One inevitable truth in life is that time goes by, seasons change, and your favorite food items silently disappear from grocery store shelves, leaving you a little heartbroken and a lot confused. Chances are, you’re feeling nostalgic over at least one beloved funky and junky snack that is gone forever. Vanished as quickly as it appeared. Never to be heard from again. And, most of all, taken from you too soon.
Unfortunately, we can’t (yet!) time travel our way back to those carefree childhood days when we devoured sugary cereal and crunchy cheesy goodies like there’s no tomorrow. What we can do, however, is reminisce about the past while we hopefully wait for these memorable munchies to make a triumphant return to our kitchens and, consequently, our stomachs.
"What discontinued thing do you really want brought back?" asked Redditor kellerisdabest, and inspired thousands of passionate people to share what products they miss dearly. From lime Skittles to Crystal Pepsi to even Listerine mouth strips, our team at Bored Panda has scoured the thread and hand-picked some of the best responses to share with you all, so continue scrolling! Be sure to upvote the ones you agree with and share your own takes on what foods need to come back immediately in the comments.
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Deep fried McDonald’s apple pie. The one from the 1980’s to 1990’s. The one that was crispy and the temperature of molten plutonium inside. That s**t was the best.
You get it in Switzerland. I think you can get it pretty much anywhere in Europe.
Surprises in the cereal boxes!
Not the "enter two codes inside on our website" bull. Actual, physical THINGS in a package floating somewhere in that box of Cheerios!
When I was a child (60's) it was a HUGE thing to see who got the toy - little things that you had to click together to make planes trains and cars and in comics the thunderclaps or even sticks that went on your bike wheel. What about the series of animal masks on the back on Cronflake packets?
Old school Pizza Hut. RIP to the salad bar with that amazing creamy Italian dressing and being able to get pitchers of beer or Pepsi.
Omg yes. I LOVED that creamy Italian. I legit would want to go to Pizza Hut just for that. I thought I was just weird and the only one
When you would win a free coke from the plastic bottle cap. Those were the best. Or the mcdonalds monopoly game when you could win free fries or something.
It still runs every once in a while in the US, but your chances of winning anything now are remote.
Load More Replies...The OG Monopoly game ended up being a big scandal with cheating and mobsters and all kinds of drama. Check out the docuseries on hbo. So great.
The podcast Lie Cheat and Steal did an episode on it too!
Load More Replies...McDonald's monopoly is a scam. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/07/how-mcmillions-scam-rigged-the-mcdonalds-monopoly-game.html
It was "scammed" but the game itself isn't. You link to 2007
Load More Replies...Yep, it's on atm. Which reminds me I have a free Big Mac and two apple pies to redeem!
Load More Replies...It's in in the uk at the moment. Hubby and I had a meal each yesterday and won a bacon roll, a Big Mac, 6 nuggets and an apple pie (plus a couple of properties) - maybe it was fluke but the free food was up for grabs
McDonald's Monopoly was discontinued in the US due to all of the big prizes being stolen by people within McDonalds. Coke still has a points system for their caps.
We won 2k in holidays in 2019. I couldn't believe we actually won it was surreal. We went to Thailand in December 2019 when COVID started 🙈
The codes on Coke caps are still a thing. It's just the program has been significantly neurtered.
Coca Cola always had some really cool promotions. A few years back I won like 3 over ear headphones and another year I got the polar bear drinking glasses. What happened Coca Cola? You used to be so cool.
Altoid Sours.
Loved those so much and still use the little tins to store random things
The Philadephia Cheesecake Bars. I loved the strawberry ones, I can't remember if there were other flavors.
Yes!!! These were so amazing! We always had several boxes in the fridge when I was a kid.
Jelly jar juice glasses. In the 1980s and maybe early 90s, my family acquired a few sets: dinosaurs, and Tom and Jerry. They were the perfect size for kids to use and the different designs helped us keep track of whose were whose. (Mine was the pterodactyl.) I don't know why they stopped being made. Seems like Pokémon and Star Wars would be great co-branding opportunities.
Edit: Apparently I'm not the only one. Let's start a letter writing campaign to Welch's!
