Pop Culture Retrospective Podcast #61 - Extinct, Disappearing and Discontinued Food and Beverage Items of the 80s, 90s and early 2000s.

Episode 61: Extinct, Discontinued and Disappearing Food & Drinks from the 1980s and 1990s, Part II

On last’s episode we took a look back at some of the extinct, discontinued and disappearing food and beverage items from the 80s, 90s and early 2000s.  I found so much fascinating information that I decide to continue the discussion so in a moment, we’ll get started on part two.  

Hello and thank you so very much for tuning in to the Pop Culture Retrospective Podcast, a show inspired by, and in memory of, my big sister Rebecca and her love for all things pop-culture, especially the people, places and things of the 80s, 90s and early 00s.  My name is Amy Lewis and I am your captain aboard this pop-culture time machine. You are tuning in to episode #61, Extinct, Discontinued and Disappearing Food & Drinks from the 1980s and 1990s, Part II.

As I was editing last week’s show I realized there was something missing…a noise or sound to signify the items that have disappeared or have become discontinued.  So from now on, when we learn that something became discontinued you will hear a brief clip of this infamous song…..SAMPLE.  Something similar happened when I produced the two-part episode about extinct and disappearing restaurant chains.  By episode 2 I realized we needed a bankruptcy noise since that occurred for a vast majority of the chains. 

We begin our journey this week with a beloved carbonated beverage that I recently learned has been discontinued *****, Sierra Mist was sadly discontinued in January of 2023.  COMMERCIAL HERE.  Sierra Mist was first introduced in 1999 by the Pepsi Company, with the hope that it could compete with Sprite and 7-Up.  Sadly, although I feel like I remember seeing Sierra Mist all over the place, it never quite caught up with its competitors.  For example, did you know that Sprite, which is owned by Coca-Cola, is the most popular lemon-lime soda on the market? Sierra Mist market share was just a ten of 1% market share.  7 Up is owned by Keurig Dr. Pepper, which I didn’t know.  I also didn’t realize that Keurig and Dr. Pepper were a joint company. In 2021, Sprite had about 8.3% market share.  Demand for lemon-lime flavored beverages is very high so after discontinuing Sierra Mist, Pepsi recently debuted Starry.  It has more citrus flavors than its predecessor and also has a more crisp taste.  Starry is trying to reach gen Zers (born between the late 1990s to 2010) with slogans like “Starry hits different.”  Only time will tell if Starry will be successful, Gen Z’ers, it’s up to you!

Next we have the Flintstone’s Push Pops, which were introduced in the early 1990s.  COMMERCIAL.  In case you are not familiar with the Flintstones, it was a cartoon about a family and their neighbors during the stone age.  The main characters were Fred and Wilma Flinstone and their friends Barney and Betty.  The show ran from 1960-1966. 

I am not quite sure why exactly the Flintstones got associated with a sherbert ice cream push pop during the 1990s, I  don’t think I’ll ever know.  Perhaps it has something to do with the release of the movie the Jetsons meet the Flintstones in 1987 (the Jetsons was a similar cartoon that was on around the same time, but this time the family lived in outer space).  Anyways, the frozen treat was created by Nestle and rebranded in the 90s with the Flintstones.  During that time there were multiple flavors with each character on it.  For example, Wilma could be found on Lime Rock Lime, Fred could be found on Yabba Dabba Doo Orange, Pebbles and Bam Bam were on the Cave Kid Cherry pops, Dino was on the Granite Grape pops, Barney was on Rasperry Rubble and Baby Puss was on Bedrock Berry.  In 1994, a live-action Flintstones movie was released starring Jon Goodman as Fred Flintstone, Elizabeth Perkins as Wilma, Rick Morranis as Barney Rubble and Rosie O’Donnell as Betty Rubble.  

The cool thing about push pops is first, it was sherbet ice cream, which was relatively unusual at the time and probably even now as ice cream is still really king when it comes to frozen treats.  I also liked the push pops because they were as messy as a traditional ice cream cone because 

You can still purchase push pops these days, however the Flinstone’s tie in is a thing of the past (just like the setting of their show).  Their current flavors are Outrageous Orange, Turbo Grape and Cherry Blast.  I refuse to purchase any push pops unless they bring back the Flintstones.  

