Top 10 Delicious Candies We WISH Were Still Available

Script written by Michael Wynands.

Top 10 Delicious Candies We WISH Were Still Available

When we finally get that time machine up and running… a candy store is gonna be our very first stop. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’ll be counting down the Top 10 Candies We Wish Were Still Readily Available.

For this list, we’re looking at the most beloved candies and sweets to ever disappear from store shelves. In some cases, we may not have realised just how great they were until they were gone. To be considered for this list, a product needs to have been generally discontinued, not just made unavailable in certain markets.

#10: PB Max

Sold in a box containing “6 individually wrapped snacks”, these treats were clearly candy bars disguised as snack bars. And as kids, we were totally complicit in the con... running to get these whenever our parents let us pick out granola bars for school. So long as they didn’t look to closely at your selection, you were in the clear. Despite the misleading packaging, these bad boys were loaded with everything a kid could want from a candy bar: overly sweet peanut butter and crunchy cookie all smothered in chocolate. Despite doing $50 million in sales, the Mars company decided to pull the plug. Why? Apparently the Mars family weren't all that into peanut butter.

#9: The Real Ghostbusters: Slimer Bubble Gum

Children are notoriously picky eaters. Kids will turn their noses up at any texture or flavor profile more complex than a chicken finger or peanut butter on toast. And yet… most kids love gross candy! What better way to get your kicks as a child than with translucent green slime that you can squeeze out of a toxic-looking tube straight into your mouth, to shock and horror of anyone watching? A few chews later and “voila!” - it’s gum. It was like a party trick for kids that invoked the image of eating boogers on an industrial scale. What’s not to like? Well... the fact that it was discontinued. Released in 1989 in tandem with Ghostbusters II, this product was never long for this world.

#8: Jumbo Nerds

For fans of Nerds… there is a whole slew of discontinued spin-offs we want back. Dweebs: a soft, chewy, nerd-like candy, Nerds gum: traditional-looking nerds that turned into gum-, and many more. But sometimes, it’s the simplest variation that you miss the most… so if we could get just one Nerds product back, it would be “Jumbo Nerds”. In place of your typical “two flavors to a box” arrangement, the Jumbo variety delivered a rainbow assortment of oversized nerds roughly two to three times the size of the original candies. It’s a simple variation, but one that did the trick and one that is dearly missed.

#7: Wonka Donutz

Wonka strikes again! A solid chocolate donut shaped piece of deliciousness, with a truffle-like, smooth center, all covered in sprinkles Wonka Donutz were a candy that certainly would have earned Homer Simpsons’ approval. But sadly… Homer isn't real, and here in the real world this particularly tasty confection just didn’t catch the eye of customers. Released in 2005 around the same time as “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, the marketing campaign behind them was strong, but ultimately, the candy proved too simple for modern consumers. But absence makes the heart grow fonder… and with a little time apart, we’ve come to appreciate the chocolate donutz we once ignored.

#6: Bonkers!

Nabisco is a big name in the cookie and cracker industry but in the 1980s they dabbled in the candy game with “Bonkers”. A chewy rectangular candy that came in a variety of fruit flavors, as well as chocolate. The marketing campaign behind the product was incredibly successful thanks to a number of commercials that employed over the top humour. Sadly, when the initial publicity push ended, sales quickly began to drop off. The commercials were a hit, but without the constant public reminders, Bonkers proved less memorable. Although Leaf Brands acquired the rights to the candy in 2012 with plans to reintroduce the gloriousness, as of 2017, they had yet to follow through.

#5: Butterfinger BB's

If there was ever a memorable fictional celebrity endorsement… it was Bart Simpson and Butterfinger. Thanks to his expert salesmanship, we’re pretty much always down for a Butterfinger, despite the reservations of the ADA, BDA, and CDA. The nice thing about Butterfinger BB’s was that they didn’t get stuck in your teeth quite as badly as their candybar namesake– which is always a plus. They had a good run from 1992 to 2006 when they were discontinued. While Nestle rolled out a replacement in 2009 with the Butterfinger Mini those little rectangles just fail to fill this BB’s-sized hole in our hearts.

#4: BarNone

Maybe BarNone sounded classy to Hershey in 1986, but in retrospect, it just feels forgettable...or like there won’t actually be a chocolate bar in there. Pair the name with a packaging utterly devoid of character, and you get a candy bar that should’ve consistently failed to catch the eye of shoppers. And yet, despite the odds, BarNone earned itself a dedicated following… staying on the shelves for nearly a decade. Sadly, the company decided to rework the bar and add caramel in 1993, which signalled the beginning of the end, turning away many devoted consumers, proving– even in chocolate– if it ain’t broke… don’t fix it.

#3: GatorGum

What went wrong here? Was it that every candy and beverage company did a flavoured gum spin-off of their product in the 80s and the market was simply over-saturated? Or was it the fact that “Gatorgum” sounds like it was made either for or out of alligators? The gum allegedly had a great, distinctly tart flavour that was certainly refreshing but the packaging’s claim that it would quench your thirst however… was a little dubious. Maybe that's why it failed to connect with sports drink fans. With chewing gum enthusiasts however, the product was a total hit - and to this day, they’re still hoping for Gatorgum’s comeback season.

#2: Cookies-N-Creme Twix

Here’s the problem with popular candy bars. They’re always producing spin-offs or variants, and unless they sell absurdly well, production is terminating shortly thereafter. For all candy bar enthusiasts who purchase these new products and fall in love, it’s an endless cycle of heartbreak. But few memories continue to sting like this Twix bar that got away. Released at the same time as Chocolate Fudge Twix, Cookies-N-Creme was the clear winner. Sadly, it was only available from 1990 to 1991… but what a sweet year it was. According to numerous retro food bloggers, it’s remembered as the best-flavoured Twix bar ever made.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Alpine White bars

Life Savers Holes

AirHeads Cotton Candy Bubble Gum

#1: DinaSour Eggs

Alright, if we found a magic lamp, but like… a discount one that only came with one wish… and the genie inside was a candy-specific one that… This analogy isn’t working. Take two: If we had the ability to resurrect one discontinued candy… it would be DinaSour Eggs. Why? Because they were epic! ...And kinda the perfect candy. Awesome theming? Check- they looked like dinosaur eggs! Long-lasting? Check, these things lasted 30 to 60 minutes! New and exciting? Heck yes they were! It even said so on the advertisement - “the only giant sour jawbreaker on the market”. And boy were they sour. Sadly, by the mid '90s, they were extinct.