Had a bunch of the Pokemon ones. The problem is that the process involved lead paints that are banned now...
Those Lifesavers cream lollipops. The orange and cream one was so good.
McDonald’s Snack Wraps. I could eat like 4 in a single sitting.
The old Wendy’s fries from the 90s
I think they switched to vegetable oil from beef tallow to fry the fries. Beef tallow is like gorilla glue for your circulation, but it gave the fries that "just right" crunch and pop that some people were willing to trade years of their life for.
Butterfinger. It isn’t discontinued but I wish Ferrero would go back to the original Nestle recipe. It tastes like I dropped a butterfinger in a pile of sawdust and let it sit there until it expired and then ate it. No similar product can really compare to the original Butterfinger.
Chi Chi’s! I don’t know what was better…the queso dip, the fajitas, or the fried ice cream.
I wish Coke would stop fuggin around with dream-flavored cola and just bring Ecto Cooler back again.
***FOR GOOD*** this time, Coke.
Taco Bell's Grilled Stuffed Burrito. I have no idea why they discontinued it. It was the only thing on the menu I would order. Nothing else comes close.
The chili cheese burrito and the taco salads in the edible shell bowls were phenomenal, too!
This is obscure, but Pepperidge Farm made salad croutons that were absolutely amazing. Perfectly flavored. Perfectly crunchy. Nothing else compares.
Orville Redenbachers microwave caramel corn.
I liked a flavour called Santa Fe, I had just discovered boxes of microwaveable at a convenience store....then they were gone, discontinued the flavour.
I’m not really into Dr. Pepper, but the Berries & Cream Dr. Pepper had a chokehold on me that no other soda has ever had.
Also smoothie skittles, and lime skittles.
Skittles changed the green back to lime from apple in March of this year. It made me happy!
Crystal Pepsi
We can still get this. A couple times a year, they bring it back for a few months. Not everywhere sells them though. I've never seen them at grocery stores, only convenience stores and gas station stores.
Rice Krispie Treats Cereal. It was Rice Krispie treats AS CEREAL. It was too good for this world. I miss it.
My sister makes rice krispie treats with cinnamon chips mixed in and they are FABULOUS!
HERSHEY’S CHOCOLATE MILK POWDER!!! The flavor and the texture of the powder were like no other chocolate milk in the history of mankind. It was so delicious that our family’s main method of consuming it was to barely dip a shallow spoonful of the powder into milk, scoop up the barely dissolved milky powder, and eat it straight. Hershey's discontinued it in favor of their chocolate syrup, which was the worst decision ever made by a corporation. I would do anything to get it back.
P.B. Crisps. I cannot wrap my head around why they won’t bring them back. It would be such a home run. I just want some P.B. Crisps!
As an Englishwoman I can honestly say that I didn't understand anything that I have just read......
I've lived my whole life in the US and didn't recognize most of them.
Load More Replies...I never saw/heard/noticed the top 25, so stopped reading. And, sorry, I doubt I missed anything. That said, I miss chocolate chips that actually *melted* like chocolate and weren't creepily designed to stay "chip shaped". Unmelting "chocolate" is just wrong. (Yes, i cut up my own baking chocolate instead now.)
We have both chips and melts in Australia. It seems strange both wouldn't be available elsewhere.
Load More Replies...slice orange soda is one thing I miss. Best orange soda, IMO, but it's long gone and I haven't seen it anywhere since high school
If they every bring back PB Crisps, you gotta get some. They are sweet and salty and crunchy. They might just be perfect lil poppables. I must have eaten 150lbs during pregnancy.
Load More Replies...Someone once brought me back a bar of Hershey’s chocolate. I was not pleased or grateful!
Hershey’s chocolate reportedly contains buytric acid which is found in sour yogurts, aged hard cheeses like Parmesan and vomit. It creates a tanginess that can remind people of something spoiled. 🤢.
Load More Replies...Caro caro, I believe the majority of these products were from the United States
Load More Replies...Finally, someone who remembers the 80s. I was reading through the list thinking most of this garbage was from maybe 5 or 10 years ago. Yes, McDonald's pizza! Also, Taco Bell chili cheese burritos, which were originally named the Chilito until Taco Bell figured out that's Spanish slang for a penis.
