90s Candy: History & Fun Candy Facts - Snack History (2024)

Have you ever wondered why people love candy so much? Naturally, candy is associated with positive vibes and memories. Somehow, it is associated with joy, love, friends, and family. We eat candy on celebrations, birthdays, holidays, and all great events. Certain candy can be traced back to the times when you were a kid. Or even the taste or smell of some sweets brings back those fun memories of yours.

Even when we are sad, eating candy and sweets affects our brain somehow, which brings a moment of comfort in the chaos of life. Fruit String Thing, NutRageous Bar, and dnL Soda are just a few of the most delicious candies and snacks that originated from the 90s candy scene. In this article, we will go back to the 1990s, see how the world looked back in those times when the entertainment culture was on the rise, and review the most popular candy from the 1990s.

Top 9 Candy Names from the 1990s

1. Fruit By The Foot
2. Dunkaroos
3. Nik L Nip
4. Fruit Gushers
5. Push Pops
6. Cow Tales
7. Josta Energy Drink
8. Takis
9. Crystal Pepsi

Pop Culture and Candy from the 1990s

The 1990s was truly an exciting decade. It was filled with technological progress, inventions, new bands, movies, TV shows, celebrities and so much more. In that decade, pop culture just took flight.

The 1990s were truly an exciting decade. It was filled with technological progress, inventions, New bands, Movies, TV shows, Celebrities and so much more. In that decade, pop culture just took flight.

On September 2nd, 1994, the most famous sitcom “Friends” debuted on MBC. Millions of people became addicted to the show and loved it. “Friends” was full of a positive and lovable cast. What could have been a better way to relax than watching the series with friends while eating the Warheads Candy?Even more. People still wonder what Joey Tribbiani’s favorite candy would be. Probably all of those mentioned below.

Chances are high you’ve either danced “The Macarena ” once in your lifetime, watched others dance, or

Chances are high you’ve either danced “The Macarena ” once in your lifetime, watched others dance, or heard about it. Today, it’s hard to find a single person who has not heard about the legendary “Macarena Pop-dance.” Imagine chewing Cry Baby Gum while dancing and doing the iconic movements. Britney Spears became a real icon and kind of opened up a “saccharine teen pop” era, attracting attention and popularity with the music video “Baby One More Time”. Along with the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe,” who would not fall in love with dancing?

It must have been a lot of fun to find the jokes on Sour Punch Straws and laugh about them with friends or family. So, what can we say? The nineties was really a memorable time, and it was like a celebration of pop culture. And the candy was a huge part of the culture.

Top 9 Candy from the 1990s

Do you remember when everyone listened to “Now That’s what I call music!”? It was the time when we used to exchange Dunkaroos or Baby Bottle Pops during lunch with friends. Guess what, in this article, we are taking you back to the nineties. It’s the decade when everything was different: new technologies and opportunities appeared and life just started blooming.

If you are old enough, you will eventually know about these yummy treats. However, if you are too young, you will have the possibility of getting to know what the nineties were like. Lay back and follow us where we will tell you about the top ten most popular candy from the 1990s.

1. Fruit By The Foot

Without a doubt, Fruit By The Foot is one of the most famous and memorable candy from the 1990s. It’s a delicious snack with diverse fruit flavors made by General Mills. The history of this candy goes back to 1992 when Thomas Herzog first introduced it to North America. Considering the wide choice of fruit-flavored candies in the modern candy industry, Fruit By The Foot is not as popular anymore as it used to be. However, fortunately for many, it’s still in production.

People nowadays still remember the creative campaigns and advertisem*nts for this delicious candy. In 1999, General Mills and Nintendo created promotional advertisem*nts that were worth $5 million. The main idea of the campaign was to encourage kids to buy Fruit by the Foot snacks with their pocket money. They could collect variations of ninety different tips and use them in Nintendo games.

Even though sugar, including corn syrup, maltodextrin, and ordinary sugar, is still the major ingredient of Fruit by the Foot, the company was forced to remove artificial ingredients such as colors and flavors for synthesizing. As a result, today’s Fruit by the Foot snacks taste a bit different from the original ones.

2. Dunkaroos

Dunkaroos were first launched in 1988 and belonged to the Betty Crocker name. The package is snack-sized, and there are cookies and frosting in it. The cookies are supposed to be dunked in frosting. There are ten cookies per package and some frosting. The frosting is very tasty, sweet, and sugary. Crunchy cookies combined with frosting create the perfect combination. Children loved it because not only was it very delicious, but it had an interesting and playable shape. There were shapes of kangaroos and basketballs too. Kids would “dunk” those shaped cookies in the frosting and enjoy them. That is why it is called “Dunkaroos”.

Dunkaroos became popular quickly because children would eat them during lunchtime. The packaging of the candy is a rectangular container in the same shape as the package. It has two compartments. The box itself is usually blue.

3. Nik L Nip

What could be more entertaining than biting the top off the candy bottle and drinking some sweet, delicious juice out of it? Well, Nik L Nip candy gives a unique opportunity for this. They are small wax containers that have a bottle shape. Once the top is bitten off, the fruit flavor syrup is inside. After drinking the juice, the wax can be chewed like gum.

There were some questions raised regarding the safety of the wax bottles themselves and if they had any harm to the health. The wax bottle itself is non-toxic and food-grade. However, it is only meant to be chewed, like bubble gum, and not swallowed. The main ingredients of the candy are refined wax, water, artificial flavors, corn syrup, etc.

