From Cheez Balls to Pudding Pops: Limited Edition Foods That Helped Grow Major Brands

Discontinued: 2012
Average Price: $4.50*

Dunkaroos were created back in 1990 by Betty Crocker, and they featured sweet crackers that you would dunk in frosting. Dunkaroos were discontinued in the United States in 2012 due to low sales, though they lived on, as they were still produced in Canada until 2018.

Dunkaroos @VGFGamers / Twitter.com

Today, they are sold by independent sellers on Amazon who have managed to hoard the last of the available Dunkaroos. For the six-year period between being discontinued in the US and discontinued in Canada, Canadians could sign up to smuggle Dunkaroos across the border to US citizens who were craving a taste of childhood nostalgia.

Discontinued: 2006
Average Price: $1.79*

Ketchup crossed the line when it went purple, and Heinz learned that after it briefly introduced and then discontinued its line of purple ketchup in an “EZ Squirt” bottle (also gross). Heinz EZ Purple Ketchup tasted just like the red stuff; it just came out purple like grape jelly.

Heinz EZ Squirt Purple Ketchup @w0ll / Twitter.com

The purple ketchup was targeted to little kids, and it retailed from 2000 to 2006. Other colors appeared, including orange, blue, teal, and pink. The brightly-colored ketchup ended up not selling, as little kids don’t have money and their parents wouldn’t buy it for them in high enough quantities to keep the brand going.  

Discontinued: 2008
Average Price: $3.38*

Peanut butter and banana crème Reese’s cups were introduced as a memento to the late, great Elvis Presley. Presley reportedly loved peanut butter and banana sandwiches, so Hershey decided to honor him in 2007 by releasing their own spin on the treat, complete with Elvis’s picture on the wrapper.

Elvis' Peanut Butter & Banana Creme Reese's @HersheyStory / Facebook.com

The wrappers also came with a promotion that featured a “Live Like the King” contest. If someone won this Reese’s version of a golden ticket, they could win Elvis-related prizes like a 1957 Cadillac, which was inspired by Elvis’ famous pink Caddy. The candy was discontinued in 2007 after the promo event ended.

Discontinued: 2012
Average Price: $2.86*

Hostess Brand and their famous Twinkies went bankrupt in 2012, and it discontinued production of the beloved snack, which could, according to Family Guy, theoretically survive a nuclear winter. Twinkies were off the market for ten months before Hostess made a grande return from bankruptcy and launched Twinkies again on July 15, 2013. They didn’t return with all of their flavors, however.

Strawberry Cream Twinkies ©melissamn / Shutterstock.com

One casualty of the new marketing and restructuring was the strawberry cream twinkies, which didn’t sell as well as the vanilla flavor and therefore got the axe. Twinkies were based on strawberry shortcake, but they took their current form during WWII when banana imports cease and strawberries were out of season, leaving only the sponge cake. 

Discontinued: 2010
Average Price: $1.99*

Altoid is a breath mint subsidiary of the candy company Wrigley. Altoids are still on the market, and Altoid Sours went on sale in 2004. They included five flavors, including lime, apple, tangerine (the best), mango, and raspberry. The tangy snacks were discontinued just six years later in February, 2010.

Altoids Sours @samcorb / Twitter.com

Altoid Sours were discontinued due to low sales. People had come to associate Altoids with breath mints, not with actual candy. Now, on eBay, people are selling the last of their stock, with one seller offering a sealed tin for over $200. There are also Altoid Sours sellers on Amazon. 

Discontinued: 2016
Average Price: $6*

Maple Bacon Pop Tarts were always meant to be a limited-edition flavor. They were bought by the same sweet-and-savory cravers who like dipping French fries into their milkshakes. Kellogg’s Maple Bacon Pop Tarts were announced as a flavor in 2015, and they hit the shelves in 2016. These limited-edition treats lasted only for a little while before being discontinued.

Maple Bacon Pop Tarts @mtracey / Twitter.com

Overall, the reception was positive. Whether they would have survived a non-limited-edition status is unknown. Pop Tarts, which are a Kellogg brand, have a lot of high fructose corn syrup, which became the bane of nutritionists’ existence when new research came out in the later 2000s.

Discontinued: 1991
Average Price: $5.99*

Big Stuf Oreos were introduced in the late eighties, making them one of the oldest snacks on this list. Big Stuf Oreos were basically giant, 250-calorie Oreos that were sold individually until they were discontinued in 1991. This Oreo was ten times the size of a normal-sized Oreo. 

Big Stuf Oreos ©Turian / Shutterstock.com

Nabisco learned that bigger wasn’t better when it came to these cookies, and they were cut for low sales. Big Stuf Oreos foreshadowed the arrival of Double-Stuf Oreos, which are actually made from crème that is 7% lighter than that which you’d find in a regular Oreo (sort of like the slightly too-short Subway footlong).

