25 Discontinued Candies Trick-or-Treaters Won't See This Halloween
Candies of Halloween's Past
Head to any doorstep on October 31 and say "Trick-or-treat" and your bucket will be filled with the likes of Snickers, Reese's peanut butter cups, Skittles, and M&M's. But if you'd have stepped on those same stoops decades ago, you'd have been met with an assortment of other candy varieties kids today will never know about.
Here are 25 candies you can't get anymore that will hit you right in the nostalgic part of your brain.
1. Nestle Choco'Lite Bar
Introduced: 1972
Discontinued: Around 1982
Not to be confused or compared to Aero, Nestle's Choco'Lite was an aerated chocolate bar that was both flaky and crispy. Marketed as a "mouthful of chocolate," Choco'Lite contained air pockets that made it less dense than the average chocolate. If only the candy market as a whole were less dense, this chocolate bar might still be around.
2. Butterfinger BB's
Introduced: 1992
Discontinued: 2006
These things ruled the 90s. They were sort of like a malted milk ball but with Butterfinger on the inside instead. As popular as these were and as pined over as they remain, we're holding out hope for an eventual comeback.
3. Marathon Bar
Introduced: 1973
Discontinued: 1981
The Mars Candy Company's Marathon Bar was a staple during the 70s. The 8-inch chocolate bar was a long braid of caramel-filled goodness that got its name based on the notion that it would take consumers a long time to eat it.
Related: Foods We Miss From the '70s and '80s
4. PB Max
Introduced: 1989
Discontinued: 1993
PB Max was made up of creamy peanut butter and crunchy round cookie pieces packed into milk chocolate. The candy bar was a huge hit, but was ultimately discontinued, supposedly because the Mars family had a distaste for peanut butter.
Related: The Forgotten History Behind Your Favorite Candies
5. Summit Cookie Bars
Introduced: 1977
Discontinued: Early 80s
Summit cookie bars were basically a cross between a Kit Kat and a Twix bar and while those two candies are wildly popular, Summit's future was not as bright, perhaps because there was some talk of the chocolate melting too fast.
Related: Costco Halloween Candy: Is This the Best Candy Deal Out There?
6. PowerHouse Candy Bar
Introduced: Sometime in the 70s
Discontinued: Sometime in the 80s
PowerHouse bars were high-protein candy bars that were quite honestly ahead of their time. In today's market, high-protein snacks are all the rage, and PowerHouse might have had some staying power. Alas, it didn't make it through the 80s.
7. Space Dust
Introduced: 1978
Discontinued: 1983
Some say Space Dust was a Pop Rocks knock-off, but this candy was its own thing entirely. Pop Rocks were small crystal-like pieces of candy that fizzled on your tongue, while Space Dust was a powder ... that fizzled on your tongue. Okay, so they definitely emulated Pop Rocks, but in a Pixie Sticks kind of way, and the packaging was stellar.
8. Nestle Alpine White with Almonds
Introduced: 1986
Discontinued: 1994
Nestle's Alpine White with almonds was exactly what you'd assume it was by looking at the wrapper and reading the name: a white chocolate candy bar with almonds.
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9. Seven Up Bar
Introduced: Sometime in the 1930s
Discontinued: 1979
Not to be confused with the fizzy lemon-lime soda 7 Up, the Seven Up candy bar was like a box of Valentine's chocolates all within one chocolate bar. The candy was divided into seven different sections, each with their own fillings, including mint, nougat, butterscotch, fudge, coconut, buttercream, and caramel. Don't ask us why this candy isn't still around because it sounds like one of the best inventions that's ever hit the chocolate market if you ask us.
10. Milkshake Bar
Introduced: Sometime in the 1920s
Discontinued: 1996
Although this chocolate bar transcended 70 years, you won't see the Milkshake bar (made with malted milk, nougat, caramel, and chocolate) on grocery store shelves today.
11. Altoids Sours
Introduced: 2004
Discontinued: 2010
We can practically feel these sour hard candies roughing up our taste buds. Altoids Sours were absolutely delicious, but as most people sought Altoids out as breath mints, the sour variety didn't rake in impressive enough sales to stick around for the long haul.