Now on to everyone’s favorite candy dish snack, Creme Savers.  Nabisco released creme savers in 1996.  The original flavors of the circular candy were chocolate and caramel, Banana and Creme, Butter Toffee and Creme, Raspberry and Creme, orange and cream and finally, my personal favorite, Strawberry and Creme.  As far as I could tell the candies were extremely popular and delicious but they were discontinued TAPS in 2011. 10 years later in 2021, Creme Savers have made a comeback at all Big Lots locations, this time they are being produced by Mars Wrigley and are available in two flavors:  Orange & Creme and Strawberries & Creme. Thank god.  I saw a meme recently with a picture of Creme Savers on it.  The caption read:  “If you remember these,  your knees pop when you stand up.”  I feel so seen. 

Let’s transition to Munch ‘Ems, which were created by Keebler.  They became popular in the 1990s.  The tagline for the flavored crackers was:  “baked til they crunch like chips.”  Originally the crackers were shaped like hexagons, with a grooved texture.  Some of the flavors included ranch, cheddar and sour cream & onion.  In the early 2000s, the crackers were discontinued (TAPS).  

Next up is Kudos, everyone’s favorite treat to give out when you needed to pay someone a compliment.  I’m not kidding.  

I feel like one of my elementary school teachers gave these out to kids who did well on big projects and stuff.  Anyways.  Kudos were created by Mars Incorporated, the same company that makes Twix, Snickers and Milky Way candy bars.  The original flavors were Chocolate Chip, Fudge and Peanut Butter.  The candy bars were sort of marketed as being healthy because they had granola in them, however they were really just candy bars with a hint of granola.  The original bars had 180 calories in them.  Due to what I am assuming is some criticism, “Simply Kudos” were released in 1993 - the bars were smaller and had 100 calories in them.  In 2011, Kudos expanded some of the flavors and included dove candies and snickers into their recipes.  

By 2017, Kudos had pretty much disappeared off of store shelves, without much of a warning (TAPS).  Of course, there was an outcry on social media platforms like Facebook and apparently Mars filed to register the brand in 2020.  I don’t think anything has happened with that just yet, but recipes have been floating around on blogs for years, giving at-home chefs the chance to recreate their favorite childhood candy bar in their own kitchens. 

And speaking of junk food sort of marketed as health food, let’s move on to Dannon Sprinklin’s the infamous yogurt for kids which included, you guessed it, sprinkles.  The test marketing of Sprinklins started in 1992 and it was introduced nationwide in 1993.  Dannon was trying their hardest to figure out how to get children to eat yogurt.  In the early 1990s, yogurt was most definitely NOT a staple in the diets of children, mostly because most kids, especially young kids, thought yogurt had an odd texture and was sour.  So, Dannon decided if they added sprinkles to the mix, perhaps they could get kids hooked on yogurt.  And guess what?  It worked!  In the first year alone, sales of Sprinklins reached 43.9 million! In 1994, Dannon introduced Danimals, yogurt that had cartoon animals on it’s packaging.  The organization pledged to donate 1.5% of all sales to the National Wildlife Federation.  By the early 2000s though, Sprinklin’s were nowhere to be found.  (TAPS).  That may have had something to do with the fact that Sprinklin’s were heavily criticized for the sugar content of their yogurt.  There’s no need to worry about Dannon though, they are still busy making yogurt like Fruit on the Bottom, Light & Fit, Lowfat yogurt and everyone’s favorite diuretic, Activia.  

I came across a very interesting article from the New York Times in 1993 when Sprinklin’s launched.  I think it provides a lot of interesting insight into how this sugary snack came to be but also about how marketers and advertisers try to reach kids via their parents.  Here’s a bit from that article:

Shelia Graham once said:  “Food is the most primitive form of comfort.”  And if you are familiar with anything we’ve discussed on today’s episode or the previous one, you will know exactly what she is referring to.

I hope you will join me for my next show where we will be discussing some of the best sitcoms led by black actors in honor of Black History Month.  This show was suggested by a very devoted listener named Preston and I absolutely loved the idea so look for that episode in 2 weeks! 

If you want to learn more about the show, find older episodes, rate the show, read some blog posts, etc. please visit my official podcast website at www.popcultureretrospective.com

Until next time my friends, BKBSAHOTYM.