Discontinued Candy I Want Back!

I don't know about you but there are just certain things in life that can bring back strong nostalgia and make those memories of the good old days flood back to you. Certain smells, beats & lyrics from a favorite song or tastes of a favorite food or drink can make those good times come back if not only for a quick minute. For me certain candies can transport me back to my childhood in the 80's & 90's. Fortunately for us, a lot of those candies are still around, but in some instances they have been discontinued and we will never experience them again! If I owned my own candy company, these are the sugary treats I would like to revive...

Bonkers Fruit Candy

Nabisco brands produced these chewy fruit flavored candies in the 80's & early 90's. My favorite was the grape flavored. One of the most amazing aspects of this candy was the incredible advertising campaign that was created to help sell Bonkers. Typically there was an older lady who would be crushed by giant fruits that would crash through her ceiling and while this woman was trapped underneath, she would laugh out loud while the slogan "Bonkers Bonks You Out" was said on screen. If you have never seen these commercials, you can check out one at the bottom of this article. Recently the Bonkers brand was bought by LEAF and allegedly they are in the process of bringing these back! According to the LEAF website they... "are in the process of acquiring the machinery needed to wrap these amazing fruit chews." 

Candilicious

This 80's candy was created by the same company that brought us Bubblicious Bubble Gum. Candilicious was created to be a competitor to Starburst candies. If memory serves me right, these came in packs of 12 candies that were assorted flavors and they were a little bigger and softer than Starburst. Once again, my interest for this 80's candy was based solely on the commercials that I would see on T.V. I remember seeing them mostly while I would watch "Saved By The Bell" on Saturday mornings. 

The Real Ghostbusters Gummy Ghost Candies

I searched all the internets and could not find a picture of the Ghostbusters gummy ghosts that were around in the late 80's/early 90's, but they were extremely similar to these gummy bugs you see above. The major difference was that the candy was shaped like ghosts and the packaging was classic RGB. I have fantastic memories of grabbing these gummy candies from the Triple Brook Camping Resort in Blairstown, NJ. We would ride our bikes to the camp and buy these for a quarter. I also remember the store having Punch-Out and Tron arcade cabinets that we would spend our hard earned cash on! I know they still make gummy bugs, but it just doesn't have that same feeling as the Ghostbuster candy from my great summer memories!!

Wonka Jumbo Nerds

I really liked Jumbo Nerds. When we would go into Hartung's General store in Hope, NJ and my dad would let us pick a candy, I would definitely choose Nerds of the Jumbo variety over the regular ones. Jumbo Nerds were so much bigger than regular Nerds and the boxes had a bunch of flavors mixed into one. I just felt they had more flavor, but I'm sure that is just my bias towards these awesome Wonka confections.

Life Savers Holes

These 90's candies released by Wrigley's were notorious for being a choking hazard. That is what ultimately led to them being taken off of store shelves. I think Wrigley's did not want to deal with the headaches and lawsuits, but there are other similar candies still being sold today like Tic-Tac. Those are a choking hazard, but people still buy them! I guess I am still a little salty that Holes were discontinued. I liked the flavor of these small round shaped candies. They were of course just differently shaped Life Savers, but the real draw was the container they came in. Don't act like you didn't save a few of these containers for future use!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ooze Squeeze Candy

I remember getting a tube of this candy from the KB Toys store in the Rockaway Mall in Rockaway, NJ. I remember it being at the front counter where we were paying for a toy, probably a Ninja Turtle action figure. I picked one up and was not disappointed by the flavor. I believe it was supposed to be a watermelon type of goo? This candy was the perfect tie in to the ultra popular movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze! Now I know Hubba Bubba makes a similar squeeze candy today, but once again our green heroes and nostalgia has made this version the best squeeze candy ever created by man...at least in my mind.

Nestle Alpine White

Yes, the notorious Nestle Alpine White Bar! This candy was marketed to the sophisticated adult candy connoisseur, so the one time I actually had the pleasure of eating one I felt like the coolest person in the world! I was not transported to a soap opera like winter fantasy land which was a disappointment, but I do remember liking the taste. I will have to say though, thanks to all the great options competing for my sweet tooth, I would have probably picked something else over an Alpine White Bar. After saying all that, damn those commercials were freakin' fantastic though! Below you can find an example of this marketing wonder along with a few other commercials featuring some of the amazing discontinued candies listed above...ENJOY!!!