Flintstones Push Ups in the freezer. The cartoon-driven delicacy was a sherbert ice cream treat housed inside a cardboard tube, with a stick at the bottom that pushed the ice cream to the top as you ate. The flavors were extremely delicious and hit the spot on a hot summer day. It came in Cherry, Lime, Berry, Grape, and of course, my personal favorite, Orange (insert Homer Simpson drooling noises), and each flavor featuring a different character from the Flintstones cartoon. Push Ups technically still exist to this day, but the Bedrock-based treats are long gone, and lets face it, they just hit different.

Philadelphia Cheesecake Snack Bars

These were dangerous! Philadelphia Cheesecake Snack Bars were crispy crust bars filled with creamy cheesecake filling, often topped with strawberries or white chocolate drizzle. Originally introduced by the Philadelphia Cheese Company (they make a killer cream cheese too), these were not only delicious but intrinsically designed for ultimate satisfaction. Unfortunately, due to that design, it was difficult to make these bars regularly on a large scale basis, which stopped the snack's momentum dead in its tracks. It may be gone but many people have been able to bake their own homemade versions online.

Ninja Turtles Pies

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were inescapable in the late 80s through the 90s. Movies, action figures, live concerts, cereals, and pizza collaborations were everywhere, and of course they needed to to leave their imprint on the snacking goods dept, too. The leader in the cake market, Hostess teamed with the Heroes in a Half Shell and brought us Turtle Pies, a green glazed crust with vanilla pudding inside. Not only did the packaging feature various Ninja Turtles, but each pack came with trading cards or stickers to collect. As Turtlemania started to die down somewhere around the third live-action movie, Hostess saw no need to continue the brand and discontinued it.