Related: I Tried All of Trader Joe's Gummy Candy, and the Best Rivals Sour Patch Kids
12. Shockers/Shock Tarts
Introduced: 1962
Discontinued: Sometime in the mid-2000s
Apparently, Shock Tarts (also called Shockers) were made with the same recipe that Pixie Sticks and Fun Dip were concocted with. That explains the sweet and sour harmony! These were basically like Sprees and Sweet Tarts got together and had a sour lovechild.
13. Hershey's Gold
Introduced: 2017
Discontinued: 2020
This Hershey bar feels like a fever dream since it was only available for a short time, and it was the first new flavored Hershey bar to hit the market in 20 years. Instead of a typical chocolate base, Hershey Gold was a caramelized creme bar with pretzels and peanuts inside of it.
Related: 17 Surprising Things You Didn't Know About Hershey Kisses
14. Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cups
Introduced: 2014
Discontinued: 2020
Maybe it's the onset of the pandemic, but we don't even remember these bad boys being available up until 2020. They felt like more of an earlier 2000s candy, looped in with Butterfinger BB's, but nevertheless, they were delicious and honestly better than actual Butterfinger bars (BB's were better than the real thing, too).
Related: Halloween Candy Prices Hit Hard by Inflation
15. Wonka Bars
Introduced: 1975
Discontinued: 2010
The history of Wonka Bars is a little bit muddy, and that's because the candy was based on a fictional candy bar. These were around a lot during the release of the two different movie renditions of Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," but have since faded back to fiction.
16. Bug City Candy Tarts
Introduced: Sometime in the 1980s
Discontinued: Unknown
These were basically bug-shaped Sweet Tarts, so an obvious hit among children. You can't find them nowadays, although it's unclear when they went off the market for good since the candy is incredibly niche.
17. Starburst Fruit Twists
Introduced: Sometime in the 1990's
Discontinued: Sometime in the early 2000's
Think: Twizzlers meets Starbursts, and you wind up with Starbursts Fruit Twists. They were softer in texture than traditional Twizzlers (and softer than Starburst to boot) but they were stretched a bit too far to earn a permanent spot in the candy aisle.
Related: Popular Chocolate Halloween Candies Ranked from Worst to Best
18. Butter-Nut Candy Bar
Introduced: 1916
Discontinued: Unknown
Originally introduced in 1916, the Butter-Nut candy bar highlighted a unique blend of butterscotch and roasted peanuts and was a favorite during the 50s, 60s, and 70s.
19. Caravelle Candy Bar
Introduced: 1966
Discontinued: 1988
Peter Paul's Caravelle was a milk chocolate candy bar filled with caramel and crisped rice, making it a chewy-meets-crispy chocolate bar that consumers loved ... just not enough for it to make it past another decade.
20. Wonka Donutz
Introduced: 2005
Discontinued: 2013
Ahead of the release of the 2005 movie starring Johnny Depp, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," Wonka Donutz were released as a promotional and fun candy that looked like a chocolate donut with sprinkles and had a truffle-like filling.
21. Bonkers
Introduced: Sometime in the 1980s
Discontinued: Sometime in the 1990s
Bonkers were a small rectangular candy with a chewy and fruity outside akin to a Starburst. On the inside, they contained a fruity, tangy filling. They came in a variety of flavors and were huge in the '80s.
22. Hershey's Kissables
Introduced: 2005
Discontinued: 2009
Although they only lasted a short four years, Hershey's Kissables were an innovative marvel. The biggest pain point of consuming Hershey's Kisses is that you have to unwrap them, and it gets quite tedious (and messy) after a handful. Hershey's Kissables were not only unwrapped Kisses, they were coated in a shell similar to M&M's. Genius.
23. Hershey's S'mores Bar
Introduced: 2003
Discontinued: 2012
As beloved as s'mores are, this candy bar made perfect sense. It was a chocolate bar with marshmallow and graham filling. It had all of the makings of a long-lasting candy, yet somehow didn't last long at all. Womp womp.
24. Wonka Dweebs
Introduced: Sometime in the early 1990s
Discontinued: Sometime later in the 90s
Everyone loves Wonka's Nerds, so naturally, Dweebs were released as a companion. They were bigger and chewier than their nerdy counterparts and unfortunately didn't make it out of the 90s alive.
25. Chicken Dinner Candy Bar
Introduced: 1923
Discontinued: 1962
No, this candy didn't taste like chicken and potatoes. It was your standard chocolate candy bar with nuts inside and more than likely its demise happened because it got steam-rolled by shiny new candies as the years went on.
