Only A Real 90's Kid Can Recognize These Snacks
As a 90's kid there was definite preference and even social hierarchy based on the treats you'd get in your lunchbox to eat or trade during break. Somehow brands capitalized on marketing "the cool snacks" so well that when knock-off brands created cheaper versions you always wanted the originals. Local recreation centres always had the best selection of goodies to keep you from going hungry.
Companies were producing creative food items that appealed to kids either because it was candy or because you had to eat it in a strange, novel way. Business Insider even recognizes their innovation. Examples of the candy snacks the are basically any fruit flavoured gummy item, while the new-age style snacks were like Capri-Sun or String-Cheese. Also around the 90's came the idea of promoting snacks in popular TV shows like The Simpsons of The Cosby Show, after all they have to eat sometimes.
Health reports and obesity rates are slowly extinguishing the hot market for kid targeted snacks. Your eight year old cousin is now concerned about non-GMO foods and asks for hummus when he's peckish. In light of all of this,
Here are some of the snacks we pined for during the 90's, can you remember their names?
You don't just eat...you Dunk-a-roo!
This Betty Crocker snack had an unforgettable Australian Kangaroo mascot. He urged you to make your own cream-filled cookies and to put as much frosting in the middle as you desired. It was definitely the sweet counterpart to Handi-Snacks. 1996 the brand launched interactive search for a new mascot (let the people choose, they will be so much more invested) to come up with the new Dunkin' Daredevil. It is one of the most fondly remembered snacks, discontinued in the United States in 2012.
Now you can get off the stick and get a ring!
The original creator brainstormed this idea to to ween children off of thumb-sucking. It is perhaps less dangerous than a lollipop because with it firmly attached to her finger there's no danger in her swallowing it whole! The "gem" was offered in all fruit flavours, guaranteed to turn your tongue the corresponding colour. Also, it was certainly more entertaining than normal lollipops because it is wearable. I mean, how many times did you propose with one of these in the 90's?
Always on the go and ready for anything
Are we that surprised this came from France-- after all it is portable cheese. It came to the U.S. in 1979 and was marketed as a natural, healthy product for kids and adults alike (like we said, French). However it did have some "fun" appeal due to the wax seal. With any imagination you could craft different figurines out of the weird exterior. Also, apparently different colour waxes meant different flavours of cheese, like cheddar which is black?However I've only seen edam which is red.
Other snacks are pointless
When originally released they were fried in coconut oil, but now one's released under Tom's snacks are fried in vegetable oil. Though discontinued in North America the later 2000's they were recently brought back due to increasingly vocal demands. They have one of the best puny advertisement slogans, that some fans have suggested is also a philosophical statement. Here we get to the kid-targeted aspect because clearly you put them on the tips of your fingers like hats and then eat them off.
With a name like Smucker's it has to be good
This brand of lunch claims to make life easier by providing ready-made sandwiches. Depending on the filling you either pop it in the microwave or eat it cold. Varieties include the original peanut butter and jelly, nutella, grilled cheese and many more. This brand caters to all kids who hate crust since the mid 90's. NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me has compared the sandwich snack to bra fillers, pillows, and male pattern baldness. They have had some patent issues with their first design.
The yummy snack that smiles back
This children-friendly snack also has a mascot in Finn the fish with the sunglasses who gives the reassuring slogan above. This fishy snack is available in 39 different flavours (none of them involving fish)the original being Saltine, and most savoury ones having to do with cheese. However, there are sweet versions of this snack now available as honey, cinnamon, or chocolate grahams. They were a Pepperidge Farm invention from 1997 and since then have been distributed in colours other than the original gold.
3 Feet of Fun!
This snack's length already makes it different and appealing, but there is much more marketing that went behind its conceptualization after the release in 1991. Other varieties were offered: ones that split down the middle to share with a friend, or special temporary tongue tattoo flavours. The paper backing also contains jokes, trivia or games, so you get 3 feet of reading/entertainment material. However, the British counterpart called Fruit Winders is somehow more natural a product and keeps all the perks.
