This National Candy Month has us reflecting on some of our favourite candies – past & present, and our discussions eventually begged the question, if we had the supernatural-candy-revitalization power, what nostalgic discontinued chocolates would we bring back?? This is a pretty loaded question for certified candy-lovers, but once all the Candyologists took a few moments to really reflect on it, we were able to come up with a list of our top 12 discontinued chocolates we would 100% bring back!
So, in no particular order, here is our list of top 12 discontinued chocolates that NEED to come back:
1. Reese’s Bites
Starting off hot, the Reese’s Bites were an incredibly popular chocolate that maintained a loyal fan base to this day! These round Reese’s balls still contain the same classic Reese’s flavour & texture, but came in these little round bite-sized pieces. Despite their popularity, Hershey’s removed them from the market because their round shape was making them a choking hazard. Their sales also did not reflect their expectations for this product, so it wasn’t a difficult decision to discontinue these delicious treats. The Reese’s Bites have been discontinued since 2007, and 15 years later, they still hold a special place in our chocolate-adoring hearts! They need an official comeback!!
2. Cadbury Flake Snow
Launched in 2000, this delectable chocolate bar only had an 8 year shelf life before it was discontinued. Predominantly popular in the UK, the Cadbury Flake Snow gained a DEDICATED fanbase, so much so that in 2018 a Cadbury Flake Snow fan made headlines with his attempt to bring the beloved chocolate bar back with a viral petition. Listen, we couldn’t agree more, sometimes you need to go to these lengths to get the things we want in life.
If you’re unfamiliar with this Cadbury chocolate bar, it consists of a creamy white chocolate flakey center, and surrounded by a rich milk chocolate coating. Just describing it makes our mouths water, it's no wonder why this Cadbury chocolate is so heavily admired!
3. Reese’s Peanut Butter & Banana Creme Cups
Elvis has left the building!!!! And unfortunately, so has the Reese’s Peanut Butter & Banana Creme Cups. As a tribute to the King of Rock & Roll, Reese’s came out with the Peanut Butter & Banana Creme Cup in 2007 as a nod to his favourite food; the peanut butter and banana sandwich. This memorable Reese’s chocolate was pretty much structured similarly to the original Reese’s cup, but this variation had a layer of banana creme between the peanut butter filling and milk chocolate coating. We think back to this sweet & savory chocolate cup fondly as we hope it makes a comeback very soon.
4. Hershey’s S’mores Bar
When we were initially narrowing down which discontinued chocolate bar we’d bring back, the Herhsey’s S’mores Bar was thrown around quite a bit because some of us (myself included) never had it before but those of us that had it were PASSIONATE about adding it to the comeback list. So once the other Candyologists explained what this Hershey’s chocolate bar tasted like, I definitely felt like I missed out on a really great chocolate bar. So, here it is on our list of nostalgic chocolate bars we’d instantly bring back.
For those of you who, like me, never tried this chocolate bar, let me quickly break down what this chocolate bar looked like — it’s up to you to imagine how it would taste. Picture this – released in 2003, this scrumptious chocolate bar had a bottom layer of graham crackers, a thick layer of marshmallow creme filling and evenly coated in a rich Hershey’s milk chocolate. Just imagining the different textures and flavours my taste buds would’ve experienced is making me mourn the loss of something I didn’t even have! Discontinued in 2014, this Hershey’s chocolate bar is missed dearly.
HERSHEY’S PLEASE BRING THIS BACK, WE NEED TO TRY IT!!!
5. Twix Triple Chocolate
The Twix Triple Chocolate was initially released in the early 1990s in the UK and quickly left a mark on the confectionary industry. After it was discontinued decades later, it made a brief comeback in 2019, only to be discontinued again!! Stop playing with our fragile hearts, Twix! Since it is no longer on the market, we think it’s important to describe what we’re all missing out on right now. The Twix bar was made with a layer of crunchy cocoa cookie, topped with a layer of creamy fudge and surrounded by an even coating of sweet milk chocolate. We know, we’re pretty bummed about this discontinuation too!
6. Wonka Bar
Originating from the fictional Willy Wonka factory, the Wonka Bar was released to the public in 1971 ahead of the release of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory film. This was a promotional tactic to get people interested in the film, but due to production problems, the Quaker Oats Company had to recall the product. After being bought by Nestle, the Wonka brand released the Wonka Bar and was sold until 2010 – a staple in the chocolate industry for a few decades!
