Top 10 Food Products That Bombed Hard
#10: Funky Fries
We all know about the different kinds of french fries right? There’s straight-cut, crinkle cut, shoestring, matchstick, waffle, and funky. Now, if that last one doesn’t ring any bells it’s probably because you missed the Ore-Ida company’s short-lived funky fries experiment of 2002-2003. An experiment that saw the company release french fries in a number of odd flavors, including chocolate and cinnamon;- colors, such as blue; and funky shapes, like rings. However, unlike George Clinton fans, people didn’t want the funk when it came to their french fries, and within a year the product was taken off the shelves.
#9: Colgate Kitchen Entrees
Have you ever heard the expression, “stay in your lane?” Apparently the Colgate company hadn’t heard the expression in the early 80s, and the proof is Colgate Kitchen Entrees. Yes, this was a real thing. The company famous for making toothpaste decided it would get into the frozen food game with such delectable offerings as, among others, Beef Lasagna. Does Colgate lasagna get your mouth watering? Well, you aren’t alone because Colgate shut down their attempt to take over grocery store freezers soon after launching the product in 1982. It’s also been said that the product was such a bust that it actually hurt sales of Colgate toothpaste.
#8: Reddi-Bacon
It sounds like the concept for a “Saturday Night Live” commercial parody, but there was nothing funny about Reddi-Bacon. This instant bacon from the company that brought us Reddi-Wip came about in the 1960s (many years before “SNL” premiered in 1975). The idea of bacon you could make in the toaster in 90 seconds without “soiling a frying pan or the oven” is definitely going to get people’s attention. The problem was that if the foil the bacon came in had even the slightest tear, the grease could ruin the toaster or even start a fire. And Reddi-Fire isn’t the kind of attention any company wants.
#7: Celery-Flavored Jell-O
What’s your dream Jell-O flavor? If you could create your own flavor of Jell-O what would it be? We can’t speak for everyone, and yet we’re going to do exactly that and say that no one would ever answer celery flavor. We’ll go out on a limb and say that no one would answer Italian, mixed vegetable or seasoned tomato either. And yet all four of those Jell-O flavors were made real in the 1960s as part of the company’s attempt to go savory. And needless to say they are all no longer part of the Jell-O family.
#6: Gerber Singles
Gerber is one of the most iconic baby food companies in the world. So why did their single serving Gerber Singles fail? Because they weren’t for babies. Yup, that’s right, with the tagline "We were good for you then, we're good for you now," Gerber Singles were marketed to college students and adults. However, while mashed up meat and veggies might’ve been delicious to us as babies, it sure doesn’t sound as appealing once we were old enough to eat solid food. And thus Gerber Singles became one of the biggest food idea fails of the 20th century.
#5: Orbitz
For those of you born after 1997 - No, we aren’t talking about the internet travel website. When we say Orbitz, we’re talking about the clear fruit-flavored beverage released in 1996 that had little gelatin balls floating around in it and was compared by some to a portable lava lamp. We’re actually thinking that, with the current popularity of bubble tea, Orbitz could actually find some success were it released today. However, back in 1996 the “texturally enhanced alternative beverage” was too much for consumers. Although, that probably had as much to do with the weird edible balls as it did the taste - which was compared by some to cough syrup, or “old water from a flower vase.”
#4: Lay's WOW Chips
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When the Frito-Lay company named their new fat-free chips back in the late 90s, little did they know that that “WOW” in the name would end up having a multitude of connotations. First off is the WOW from consumers because these chips were fat free - awesome. Then the WOW from the company when sales reach upwards of $400 million in the first year - more awesome. Next came the WOW when the Olestra in the chips (used as the alternative to fat) caused stomach cramps, diarrhea and Incontinence in some consumers - not so awesome.
#3: Kellogg's Breakfast Mates
Is there anything more annoying than making yourself a bowl of cereal and having to go get the bowl and spoon, then going to the cupboard to get the cereal, and finally going to the fridge to get the milk? Actually, yeah, a lot of things. But, back in 1998 the Kellogg company obviously thought that they were solving some kind of major problem when they introduced their all-in-one prepackaged Breakfast Mates. With the Breakfast Mate you got cereal in a small plastic bowl, a plastic spoon and a 4 ounce serving of milk to pour into said bowl. The “convenience” - and sometimes warm milk - wasn’t worth it for consumers.
#2: New Coke
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While Coca-Cola had been far and away the most popular cola since the 1940s, come the early 80s Pepsi had made significant inroads. It was even starting to outsell Coke in supermarkets. Deciding they needed to make a big change, Coke went ahead and rejiggered their recipe and gave the world New Coke in 1985. Well, the world wasn’t happy about it. The public outcry was swift and loud - and within three months Coke brought back the original recipe as “Coca-Cola Classic.” New Coke became “Coke II” in 1990 and hung around until 2002. The silver lining of the whole debacle was that the reintroduction of classic Coke led to a pretty major uptick in sales.
#1: Heinz EZ Squirt Ketchup
If you thought that colorful french fries were a cool idea, then imagine colorful ketchup. Well, back from 2000 to 2006 you didn’t have to imagine it - you could buy it at the supermarket. It was called Heinz EZ Squirt Ketchup. And while the first color they introduced was green, the line ended up featuring a number of different colors, including purple, orange, blue and teal. Unlike Funky Fries, this colorful food product was a big hit at first - selling over 25 million bottles in the first three years. However, over the next three years kids lost interest and colorful ketchup sure doesn’t appeal to grownups. Sales continued to decline and in 2006 the product was discontinued. Which badly conceived food products do you remember? Tell us in the comments!