Burstin' with wholesome graham goodness
First introduced in 1988 as a packet of small cookies, these cute biscuits are now available as a cereal. Like the many cookies who've made this transition, they've noticed it is generally better to stay in your original lane. The honey and cinnamon flavoured grahams were the best and according to PETA the latter kind are vegan friendly! Early on they partnered with Disney to make character shaped grahams. They have also been noticed by older generations, referenced on tv shows like Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Simpsons.
Lunch is what you make of it!
These snacks were often used for lunch alone perhaps because of their given name. They had 26 different varieties of lunch you could choose from, including small hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and meat/cheese combo. The meals came with a dessert and a drink. However the company soon came under fire for nutrition concerns-- each ham and swiss package had half the daily sodium allowance for an adult. Everyone raves about the pizza flavour, but my personal preference goes to the nachos.
With a taste that will drive you fruity!
These squishy snacks are filled with sticky juice. Each one in the packet would be savoured by kids who didn't consume them regularly or gobbled down in a huge ball by those who did. The serving size was perfect, you got quite a few but they didn't leave you feeling sick. They were hexagonal in shape and really chewy with flavours like watermelon, grape, coconut and orange. Plus, don't you remember those commercials with kids' heads changing into different fruit shapes?
Hey mom! Get me some....
The commercials for this juice were splashed all over the long gone Saturday morning cartoons of the 90s. The juice itself was strangely thick, tangy, and chockfull of well, sugar. But still, kids everywhere were told under no uncertain terms that it had to be this juice product or nothing. Over the years it has jumped on the weird new flavor band wagon along with Pepsi, Coke, and Mountain Dew, but the orange flavor is still the classic gotta have it drink of the 90s.
You can eat pizza anytime!
These addictive snacks were invented in Florida and are now available worldwide under the company Heinz. They offer six varieties of pizza and can be prepared either by microwave or oven. These two innovators hopped on the bandwagon of bite-sized food right before it took off. In the late eighties they sold to Heinz. The conglomerate funded the 90's jingle outlining all appropriate times to eat pizza (tag line above). It also made these tiny treats available worldwide, something the two Floridians could not have managed alone.
Message in a Bottle
These suckers were definitely more candy than snack and were extremely involved to eat. It consisted of a powdered sugar container stopped by a lollipop that topped off the plastic bottle shape. You dipped the top sucker into the sugar and then licked it off and started again. It was perhaps the only time it was acceptable to do anything "baby-like" as a kid. You could turn your mouth either green, blue, or red with flavours like green apple, blue raspberry or watermelon.
Ice Cream of the Future
In 1987 everything seemed futuristic with shortly arriving second millennium and lots of big hair. However a recent college grad came up with ice cream that had to be sold in individual servings. Genius. If you've ever tried these odds are it was either at a State Fair, Six Flags, or Sea World; franchises that guaranteed at least one of these stands. By nature the treat can't be enjoyed at home because it needs to be stored at -40 degrees Fahrenheit.
You Gotta Hand It to Them
These Ritz created snacks were a DIY type deal and made you feel somewhat adult, putting together your own food. It came with a two type compartment, one for cheese and the other either for crackers or pretzels. You'd dip the pretzels into the cheese or a cheese-spreader was provided for the side of crackers. These were pretty good but certainly not the exciting snack you'd try to trade. The company later tried to launch snacks with a peanut butter dipping component but they were quickly discontinued.
It's six feet of bubblegum for you-- not them
This six foot long tape of gum was a novelty for youngsters. It came out in 1988 and of course you had to eat it inch by inch, not just bite into it like any other generic gum. It was perfect for blowing bubbles because of the amount of material available and because it was less sticky than other branded gums. The slogan above was a great pitch to children's ears because any activity that excluded adults was deemed cool.
Textually Enhanced Alternative Beverage
This non carbonated clear fruit beverage is pretty futuristic given both the name and the concept itself. The tag line also takes itself too seriously. Most kids were pretty intrigued with lava lamps but that doesn't mean you wanted to drink yours. In fact, it's unclear with these who the target market was. The Canadian product came out in 1997 and disappeared from shelves by the next year, unfortunate only because of the pretty good flavour combinations like Raspberry Citrus and Vanilla Orange.