We miss this bar not only because of the nostalgia we hold onto, but also because it was sooo tasty!!!! It really tasted like a chocolate bar that came straight out of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory! With small bits of graham crackers dipped in a smooth, rich milk chocolate, you’d think an Oompa Loompa made it each one by hand.
The iconic Wonka chocolate bar has to make a comeback simply for what it represents to the confectionary industry alone.
7. Butterfinger BB’s
If you’re a fan of the Simpsons then you’re probably familiar with Butterfingers as Bart's favourite chocolate bar. As our discussions continued, we knew right away that the Butterfinger BB’s needed to be added to this list! The Butterfinger BB’s were released in 1992 as little bite-sized pieces of the delicious original peanut butter chocolate bar. The BB’s were also referenced on the Simpsons, so they were pretty popular among candy lovers, but unfortunately they were discontinued in 2006, and then brought back for a short period in 2009. This is a devastating loss for us all, but we just have to pray Butterfinger brings this one back!
8. Summit Cookie Bar
The Summit Cookie Bar is a retro chocolate bar introduced to the public in the early 1980s by Mars. It consisted of wafer sticks, a layer of peanuts and covered in a creamy milk chocolate. After its release, Mars redesigned the format to include “30% more chocolate”, but these changes actually led to the chocolate bar becoming longer, thinner, firmer and was met with disappointment from critics. The new format also led to The Summit Cookie Bar to melt a lot faster than the average candy bar. It was entirely unsuccessful and was eventually phased out of the candy market in 2004. There are still die-hard Summit Cookie Bar fans out there that would do anything to taste this crisp chocolate bar again, so we had to add it to our comeback list.
9. Hershey Swoops
These little known chocolate cookie snacks had to be featured on this list. For those of us that remember the Hershey Swoops, you’d remember how tasty they were and how they came in Reese’s Peanut Butter, Almond Joy, York Peppermint Patty, White Chocolate Reese’s, Toffee and Almond flavours. Hershey Swoops were a curved cookie snack, covered in the famous Hershey’s milk chocolate. After their initial launch in 2003, there wasn’t much hype surrounding these chocolatey snacks, in fact, in 2004 apparently only 14% of consumers even knew what Swoops were! That's wild. The Hershey Swoops were eventually discontinued in 2006 due to a high retail price compared to the value of the treat, since there would only be 6 pieces of the Swoops in each pack. For their comeback, we’re hoping for more pieces to devour!
10. Nestle Alpine White
Whether or not you remember the Nestle Alpine White chocolate bar, we’re sure you’ll agree that it deserves to come back after you learn about it. Released in 1986, this European inspired white chocolate bar had anyone that watched the commercials wishing they were living a life as sophisticated as the actors in the ad. Nestle Alpine White is a (you guessed it) white chocolate bar that has pieces of almonds scattered throughout the bar. Eventually the Nestle bar was discontinued in 1994, leaving the rest of us wishing we had a chance to take a bite of this sweet-sounding chocolate bar!
11. Hershey’s Kissables
We’re all familiar with Hershey’s Kisses, right? Well the Hershey’s Kissables were pretty much a hybrid of the Kisses and M&Ms. The short lived Kissables were introduced to chocolate lovers in 2005 and were shaped like Hershey’s Kisses but it also contained a sweet colourful candy shell that would be comparable to M&Ms. The discontinuation of the sweet adorable candy was actually unwarranted since it was actually a hit among chocolate connoisseurs. The reason for the discontinuation was due to a cost-cutting formula change in 2007 that eventually led to the downfall of the scrumptious treat in 2009. We still mourn the loss of the Hershey Kissables, but are hopeful they’ll make a grand return in the near future!
12. PB Max
When we compare the history of PB Max with all the other entries, the reason for this discontinuation is definitely the most odd. Released to the public in 1989, PB Max was made by the Mars brand and consisted of a creamy peanut butter filling, on top of a whole grain cookie, blanketed by a rich milk chocolate coating. I'm sure you can imagine how delectable this chocolate bar was, but unfortunately it had a very short life span since it was discontinued in the early 90s.
PB Max was discontinued because the Mars family didn’t like peanut butter, and decided to remove it from their brand entirely – despite $50 million in sales in such a short period of time. Although none of the Candyologists had the chance to taste this chocolate bar, we still included it on our comeback list because we’d obviously LOVE to try it, and with its short-lived existence, it still managed to leave a mark on the confectionery industry.
What do you think about our list? Have you heard of any of the chocolates on this list? Are there any discontinued chocolates you’d like to make a comeback?