Load More Replies...Lifesavers swirl lollipops. The strawberry banana ones were amazing. lifesavers...188306.jpg
Only a few Brits, most likely northern will understand this one. Mather’s Black Beer diluted with lemonade (preferably Shaw’s yellow lemonade) WAS Christmas to me. Stopped brewing it because some posh Tory chancellor twit decided to reclassify it as a liqueur so incurring extra duty/VAT or whatever. Made it too unprofitable to brew. I still despise you George Osborne for ruining Christmas forevermore. Winston Churchill insisted on black beer not being rationed during WWII because of its high vitamin C content. Captain Cook gave it to his ships crew and even set up a brewery in New Zealand.
Sounds vile but I love a good story. Have a fake Internet point. So, was Mather's Black Beer like a stout or a porter?
Load More Replies...BAGELFULS FRUITOPIA NACHO FRIES (PERMANENTLY) TACO BELL SOBE LIZARD DRINKS
Opal Fruits. They're called Starburst now, which is objectively a worse name, and there's no lemon flavour because kids these days are soft.
When I was in elementary school, Burger King had breakfast buddy sandwiches. I remember they were little and I loved them. If they came back now, I wouldn't eat them since I'm vegetarian, but I remember them so fondly.
For a while McDonalds had breakfast bagels, and I liked the ham, egg, & cheese one, particularly the flavored mayo on it.
Load More Replies...I had no idea most of these were no longer a thing. I guess I don't miss them.
I'm so serious about this. Jell-O Simply Good gelatin. It was jello but flavored and colored with fruit juice instead of artificial flavors and colors. I got so into making jello when it was on the market then they just discontinued it abruptly. I even emailed corporate I was so upset. They cited lack if demand. I cite lack of marketing!
You can make this yourself by using unflavored and fruit juice
Load More Replies...Alligator soup! The chicken noodle soup but the noodles were shape like alligators. And bagelfuls!
I remember steakettes! I'm a vegetarian now but ate those when I was a kid. My mom actually made gravy with ours. That woman could turn anything, on a tight budget, from ordinary to sublime.
Load More Replies...I second McD's fried apple pies. I wish they'd also replace the peanut oil with lard to fry their french fries. Their fries and baked apple pies suck now.
Disney Pops. Freezer popsicles shaped like Mickey, Donald Duck, etc. that had the most delicious flavors of cherry, orange, and grape I've ever had. They don't need to be shaped like Disney again. I just want the same recipe.
Being able to go to the local drug store, grocery store or department store and buy a Revell, Monogram, Hawk, Lindberg, Aurora or other brand of plastic scale model. That's what I miss. (Now one has to go through the internet or to a hobby shop.)
For UK viewers. Texan bars, Frys 5 flavoured choccy bars, McDonald's root beer.
I only recognised 3 or so of these. I get you can only work with what people discuss on reddit etc but it is annoying. What I miss, though not exactly a discontinued product, just a changed recipe. Mother energy drinks, when they first came out had ginseng and other ingredients, then changed to the same disgusting chemical tasting as all other energy drinks.
Dentine Cinnamon Gum, Toastees, frozen donuts you baked at home, original McDonalds fries
Yes, cinnamon gum, hasn't been available in the UK for ages. Recently went on hols to Italy, they had cinnamon gum at the airport, happy snoopy dancing.
Load More Replies...SOS Oven Cleaning Pads. A scrubby pad with a gripper handle on top, and the pad itself was filled with oven cleaner. No smelly spray, no mess - just puncture the pad, squeeze & wipe it on. No odors or fumes at all. (I realize this is mostly about food, but this is the ONE item I wish I could bring back that's not food.)
Butternut candy bar. Summit candy bar. And Popeyes breakfast - they had the best scrambled egg and bacon biscuits.
The Choco Taco, I might have eaten a total of 3 my entire life but now that they are gone.....I freakin want a dozen. I really do hope some company brings 'em back...they did it for twinkies.
You can buy them in grocery stores like Hannaford
Load More Replies...Josta. The 90's guarana based soda from Pespi. Someone came up with a recipe years later that tasted exactly like it, but that recipe required Sobe Dragon, which is now also discontinued.