Out of Control
Another snack based on fruit flavouring, these taffy-like candies were often given out in after school programs or Halloween. There were all of the normal fruit flavours that would turn your mouth different colours to the horror of your mom. Also there were special white "mystery" flavours. Whichever one you got you would trade for your favourite because these taffies could last for at least ten minutes if you folded them up like raviolis and stuck them on the roof of your mouth.
It's the best part of the pizza
This snack was always served as a type of mozzarella or cheddar on its own. There are variations of it in Eastern European and Central American countries, getting youngsters everywhere their calcium fix. However one practice that does not vary in this American snack is the way you eat it. The six inch cheese stick can not be bitten, it must be peeled. Patiently you peel each layer off like a banana, and spend your entire recess eating your snack.
Squeeze the Fun Out of It
This drink was liquified sugar. It came in a six pack and each fruit flavour had a different character associated to it. You could see this in the terrifying animated graphics mixed with real kids in the 90's commercials. It was easy to drink, and given the name you did have to squeeze the juice out of this bottle. Another kid-friendly factor was that you could change the colour of your juice by dropping dye into it. Few parents I knew conceded to this because they knew we'd be bouncing off the walls for long afterwards.
Real Fruit and Fun, Rolled Up in One
This is a rectangular pectin-based fruit flavoured snack that is rolled up in cellophane so it doesn't get stuck to itself. Later versions of this snack came with temporary tattoos you could stick on your tongue if you had the patience. This snack was heavily advertised on American tv and also underwent a health scandal. Like other fruit snacks it claimed to be made from real fruit but was actually concocted from fruit derivatives (and has the same general nutritional content as gummy bears).
"Cause kids cant afford cr*ck"
The slogan above given of this Nestlé Wonka product is obviously a drag, but it's there because it seems to be the Internet's collective opinion on this candy. The fruit flavoured powdered sugar makes your mouth salivate not because you're pining for the taste, but because you remember the effort of having to get that powder down your throat. None of the "fruit" varieties taste distinct, they just left your mouth a different colour. You never wanted this candy, you'd have it because it was the cheapest sugar fix or because it was given free.
Zero to Pizza Pronto!
Envisioned by a Chinese food entrepreneur Jeno Paulucci, these snacks were sold to Totino's in 1985. From commercial spoofs on Saturday Night Live to marketing through social media, Totino's has done a good job keeping their products atop a market that is becoming more and more interested in health. How is that possible if this food offers yet another novel way to eat pizza with your hands? Perhaps its the marketing or perhaps Paulucci's original product was just that good.
There's a joke on every bite
This candy has always been fruit flavoured individual bite-sized taffies but they haven't always been called that. The candies were originally sold as caramels, but once the name changed to taffy marketing also promoted the candy as an embodiment of funniness or playfulness. The candies are known for their long lasting flavour and the jokes on the inside. Some of the jokes are punny, some are straightforward word play. And we all remember 2005 rap song D4L came out with entitled "***** Taffy".
Distinctive cookies
From the beginning these cookies have been kinda fancy, picked up and marketed as the "European cookie". This is another way of saying each batch of biscuits came on a mini coffee filter. But if you came into the cafeteria with these Pepperidge Farm favourites you were certainly hailed until they were all gone. The original flavour in 1950 was dark chocolate, but now they've expanded to holiday season peppermint, though chocolate mint definitely remains the best product of creation's dabbling.
Same loud taste, new loud shape
This may have been the pinnacle of 90's snack innovation. Since 3D movies were all the rage why would this enthusiasm not transfer to snack food? The pitch was same favourite Doritos would be filled with a small puff of air, making them lighter but just as delicious. This failed campaign is also widely remembered for the Ali Landry campaign pitch. Landry puts the chips in a laundry machine and is able to catch the snack 10 feet away in the splits. Combining sex appeal and snack food seems pretty logical too, right?