Discontinued: 2000
Average Price: $6*

McDonald’s served pizza at all of its locations for a brief period in the nineties until it discontinued the attempt in 2000. McDonald’s didn’t cut pizza from the menu due to low sales; the main reason was because of time. The pizza took eleven minutes to make, and that didn’t hold up to McDonald’s “fast” food reputation.

McDonald’s Pizza @RedheadXilamGuy / Twitter.com

In 2017, McDonald’s tried the McPizza thing again, but only for two locations: one in Spencer, West Virginia and one in Pomerory, Ohio. They discontinued that attempt shortly after as well. Now, only Disney World’s McDonald’s sells pizza at its Orlando, FL location.

Discontinued: 2007
Average Price: $1.59*

Coca Cola BlaK was a soft-drink that was coffee-flavored. Coca Cola tried it out in 2006, first introducing it in France. It then introduced it in Lithuania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. All consumers in these four countries said the same thing: No. Coca Cola discontinued BlaK seventeen months after introducing it.

Coca-Cola BlāK @jake_shapiro / Twitter.com

The coffee-flavored soft drink had less calories than a full-on Coke does, but it was just too unusual to get off the ground. In 2019, Coke announced it was planning to try to make a Coke-coffee hybrid drink, along with perhaps a reboot of BlaK for US audiences.

Discontinued: 2006
Average Price: $7.79*

Planters released Cheez Balls in the nineties, which were bright-orange (fluorescent, really) spheres of cheese-flavored crunch that were quite popular. They were discontinued in 2006. For twelve years, Cheez Balls sat off the shelves until, in 2018, Planters agreed to a limited-edition release.

Planters Cheez Balls @70s80sChildhoodMemories / Facebook.com

Fans of the snack had been petitioning the company repeatedly until it agreed to sell their favorite snack again in 2018. Kraft’s Planters Cheez Balls were brought back for a summer, hitting shelves on July 1, 2018. They are now still available on Amazon and at certain Walmart stores. Whether or not there will be another comeback is still unknown.

Discontinued: 2004
Average Price: $1.99*

Pepsi Blue by PepsiCo, was a berry-flavored soft drink that most closely resembled Crystal Pepsi, for those of you who remember. The bright-blue-dyed drink was introduced in August of 2002, and it was discontinued in May of 2004 for the North American market due to low sales. Now, if you want some, you will have to get it from the Philippines or Indonesia.

Pepsi Blue @aslamsome / Twitter.com

In the UK, it made a brief comeback in the summer of 2019. The main reason it was discontinued there once again was because there was controversy around Pepsi’s use of Blue 1, a toxic food dye that multiple countries have banned.

Discontinued: 1993
Average Price: $0.77*

New York Seltzer was a carbonated soft drink. It was produced by Alan and Randy Miller, a father and son duo, for their Original New York Seltzer company. The clear soda had natural flavors, no artificial colors, and no preservatives (similar to LaCroix now). The soda was discontinued in 1994, but it cost about $0.77 for one little bottle.

New York Seltzer @Originalnewyorkseltzer / Facebook.com

You can still buy a 12-pack of ten-ounce New York Seltzer bottles in their Vanilla Cream flavor. The Los Angeles soda company, which has been around for so long that it is officially considered retro, is attempting to make a comeback, selling its products at Bed Bath & Beyond’s World Market.

Discontinued: 1990s
Average Price: $2.99*

Giggles Cookies are a long-forgotten Nabisco product that were made by sandwiching two happy-faced cookies together, with fudge in between. They were available in the eighties and discontinued in the nineties. The smiling shortbread treats were actually quite similar in design to today’s emojis, which could be a possible comeback angle.

Giggles @mandyvandeven / Twitter.com

Giggles Cookies had the slogan “Two Kinds of Crème in Each Funny Face.” Whether Nabisco will release them again is unknown, but, of all the snacks on this list, Giggles Cookies are the ones that are almost impossible to find any information about, adding to their air of mystery.

Discontinued: 2003
Average Price: $1.97*

Made by Coca Cola, Fruitopia was introduced in 1994 and discontinued in the US (where it originated) in 2003. The drink was targeted at the teen/young adult crowd. The drink itself was somewhat of an advertising push for another drink, the more-popular Snapple. Some flavors were remade under the Minute Maid label after discontinuation.

Fruitopia @Creat1ve / Twitter.com

Most were abandoned in favor of Minute Maid, which ended up being the reason the label vanished. The flavored tea drink market became more of Snapple’s game, and the remaining Fruitopia label is available at McDonald’s. McDonald’s sells Fruitopia Strawberry Passion, a fruit drink that has no artificial flavors and is caffeine-free.