I miss when McDonald's had the character plates and the shaped glasses where the characters protruded from the sides. Those things are so incredibly calming to look at for me for whatever reason
I was hoping for more than just unhealthy food items, but I do miss the McDonald’s McDLT. It kept the hot side hot and the cool side cool! I also miss truck-based SUVs, with solid front/rear axles and true 4-wheel drive (Chevy Blazer, Dodge Durango, etc.) staying true to their platform. Most end up eventually becoming car-based with independent suspensions and AWD.
Anyone else remember Crunchie cereal from the 90s? It was basically Cadbury Crunchie chocolate bar pieces with cereal bits. With three kids in the house that cereal lasted 2 days tops.
Sooooo, Burger King at one time had this like, cheese powder packet, to shake on your fries and I will NEVER forget how awesome they were!!!!
Nestle PB Maxx. By far the best candy bar ever made. And Hostess Raspberry filled Powdered Donuts!!
Tab soda. I first started drinking it back in the late 70's. They had it in the soda machine at an antique shop I used to work at. I decided to give it a try and loved it
As a kid in the 80s, I had a soccer coach who always had a can of Tab with him. Cold or warm, he didn’t care. He drank it like water.
Load More Replies...I need them to bring back Marathon bars. Thin caramel coated in chocolate. I dream about this daily. Also the mega Oreos. They were as big as your hand. Cinnamon toothpicks too. I thought I ate so many of those everyday that they made burns inside my mouth turns out I'm allergic to cinnamon but I would still eat them if I could find them again.
In the 80s, for a few years they made this cereal in the shape of ice cream and cones. I don't remember what it was called, but I loved that cereal. It had a very specific taste. I asked my mom for that cereal for years after it disappeared from the shelves, and she always tried to look for me. I have no idea why it went under, because it was amazing. I would still buy it today.
This was definitely an US centric list to say the very least…
I thought it was going to be interesting items from the past. It was just a bunch of garbage food.
Josta! I used to drink that all the time as a kid. I don't think my parents knew it was an energy-ish drink.
Clearly Canadian was brought back a couple of years ago. They did away with the glass bottles, and were priced around $3 a bottle, instead of 79 cents. I was addicted to Wild Cherry in the early 90s.
Load More Replies...Personally, I'd like to be able to make some decisions in my life without someone, somewhere wanting to have a say in them.
The Starburst licorice actually tasted like the chews not like the waxy twizzlers
The 10:30 candy bar which I was addicted to in the '70s. White chocolate and cinnamon candy flavored rice wafers. OMG, it was so good.
A couple things I miss. Sour Starburst. (not gummy or mini). Having strudel in the McCafe. Fizz (The candy sold in a little plastic bottle with round fizzy candies) I know there fizz where its a hard candy and you get a small fizz at the end. I also miss and hope it comes back the blackberry gingerale.
Taco Bells Mexican Pizza they brought it back shortly and removed it again.
I rarely drink anything other than water. Soda pop is usually too sweet, I do not like energy drinks and fruit juices are hit or miss. However- there are two drinks I miss terribly: Amp Lemonade Energy drink and Huberts Lemonade, any flavor but blackberry was my favorite. If anyone knows where to get some, I will pay you and the shipping prices!!!!!!
Little Debbie Apple Flips, Kudos and Ice Breakers gum in the different flavors. Also Chicklets.
As an Englishwoman I can honestly say that I didn't understand anything that I have just read......
I've lived my whole life in the US and didn't recognize most of them.
Load More Replies...I never saw/heard/noticed the top 25, so stopped reading. And, sorry, I doubt I missed anything. That said, I miss chocolate chips that actually *melted* like chocolate and weren't creepily designed to stay "chip shaped". Unmelting "chocolate" is just wrong. (Yes, i cut up my own baking chocolate instead now.)
We have both chips and melts in Australia. It seems strange both wouldn't be available elsewhere.
Load More Replies...slice orange soda is one thing I miss. Best orange soda, IMO, but it's long gone and I haven't seen it anywhere since high school
If they every bring back PB Crisps, you gotta get some. They are sweet and salty and crunchy. They might just be perfect lil poppables. I must have eaten 150lbs during pregnancy.
