Many candies from the 1960s to the 1990s vanished without warning. Once, they were in lunchboxes, movie theaters, and corner stores, but then they were gone.
If you ever wondered what happened to those weirdly wonderful treats, this list pulls them together. From discontinued favorites to ones that got banned, it’s a look at the stuff everyone used to love but won’t find anymore.
PB Max (Discontinued)
PB Max (Mars) hit shelves in the early ‘90s with a crunchy cookie base, peanut butter, and milk chocolate. PB Max was discontinued in the mid-’90s.
Sales weren’t bad, but rumors say Mars didn’t like the peanut butter. Some say personal taste played a role. The bar stood out from other chocolate bars, but the company never brought it back.
Marathon Bar (Discontinued)
Marathon was a chocolate bar with a braided caramel center—long, chewy, and covered in milk chocolate. It was available on the shelves in 1973 but was discontinued in ‘81.
Mars quietly stopped making it, probably because other bars were selling better. If you remember chewing through one, it probably stuck to your teeth more than your memory.
Kinder Surprise Eggs (Banned)
Kinder Surprise was launched in the ‘70s in Europe. It consisted of chocolate eggs with plastic toys hidden inside. The U.S. banned them because the toys were completely enclosed in food, which goes against FDA rules.
They called it a choking risk. Other countries continued to use them, but they remained illegal here. Later versions separated the toy from the chocolate.
Haribo Sugar-Free Gummy Bears (Discontinued)
Sugar-free gummy bears from Haribo were meant to be a guilt-free version of their classic treat. The sweetener, Lycasin, triggered bloating and worse, depending on how many you ate.
The internet did what it did best, and word quickly spread about the side effects. People weren’t shy about describing the aftermath. Haribo eventually stopped making them. You can still read the hilarious (unfortunate) reviews online.
Ayds Diet Candy (Discontinued)
Ayds was a diet candy sold in the ‘70s and early ‘80s. It was sold as an appetite suppressant at many drugstores. They came in little boxes—chocolate, caramel, and other flavors.
It wasn’t controversial at first, but once AIDS became a public health crisis in the ‘80s, the name created obvious issues. They tried rebranding it, but the sales tanked, and it was discontinued.
Oompas (Discontinued)
Oompas, a candy-coated bite with chocolate and peanut butter centers, were released by the Willy Wonka brand in the ’70s. They were like oversized M&Ms but thicker and softer.
They didn’t last long, and by the early ‘80s, they were discontinued because they couldn’t compete with other peanut butter candies at the time. Wonka later swapped them for fruit-flavored Oompas, but these weren’t successful.
Seven Up Bar (Discontinued)
The Seven Up Bar had different fillings, such as nougat, coconut, caramel, and fruit jelly. It was made by Pearson and sold mainly in the ‘60s and ‘70s.
It was different from anything else on the shelves, but it was not easy to mass-produce. The fillings would leak or break during shipping, and changing tastes led to its discontinuation.
Space Dust (Discontinued)
Launched in the late ‘70s, Space Dust was a powdered version of Pop Rocks. It had the same fizzy crackle but was finer.
Some parents thought it looked like drugs; others were worried about choking. It got enough negative attention that the company decided to stop making it. The name didn’t help either since it added to the weird rumors.
Tooty Frooties (Discontinued)
Tooty Frooties were small, square fruit chews with a sugar coating—like a firmer, bouncier version of Starburst. They were made by Rowntree’s and had been around since the 1960s.
Although they were basic, that added to their appeal, and people loved the mix of textures and flavors. Nestlé discontinued them in 2019 due to low sales.
Bonkers (Discontinued)
Bonkers were made by Nabisco and launched in the 80s. They were square fruit chews with a filling in the middle. Bonkers were known for the over-the-top commercials where people were hit by falling fruit.
However, sales dropped, and the candy was discontinued in the early 1990s. The candy had a cult following, and while it was teased that they would return, it never happened.
Reggie! Bar (Discontinued)
Reggie! Bars were launched in 1978 as a tribute to Reggie Jackson. They were round, chocolate-covered, and packed with caramel and peanuts. Fans loved the idea, especially Yankees fans, but the candy didn’t stand out much from others on shelves.
Unfortunately, once things died down after the baseball buzz, sales plummeted, and the candy was pulled from the market in the early 80s.
Treets (Discontinued)
Treets were Mars’ earlier take on candy-coated nuts—peanut inside, crunchy shell outside. They were more common in the UK and Europe than in the U.S. Once peanut M&Ms took off globally, Treets sales went down and were discontinued in the 1980s.
Instead, Mars focused more on other successful products. They were brought back a couple of times, but never for long.
Candy Cigarettes (Banned)
Candy cigarettes were chalky white sticks, sometimes bubblegum, sometimes sugary powder—meant to look like the real thing. Kids in the ‘60s and ‘70s thought they were cool. The problem? They mimicked adult smoking a little too well.
Some countries banned them outright. In the U.S., they weren’t federally banned, but stores stopped stocking them, and manufacturers rebranded them.
Choco’Lite (Discontinued)
If you remember Choco’Lite, you probably remember the texture first. Choco’Lite was a chocolate bar with tiny air bubbles inside, making it light and crispy without being crunchy.
The chocolate was a hit in the ‘70s and ‘80s, known for melting faster and having a soft “snap.” Nestlé quietly discontinued it after a few years, likely due to low demand.
Screaming Yellow Zonkers (Discontinued)
Screaming Yellow Zonkers came out in 1969. It was popcorn—coated in a sugary, buttery glaze—with bright yellow packaging and weird, funny writing over the box. The snack was light but sweet, and the packaging became as popular as the product.
The product was sold from the 1970s into the early 2000s before being discontinued. Later, a few limited-time reissues were released, but they didn’t last long.
