The 1970s were a golden age of sweets snacks that were sugar based and offered in a creative package. The aisles of grocery stores featured all sorts of colorful treats that were a vibrant part of this generation: space-age cereal, weird flavor concoctions, and more. Unfortunately this list, identifying iconic favorites, eventually became empty. Finding some sweet treats from a different era that we just want back, here are 10 discontinued ’70s sweet snacks that we’re begging for.
Marathon Bar
The eight-inch “milk chocolate” braided center candle of the Milk Chocolate Marathon Bar was introduced in 1973 by Mars. It was sold as a long-lasting treat and with the slogan “this is a chew that works your mouth”, it had nothing but chew. Although it was a huge success, its manufacturing was unsuccessful and it was sadly discontinued in 1981 due to poor sales.
Reggie Bar
Introduced in 1978 in honor of
New York Yankees slugger Reggie Jackson, it was a circular piece of candy that had peanuts and caramel covered with milk chocolate. At Yankee Stadium, as they were launching the rocket, they were famous for throwing the bars down on the field when Jackson hit a home run. Unfortunately, the nature of the candy left it on the shelf until 1981.
Choc-O-Lite
In the early 1970s, a unique aerated milk chocolate experience found its way onto the market under the name Choc-O-Lite, from Nestle. The candy bar had tiny air pockets (honeycombs) within the chocolate making it light and melty in the mouth–revolutionary as far as the candy bar was concerned. It had a loyal following, but was out of the stores by the early 1980s.
Seven Up Candy Bar
The Seven Up Candy Bar was first introduced in the 1930s, peaked in popularity in the 1970s, and was made in the USA until 1979. It was really seven totally different candy bars all in one, each with different connected “pillows” of various centers, such as cherry, coconut, caramel, and fudge. Eventually, its demise was due to high production costs and trademark issues.
Space Food Sticks
After the Apollo moon landing, in 1969 Pillsbury introduced Space Food Sticks to the public and they became an iconic part of the ’70s lunchbox. They were chewable, cylindrical nutritive snack bites offered in sweet flavors such as chocolate, caramel and peanut butter. When the craze for space went out of style, so did the snacks, disclosing themselves no longer in the aisles of grocery stores; by the 1980s, they were gone.
Peanut Butter Oompas
Peanut Butter Oompas were created in 1971 by Willy Wonka Brands. They looked like large Skittles and M&M’s with the sweet, crunchy candy shell stuffed with rich, savory peanut butter. They were a huge success with children, both for the sweet & salty nature of the treat, and because they were in the middle of production quietly as they fell out of favor in the early 1980s for other Wonka novelty candies were being produced.
Koogle Peanut Butter Spread
In 1971, Kraft introduced a peanut butter spread designed specifically for children called Koogle, which was a wildly flavored peanut butter. The super-sized mascot, stationed at eye level, made the sweetness-laden spread even cuter, in weirdly good tasting flavors such as chocolate, banana, and vanilla. Too sweet for parents who shopped the foods and onward by the mid-1970s to elicit decades of longing.
Kellogg’s Danish Go-Rounds
Introduced in 1968, Danish Go-Rounds were Kellogg’s swirly, oval-shaped alternative to Pop-Tarts. They are light and thin and when baked with sweet fruit stuffs, such as strawberry or blueberry filling, they would easily crack in the toaster. They were discontinued in 1977, replaced by the more substantial and longer lasting but less playful Pastry Swirls.
Pink Panther Flakes
Pink Panther Flakes were a brief, but memorable breakfast treat, produced by Post Cereal in 1972-1974. Standard Corn Flakes were topped with a sweet, bright pink glaze. The brightly-coloured pink milk in the cereal bowl was great fun for kids, but breakfast novelty was short-lived.
Buc Wheats Cereal
In 1971, General Mills introduced a cereal called Buc Wheats, which was described as a “hearty maple-syrup cereal”. The flakes were crunchy and sweet glaze: a delicious pancake flavor in a bowl. Although it had been an impressive decade on the market, General Mills changed the beloved maple glaze and achieved and unpopular honey coating that saw the cereal’s eventual demise and a discontinuation in 1982.