Load More Replies...Someone once brought me back a bar of Hershey’s chocolate. I was not pleased or grateful!
Hershey’s chocolate reportedly contains buytric acid which is found in sour yogurts, aged hard cheeses like Parmesan and vomit. It creates a tanginess that can remind people of something spoiled. 🤢.
Load More Replies...Caro caro, I believe the majority of these products were from the United States
Load More Replies...Finally, someone who remembers the 80s. I was reading through the list thinking most of this garbage was from maybe 5 or 10 years ago. Yes, McDonald's pizza! Also, Taco Bell chili cheese burritos, which were originally named the Chilito until Taco Bell figured out that's Spanish slang for a penis.
Load More Replies...Lifesavers swirl lollipops. The strawberry banana ones were amazing. lifesavers...188306.jpg
Only a few Brits, most likely northern will understand this one. Mather’s Black Beer diluted with lemonade (preferably Shaw’s yellow lemonade) WAS Christmas to me. Stopped brewing it because some posh Tory chancellor twit decided to reclassify it as a liqueur so incurring extra duty/VAT or whatever. Made it too unprofitable to brew. I still despise you George Osborne for ruining Christmas forevermore. Winston Churchill insisted on black beer not being rationed during WWII because of its high vitamin C content. Captain Cook gave it to his ships crew and even set up a brewery in New Zealand.
Sounds vile but I love a good story. Have a fake Internet point. So, was Mather's Black Beer like a stout or a porter?
Load More Replies...BAGELFULS FRUITOPIA NACHO FRIES (PERMANENTLY) TACO BELL SOBE LIZARD DRINKS
Opal Fruits. They're called Starburst now, which is objectively a worse name, and there's no lemon flavour because kids these days are soft.
When I was in elementary school, Burger King had breakfast buddy sandwiches. I remember they were little and I loved them. If they came back now, I wouldn't eat them since I'm vegetarian, but I remember them so fondly.
For a while McDonalds had breakfast bagels, and I liked the ham, egg, & cheese one, particularly the flavored mayo on it.
Load More Replies...I had no idea most of these were no longer a thing. I guess I don't miss them.
I'm so serious about this. Jell-O Simply Good gelatin. It was jello but flavored and colored with fruit juice instead of artificial flavors and colors. I got so into making jello when it was on the market then they just discontinued it abruptly. I even emailed corporate I was so upset. They cited lack if demand. I cite lack of marketing!
You can make this yourself by using unflavored and fruit juice
Load More Replies...Alligator soup! The chicken noodle soup but the noodles were shape like alligators. And bagelfuls!
I remember steakettes! I'm a vegetarian now but ate those when I was a kid. My mom actually made gravy with ours. That woman could turn anything, on a tight budget, from ordinary to sublime.
Load More Replies...I second McD's fried apple pies. I wish they'd also replace the peanut oil with lard to fry their french fries. Their fries and baked apple pies suck now.
Disney Pops. Freezer popsicles shaped like Mickey, Donald Duck, etc. that had the most delicious flavors of cherry, orange, and grape I've ever had. They don't need to be shaped like Disney again. I just want the same recipe.
Being able to go to the local drug store, grocery store or department store and buy a Revell, Monogram, Hawk, Lindberg, Aurora or other brand of plastic scale model. That's what I miss. (Now one has to go through the internet or to a hobby shop.)
For UK viewers. Texan bars, Frys 5 flavoured choccy bars, McDonald's root beer.
I only recognised 3 or so of these. I get you can only work with what people discuss on reddit etc but it is annoying. What I miss, though not exactly a discontinued product, just a changed recipe. Mother energy drinks, when they first came out had ginseng and other ingredients, then changed to the same disgusting chemical tasting as all other energy drinks.
Dentine Cinnamon Gum, Toastees, frozen donuts you baked at home, original McDonalds fries
Yes, cinnamon gum, hasn't been available in the UK for ages. Recently went on hols to Italy, they had cinnamon gum at the airport, happy snoopy dancing.
