Lunchtime trading is serious business! 

Our lunchtime trading tier list has snack rankings to help you evaluate what you have, and trading tips on how to get what you want. Turn a profit on your pretzels, and don't end up holding the bag of baby carrots!

King Makers

Undisputed GOATs of lunchtime snacks! Gushers, Dunkaroos, and your friends’s cousin said that one time his sister’s classmate got a king-sized chocolate bar in his lunch by mistake and the principal said he’d let him be principal for a day for the chocolate bar but he said no and ate the whole thing in one bite!

Everyone wants a piece. Everyone wants to trade. Whether you do or not is purely up to you, King.

Childhood Chase Candies

Not quite into GOAT territory, but pretty close! Fruit Roll-Ups, pudding, and pastries and cookies of all types live here. Not many things top these tasty treats, so you can get just about anything you want for these. You can probably trade up, and definitely down if you’re in the mood for something particular. 

Slept-on Snacks

For whatever reason, salty snacks never seem to make it to market. Maybe they’re too tasty to be traded. Maybe they just get lost in the fray against the sugary chocolatey treats that top the trading charts. Either way, keep an eye out for them because you can get some great trades if that market stays cold.

Week-long Wonders

Some treats last a lunch, some a day, but these can stick with you all week long! Ring Pop, Push Pop, Baby Bottle Pop, and Fun Dip are worth a week of treats and not everyone seems to see that. 

Think about it: You have a Push Pop, and your friend has a Chupa Chup. They have the same amount of candy, but a sucker has to be eaten in one go – one lunch period and it’s gone. But the Push Pop can last all week! Take a few licks, close it up, and put it back in your desk. It’ll still be around all week long!

These are worth trading down for. Giving up one pudding now means you’ll have candy today, and tomorrow you’ll have a new pudding AND most of a Push Pop too!

Homeroom Hero / Recess Reward

Hero or Heel? You decide. 

Anything big and sharable falls into this specialty space. Fruit by the Foot, Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape, even Tic Tacs if it’s a big bottle. When the teacher asks, “Do you have enough for the whole class?” you can be everyone’s friend and say “Yes, I do!” 

Or, you can use your power for evil and only share with kids who do you favours! Save you a spot in line? They get some gum. Give you their turn on the swing? They get some gum. “Accidentally” miss and lose at tetherball when the cool kids are watching? They definitely get some gum!

What you do with your gift is up to you. Personally, I hope you use it for good!

That One Kid’s Favourite

This is another specialty space. This one depends on your classmates, and is up to you to figure out!

A common example is the kid who isn’t allowed something at home, usually red food dye or pop. If you can learn who these kids are, you can make some really great trades! I once heard about a kid who loved cherry candy so much he traded away a Moon Pie for half a roll of Halls!

Some kids are less interested in WHAT the food is, and only care about HOW the food is. Even the best snack trading tier lists can’t account for these kids! Like if one kid only wants the heaviest lunch he can trade for. Gushers? Too light. A bag of chips? Mostly air. He loves the three P’s of lunch: Pudding, Pop, and souP. A good trade with him makes you both happy, and both winners in my book!

Half for Half

Sometimes you get some of your favourite snack right there in your lunch bag! But, sometimes your friend also gets your other favourite snack in her lunch box. So, the two of you compromise with a good ol’ fashioned halvsies trade!

If it comes in pieces like Sweet Tarts or Warheads, you just make two even piles and you each get one. If it’s one big thing, like a Jos Louis, one of you splits it as best you can down the middle, and the other picks their piece. This makes sure that the splitter is being fair because they’ll always get the smaller piece. You both get two tasty treats, and everyone’s happy!

Untradable…

Maybe it’s the last of your Halloween candy, maybe it’s something your mom bought by mistake. However it got there, you know there’s only one kid who’s going to eat it.

You.

Love Hearts, Rockets, Candy Corn, Wine Gums (they don’t have wine in them, that's a myth), whatever it is, this tier of candy is utterly untradable. You wouldn’t be able to get a carrot stick for this stuff.

To be clear, these old-school candies aren’t bad. They're actually pretty good if you’re in the mood for them! But when other kids are showing off their cookies and chocolate, you feel like your candy just can’t compare.

But don’t get too down – candy is still candy! And maybe that one kid LOVES Rockets! Either way, enjoy your snack and remember that there’s always tomorrow’s trades!

It’s like the legendary treat trader Warren Buffé always said:

"There might be ups and downs, but the lunch line always goes up in the end!"

That’s the end of our Lunchtime Trading Tier List! We hope you take these tips to heart and get some great trades next lunch!

 Do you agree with our childhood candy rankings? Do you have any sweet trading tips of your own? Share them with us!