8. PB MAX
Note to candy manufacturers: As long as Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (in all their many forms) are on the market, no new peanut-butter infused concoction will ever compete. But PB Max gets props for trying with something other than a direct Reese’s cup rip-off. Available in the early 1990s, PB Max was a peanut butter-topped chocolate cookie that experienced a fair amount of success upon its introduction.
The strangest part of its disappearance, according to Joël Glenn Brenner’s book The Emperors Of Chocolate? That despite $50 million in sales, manufacturer Mars decided to pull it from the shelves because the company founders don’t like the taste of peanut butter.
9. PEANUT BUTTER BOPPERS
With Nature Valley as their manufacturer, Peanut Butter Boppers were marketed more like granola bars. But any log-like snack that consists of peanut butter, chocolate and graham cracker nuggets is a candy bar in our book. It didn’t help that the commercials touted the snack as a wild-and-crazy kind of treat.
Unfortunately, little information exists on why Boppers—which were introduced in the mid-1980s and extinct by the end of the decade—went bye-bye.
10. TART ‘N’ TINY
What a difference a decade makes. In the 1980s, Tart ‘n’ Tinys—Wonka’s candy-coated, fruit-flavored pellets, which came in five flavors—were one of the company’s best-selling products. But by the 1990s, they were discontinued.
Perhaps it had something to do with their textural similarity to Wonka’s SweeTarts, which are still available in their original roll plus in chewy, giant, miniature and gummy varieties. Eagle-eyed Web shoppers may still be able to find a box or two online; just know that any original box is going to be at least two decades old!
11. ASTRO POP
Considering their usefulness as both a sugary treat and a potentially lethal weapon in a pinch, what’s more surprising than the Astro Pop’s disappearance from the market in 2004 is that they remained on shelves for more than four decades. Created by two actual rocket scientists, the sucker’s shape was modeled after a three-stage rocket and purported to be the “longest lasting lollipop on earth.”
The Astro Pop was acquired by Spangler Candy (the makers of Dum Dums and circus peanuts) in 1987, only to be discontinued 17 years later when the pop no longer seemed to mesh with the company’s larger corporate strategy. But there’s a happy ending for fans of this multi-colored treat, as its manufacturing rights were acquired by Leaf Brand—a candy company intent on resurrecting retro treats—which is once again making the iconic sucker available to the public and maintains a popular Facebook page in its honor.
12. Marathon
The Mars Candy Company introduced the Marathon Bar in 1973. The long, serpentine shaped, braided chocolate-covered chewy caramel treat was absolutely delicious. Sporting a bright red wrapper with an 8-inch ruler printed on the back was full 8” of pure greatness, demonstrating it was as long as it claimed, the Marathon Bar couldn’t help but catch your eye in the candy aisle.
I remember trying to take a bite but it always stretched out into a delectable sweetness that is something to be missed. Sadly, it was discontinued in October 1981, though similar products remain on the market.
13. Choco’Lite
A sweet treat from the 70s called Choco’Lite was an airy candy bar consisting of whipped milk chocolate forming tons of air pockets. It was described on the wrapper as “crispy chips.” Sadly, without warning or fanfare, they disappeared from store shelves.
Today, they are but a sweet memory.
Credits: mentalfloss.com and Retroland.com