Load More Replies...SOS Oven Cleaning Pads. A scrubby pad with a gripper handle on top, and the pad itself was filled with oven cleaner. No smelly spray, no mess - just puncture the pad, squeeze & wipe it on. No odors or fumes at all. (I realize this is mostly about food, but this is the ONE item I wish I could bring back that's not food.)
Butternut candy bar. Summit candy bar. And Popeyes breakfast - they had the best scrambled egg and bacon biscuits.
The Choco Taco, I might have eaten a total of 3 my entire life but now that they are gone.....I freakin want a dozen. I really do hope some company brings 'em back...they did it for twinkies.
You can buy them in grocery stores like Hannaford
Load More Replies...Josta. The 90's guarana based soda from Pespi. Someone came up with a recipe years later that tasted exactly like it, but that recipe required Sobe Dragon, which is now also discontinued.
I miss when McDonald's had the character plates and the shaped glasses where the characters protruded from the sides. Those things are so incredibly calming to look at for me for whatever reason
I was hoping for more than just unhealthy food items, but I do miss the McDonald’s McDLT. It kept the hot side hot and the cool side cool! I also miss truck-based SUVs, with solid front/rear axles and true 4-wheel drive (Chevy Blazer, Dodge Durango, etc.) staying true to their platform. Most end up eventually becoming car-based with independent suspensions and AWD.
Anyone else remember Crunchie cereal from the 90s? It was basically Cadbury Crunchie chocolate bar pieces with cereal bits. With three kids in the house that cereal lasted 2 days tops.
Sooooo, Burger King at one time had this like, cheese powder packet, to shake on your fries and I will NEVER forget how awesome they were!!!!
Nestle PB Maxx. By far the best candy bar ever made. And Hostess Raspberry filled Powdered Donuts!!
Tab soda. I first started drinking it back in the late 70's. They had it in the soda machine at an antique shop I used to work at. I decided to give it a try and loved it
As a kid in the 80s, I had a soccer coach who always had a can of Tab with him. Cold or warm, he didn’t care. He drank it like water.
Load More Replies...I need them to bring back Marathon bars. Thin caramel coated in chocolate. I dream about this daily. Also the mega Oreos. They were as big as your hand. Cinnamon toothpicks too. I thought I ate so many of those everyday that they made burns inside my mouth turns out I'm allergic to cinnamon but I would still eat them if I could find them again.
In the 80s, for a few years they made this cereal in the shape of ice cream and cones. I don't remember what it was called, but I loved that cereal. It had a very specific taste. I asked my mom for that cereal for years after it disappeared from the shelves, and she always tried to look for me. I have no idea why it went under, because it was amazing. I would still buy it today.
This was definitely an US centric list to say the very least…
I thought it was going to be interesting items from the past. It was just a bunch of garbage food.
Josta! I used to drink that all the time as a kid. I don't think my parents knew it was an energy-ish drink.
Clearly Canadian was brought back a couple of years ago. They did away with the glass bottles, and were priced around $3 a bottle, instead of 79 cents. I was addicted to Wild Cherry in the early 90s.
Load More Replies...Personally, I'd like to be able to make some decisions in my life without someone, somewhere wanting to have a say in them.
The Starburst licorice actually tasted like the chews not like the waxy twizzlers
The 10:30 candy bar which I was addicted to in the '70s. White chocolate and cinnamon candy flavored rice wafers. OMG, it was so good.
A couple things I miss. Sour Starburst. (not gummy or mini). Having strudel in the McCafe. Fizz (The candy sold in a little plastic bottle with round fizzy candies) I know there fizz where its a hard candy and you get a small fizz at the end. I also miss and hope it comes back the blackberry gingerale.
Taco Bells Mexican Pizza they brought it back shortly and removed it again.
I rarely drink anything other than water. Soda pop is usually too sweet, I do not like energy drinks and fruit juices are hit or miss. However- there are two drinks I miss terribly: Amp Lemonade Energy drink and Huberts Lemonade, any flavor but blackberry was my favorite. If anyone knows where to get some, I will pay you and the shipping prices!!!!!!
Little Debbie Apple Flips, Kudos and Ice Breakers gum in the different flavors. Also Chicklets.