Good news for kids, bad news for cows
This cereal is an example of another cookie trying to pass as a breakfast food. It transitioned relatively easily since these cookies already demand to be shared with milk. There have been variations on cream filling and chocolate taste that fluctuated due to demand. Largely parents and kids loved it, but was discontinued everywhere but South Korea in 2007 due to business disagreements. Sometimes money gets in the way of demand and taste. The rights merger of cookie owner Kraft Foods and Post Cereals together is what both brought and fell the innovation.
You've got to eat them before they eat YOU
Branded and sold by Betty Crocker these tasty gummies each have a different fruit flavour corresponding to a differently coloured shark. Oddly enough the yellow shark is strawberry and not lemon. Though commercials encouraged you to catch them all only one was considered of great worth. The gummy great white sharks had the best flavour and were the only opaque gummy in the set. This offered all kids a taste of adventure without the risk. They are not available everywhere, but 90's kids have been able to catch 'em again.
As much fun to play with as it is to eat
With a tag line that explicitly encourages you to play with your food, there is pretty strong appeal for this Nestlé Wonka treat. One of the lessons 90's candy marketing recognized early is how much kids love interactive food. Although nerds were pretty cool, this extension of their product is a bit of a reach and tasted kind of funky. The only reason it was a success was due to its target message: play with me, I'm long enough to be fun.
Break out of the ordinary!
This product is another spinoff a popular candy item. Collaborating with Whopper to make crunchy marble shaped chocolates, this chocolate treat had huge appeal while it was around. They doubled as weapons, since they were so small and hard flicking them at someone really hurt (as the name suggests). Also, the original candy and this counterpart were one of the few products that the Simpsons ever officially endorsed. These were unfortunately discontinued but will never be forgotten, and will perhaps one day be resurrected.
I like the chocolate one better. No, I like the vanilla one better. No, I like them both.
The popsicle concept was developed by this do-it-yourself brand in 1967 when it came out with a mix. However ready made popsicles would come out a little more than a decade later. These creamy ice pops came in chocolate, vanilla, and swirl though consensus stands that chocolate was the recognized favourite. Their spokesperson was the same as the Jell-O brand with now infamous Bill Cosby. Despite strong sales into the 90's these deliciously cold treats were deemed not profitable and eventually pulled from shelves.
Kids Never Had It So Easy
These were on-the-run snacks to have between school and practice or before school. They were especially handy because they required no utensils. Instead, you'd just grab this frozen yogurt tube, tear off the top and squeeze it into your mouth. These came in an assortment of fruit flavours and were more smoothie like than the previous fruity. It was introduced by General Mills Yoplait in 1999. Either frozen or slightly cooled, these handy yogurt snacks were a favourite of kids and parents alike.
#doinggood
These popsicles were introduced in the 90's from a famous juice brander and contain less than 20 grams of sugar. This means they manage to be both pretty sweet and relatively healthy, impressive. Flavours include lemon, orange, cherry and grape and though there is no kid gimmick everyone likes popsicles. They come in bizarre cardboard like packaging, are shaped like pyramids, and supposedly eaten from the top down. They are branded as a cold treat the whole family can enjoy together.
Simple Goodness You Can Feel Good About
With the name shortened for Vanilla, this cookie always tastes somewhat stale when eaten alone. They were targeted as bland snacks for young children in the 80's and were a response to Italian Ladyfingers. They were more commonly used as ingredients, a means to make something more appealing like coffee cake or banana cream pie. Also they are often smashed to make cheesecake crusts. They are seen as the quintessential American cookie, with their name being used to refer to more generalized shortbread products.
Six Zippy Flavors!
In the genre of freezies, these were non-dairy versions of GoGurts. Each popsicle had a different flavour and corresponding character. Though they came out earlier than the 90's they were so popular the discontinuation of a favourite flavour-- Sir Isaac Lime caused upheaval and protests in Californian headquarters. Mainly a bunch of nine year-olds campaigned online for this company to keep their cherished flavor. They were outside National Pax with posters saying the planned replacement, "Scarlett O'Cherry is unnecessary". Couldn't think of a more noble cause to begin a life of advocacy.