1970s Favorites Pulled Forever From America’s Snack Aisles
Snack aisles in the 1970s were full of experiments. Food companies tried out new flavors, shapes, and packaging, often inspired by space travel or pop culture. Some products stuck around, but many didn’t last long. These 20 discontinued snacks show how companies learned what Americans really wanted to eat.
Space Food Sticks
Credit: Reddit
Pillsbury collaborated with NASA to develop these chewy tubes meant to mimic astronaut food. These sticks were available in chocolate and peanut butter flavors and they promised futuristic energy in an edible form. Space Food Sticks were discontinued in the 1980s after Pillsbury renamed them “Food Sticks” and sales declined.
Pizza Spins
Credit: Reddit
General Mills launched these miniature pizza-wheel crackers in 1968, coated with tomato, onion, and powdered cheese flavoring. The idea caught on briefly, but by 1975 they had disappeared after failing to become a regular pick in most snack aisles.
Jell-O 1-2-3
Credit: Reddit
This powdered dessert mix promised layers, with gelatin at the bottom, mousse in the middle, and foam on top. While there were fans, it only worked with a blender, which turned preparation into a chore. Families grew tired of the cleanup, and it was sent to the back of the kitchen cabinets for good.
Kraft Koogle
Credit: Reddit
Koogle turned peanut butter into dessert by offering flavors like banana, chocolate, vanilla, and cinnamon. It appealed to kids who liked candy and sandwiches in the same bite. Adults found the sugar content harder to justify. Unfortunately, the demand didn’t keep up, and by the end of the decade, it had disappeared.
Betcha Bacon
Credit: Reddit
These puffed corn snacks aimed to imitate bacon with a smoky flavor and faintly strip-like shape. Some shoppers enjoyed the novelty, but many felt they missed the mark on taste and texture. Without steady buyers, they quietly disappeared from store shelves.
Kraft Squeez-A-Snak
Credit: Reddit
This cheese came in a tube with a star-shaped nozzle and was meant to be squeezed onto crackers or vegetables. Kids who loved cheese loved this interesting idea, but the texture and sharp artificial flavor turned off plenty of parents. It never gained enough traction to last into the next generation of snacks.
Jell-O Pudding Pops
Credit: Reddit
Creamy and frozen, these pudding-on-a-stick treats became popular in the ’80s after launching in the ’70s. Bill Cosby ads helped boost them early on. But when the rights changed hands, the formula shifted. Fans noticed, and the sales dropped. By the early 2000s, the original version was gone.
Hunt’s Snack Pack (Tin Version)
Credit: Reddit
Before plastic pudding cups took over, Hunt’s sold these in pull-tab aluminum cans. The metal left a faint taste, but kids didn’t seem to mind. As packaging moved to plastic for safety and convenience, the tin version lost relevance and never returned.
Food Sticks
Credit: Reddit
After dropping the space branding, Pillsbury tried to repackage these chewy bars as everyday snacks. Without NASA’s association, though, they felt out of place on shelves. They were too early for the energy bar wave and too bland to compete with candy. Shoppers moved on quickly.
Pillsbury Figurines
Credit: Reddit
These snacks were marketed toward women seeking low-calorie options. The diet bars offered layered wafers with calorie counts printed up front. They sold steadily for nearly two decades by tapping into the era’s slim-down culture. Eventually, changing attitudes toward health and food put an end to their run.
Wacky Wafers
Credit: Reddit
These large, flat candies came in bold fruit flavors like banana, watermelon, and green apple. They stood out for their tartness and size, quickly gaining fans. A short-lived 2017 revival failed due to limited availability.
Crazy Cow Cereal
Credit: flickr
Cereal that turned milk brown or pink was a child’s dream, thanks to the powdered coating that colored everything it touched. It came in chocolate or strawberry and promised entertainment with every spoonful. Parents took issue with the sugar content, and its popularity fizzled before the 1980s hit.
Screaming Yellow Zonkers
Credit: Instagram
The caramel popcorn inside the box was sweet and crunchy, but the packaging did most of the work. Zonkers developed a cult following for humor alone. Still, the snack faded after multiple relaunch attempts.
Carnation Breakfast Bars
Credit: Reddit
Carnation pitched these bars as a full breakfast in wrapper form. Chocolate-covered and vitamin-fortified, they looked like candy but passed for morning fuel. Kids liked the taste, but they couldn’t compete with newer breakfast options. A 2014 reboot flopped, and the bars disappeared for good.
Chocodiles (Twinkies)
Credit: Reddit
A Twinkie dipped in chocolate sounds like an automatic hit, but Chocodiles stayed mostly on the West Coast, which added to their mystique. Hostess gave them a national push in 2014, but they didn’t stick. Fans say the newer version lacked the original’s texture, and they slowly vanished again.
Doritos Sour Cream & Onion / Sesame Seed
Credit: Reddit
Before Cool Ranch dominated, Frito-Lay tested quieter flavors like sour cream and onion or sesame seed. Neither version had much staying power. They didn’t deliver the bold taste that Doritos fans expected, so the company moved on to stronger, spicier formulas that were easier to market.
Wonka Bar
Credit: Reddit
Inspired by the 1971 movie, this milk chocolate bar with graham bits existed long before the golden ticket contests. It lasted for years but never took off like the film’s legacy did. Nestlé discontinued it in 2010 after years of lackluster U.S. sales.
Marathon Bar
Credit: Reddit
A braided caramel rope coated in chocolate, this bar stood out with its long, measured wrapper. The sticky, dense texture made it a chore for some. Mars pulled the Marathon Bar in the early ’80s, and its unique format hasn’t returned under that name since.
PB Max
Credit: WorthPoint
PB Max sold well and had a loyal following, but the story goes that the Mars family just didn’t like peanut butter. That personal dislike reportedly led to its discontinuation, even though fans were happy with the cookie base, thick peanut layer, and milk chocolate shell.
Tuna Twists
Credit: Reddit
Part of the “just add water” trend, Tuna Twists came with pasta and flavored tuna in a box. It offered convenience more than flavor. StarKist hoped it would become a lunchtime staple, but shoppers weren’t won over by powdered sauce or fish from a pouch. Sales dried up fast.