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17 bygone candy bars you will never eat again
Alas, you will never bite into a PowerHouse, Reggie, Go Ahead or Marathon bar again.
Recently we popped into a store to buy candy before a movie and were delighted to find a selection of retro treats. It was an array of Abba-Zabas, Sky Bars, Big Hunks, Mallow Cups and Cherry Mashes. Naturally, we stocked up.
That sweet tooth flashback got us thinking about the other vintage candy bars that did not survive. Today, Hershey's and Mars dominate the checkout aisle, but decades ago candy companies like Hollywood, Clark, Peter Paul and Annabelle cranked out delectable bars filled with nougat, nuts, brittle and fudge.
There are too many bygone candy bars to list here, but here are some of our favorite. Which one — or ones — would you want to bring back?
1. Chicken Dinner Bar
We start with the strangest — in name, at least. Rest easy, there was no poultry involved. This nickel nut roll had peanuts and "light sweet coating." The name was a reference to President Hoover's legendary "chicken in every pot" speech.
Image: Flickr / jasonliebigstuff
2. Nestle's Alpine White
White chocolate, which is not really chocolate at all, is a devisive dessert. That did not stop Nestlé from trying to make the creamy confection a fancy alternative for the skiing set.
Image: the-foods-we-loved.wikia
3. Reggie
Reggie Jackson was superstar enough to warrant his own chunky candy bar. Yankees fans will never forget the 1978 home opener when Reggie Bars were given away to the crowd, who promptly showered the field with the chocolate after Reggie homered in the first.
Image: collectingcandy
4. Muhammad Ali Crisp Crunch
Reggie was not the only sports icon to get a candy bar. The Greatest threw a jab filled with puffed rice.
Image: eBay
5. PowerHouse
Four heaping ounces of "Caramel • Peanuts • Fudge." BOOM. To put that in perspective, a full size Snickers bar is now 1.86 oz.
Image: Flickr / jasonliebigstuff
6. No Jelly
It seems like a rather odd marketing technique to brand a candy bar with something we would never expect inside one. Sure, we understand the familiarity of PB&J, but when has anyone wanted that in a candy bar? This might as well have been called No Ham. Hey, Chicken Dinner sold well.
Image: collectingcandy
7. Starbar
Sticking with Peter Paul, here is a galactic chew loaded with peanuts, nougat and caramel, perfectly branded for the era of glam rock, disco and Logan's Run.
Image: Flickr / jasonliebigstuff
8. Marathon
Another 1970s favorite, the squiggly, caramel-filled Marathon bar is deeply missed today. You can still find the equivalent imported in Cadbury's Curly Wurly, at least.
Image: Jason Liebig / Collecting Candy
9. Seven Up
No, there are no lemon-lime flavors here — but just about everything else. Pearson's out-flavored Necco's Sky Bar with even more fillings. Mint, nougat, butterscotch, fudge, coconut, butter cream and caramel in one bar? This is a mini buffet.
Image: Jason Liebig
10. Summit
A bit like Twix or Kit Kat, these crunchy bars from Mars enticed kids with music giveaways. Just mail in ten wrappers and you could get a single by Jefferson Starship, .38 Special or REO Speedwagon! Alas, Summit crumbled in the mid-'80s.
Image: retroist
11. Go Ahead
Eat candy without the guilt! Sure, it had peanut butter and chocolate, but it's fortified with vitamins.
12. Big Time
The Hollywood Candy Company churned out numerous bars, a couple of which, Pay Day and Zero, remain today under different corporate umbrellas. Big Time was akin to a Snickers with whipped nougat, peanuts and caramel. We'd also love to sink our choppers into a Sno-King or Polar bar, too.
Image: rooftopantiques
13. Old Nick
The Old Nick was manufactured by the same folks who produced the Bit O' Honey, Schutter out of Chicago. This nut roll was marketed as "American's Favorite Candy Bar!" but we're not sure if that was backed up with sales figures.
Image: Flickr / olivander
14. Butter Brickle
"Got a nickel? Butter Brickle,... candy bar!" Essentially, this was a Heath.
Image: Flickr / jasonliebigstuff
15. Wonka's Super Skrunch
Loaded with "skrunch" this Butterfinger-like treat came along at the dawn of the 1970s. It too was "scrumdidilyumptious."
Image: collectingcandy
16. Calypso
Coconut and butterscotch made Nestlé's tropical(-ish) Calypso one of a kind.
Image: collectingcandy
17. Choco'lite
It's diet! Sure, it's still regular milk chocolate, but it has air in it, too. That's guilt-free snacking. We'd love to get those Star Wars pendants offered on this 1979 wrapper, too.
Image: theswca
13 Comments
Just the right amount of crisp.
-Seven Up (brilliant!! The whole chocolate box in one--why even bother trying to choose?! How could they have discontinued this?!?!?)
-Calypso
-Choco'lite (well, we have Aero from Europe and Hershey had had an aerated variety for a while...the air bubbles in it are soooooo goooood...)
-Alpine White (mmm, white chocolate is great)
-Starbar
-Summit (if it's dark chocolate?)
I've heard of Marathon but I guess I'm not old enough to have had one...