Nik L Nip candy was marketed by Tootsie Roll Industries. It comes in four varieties, including cherry, orange, lemon, and lime. Today, Nik L Nips are still made and can be found in supermarkets.

4. Fruit Gushers

Kids who adored fruit flavors will never forget the sweet taste of Fruit Gushers. It’s another iconic candy from the 1990s that still makes many people feel nostalgic. Introduced by Betty Crocker in 1991, Fruit Gushers was a popular fruit snack that came in two different flavors: strawberry and grape. Respectively, the official names of these variations were Strawberry Splash and Gushin Grape.

Even though this candy was already being forgotten, replaced by modern fruit-flavored snacks, the company decided to release a new variety of Fruit Gushers in 2020. Therefore, today you can taste a new series of this candy called “Galactic Fruit Gushers.” The new edition includes more diverse fruit flavors such as apples, berries, and even a completely new snack that doesn’t taste like any specific fruit. As a result, it’s named “Unidentified Flavored Object.” It’s no wonder why this variation is the most popular among kids.

5. Push Pops

Push Pop were manufactured and made by Topps. It is a lollipop that has fruit flavors. It originally debuted in 1986 but became especially popular in the 1990s. A lollipop has the form of a cylinder. It retracts into a capped plastic tube and needs to be pushed away from the point of consumption. Push pops have different varieties, such as spring-loaded Jumbo, Triple Power, Flip-N-dip, and others.

It has been a very popular product among kids. It also won the candy industry’s kid’s voice award and was awarded as being the best novelty candy.

6. Cow Tales

Cow Tales are very delicious and sweet candy sticks made out of caramel that is filled with cream. The candy was manufactured by Goetze’s Candy Company. Manufacturing started in 1984 and is made with the secret family recipe.

The name “Cow Tales” means that it is maintaining the cow theme. Mostly, they wanted to emphasize that the caramel was made with high-quality milk and ingredients. The texture of the candy is chewy and caramel with cream melts in the mouth. It creates a mix of chewy, creamy, and velvety.

7. Josta Energy Drink

If you’re a fan of Marvel Comics, you probably recognize Josta Energy Drink from the Disney+ series Loki. In fact, this soft drink is Mobius’s favorite! Although its popularity in the Marvel universe is undeniable, this product from the 1990s had a rather short-lived life.

People often compare Josta Energy Drink to other popular energy drinks and sodas, such as Bob Ross Energy Drink, Crystal Pepsi, or 7UP. Whether it’s better or not, one thing is for sure – this soft drink always makes it onto the list of the most famous candy from the 1990s. Josta is an energy drink produced by PepsiCo. Even if you remember how this sweet beverage tasted, chances are high that you don’t know that it’s the first energy drink that PepsiCo has ever made. And even more – Josta was the first energy drink in America.

Considering how much caffeine this drink includes, Josta Energy Drink was often mentioned in the 1990s as a high-energy drink. Besides, Josta contained guarana which created an unusually fruity flavor and added extra caffeine to the beverage.

8. Takis

People still remember creative advertisem*nts for Takis from the 1990s that included an unforgettable slogan: “Are you Takis enough?” Even if you don’t recognize this tagline, chances are high that you’ve bought Takis at least once if you lived in the ‘90s. Invented in 1999, Takis was a rolled corn tortilla that didn’t look like regular chips at all. Maybe that was one of the reasons that made it so popular. Snack lovers often compare Takis to Cheetos Puffs from Flamin’ Hot, but some people believe it’s even better.

Although Takis has been considered as a snack since the 1990s, Americans got an opportunity to taste this special snack in 2006. Before, Takis was sold in Mexico. Today, this bitter-flavored candy is still in production. Some of the most popular variations of Takis are Takis Fuego, Takis Guacamole, Takis Crunchy Fajitas, and Takis Nitro.

9. Crystal Pepsi

“Catch a magic moment, do it, right here and now” – with this phrase Crystal Pepsi came into the great market of soft drinks of PepsiCo. The product was launched in the early 1990s, and the United States received it in 1992.

Its taste and ingredients were similar to an average Pepsi, but the difference was only the transparent color, which would be the key to selling the exact product as its predecessors. In its first year, Crystal Pepsi conquered the U.S. soft drink market and made approximately $474 million. After these successful sales, the opponent, Coca-Cola, followed and launched Tab Clear. These extremely popular drinks became not only the best-selling product but the object of political interest.

For several months in 1995, Crystal Pepsi was considered an invention of the decade, but after several months, the drink was discounted. Analysts think that the reason for this failure was the seduction of people into thinking that it was a diet soda because of its color.

In 2005, after much demand from people, “Pepsi Clear” and “Diet Pepsi Clear” were sold.

Bottom Line on 90s Candy

People have been eating candy and sweets since ancient times. It has a very important role in our everyday lives. The same goes for the candy from the 1990s. Just like pop culture, candy has become an inseparable part of our lives. It is linked to our memories, childhood, adulthood, and life. Many things can be changed and many obstacles can come, but one thing never changes, and that is the love of our favorite treats.

We talked a lot about the memories that we have from the nineties, including our favorite bands, movies, TV series, music, and especially Candy. We opened up the treasure box of jeweled memories and remembered the special times of our lives. Which candy from the 1990s was your favorite and what memory is linked to it? Or which candy would you love to taste? Tell us about your experience in our comment section.

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Nato

Nato is a content writer and researcher with a background in psychology. She’s passionate about writing about the candy industry and exploring the cultural significance of sweets and treats. She believes that the stories behind our favorite snacks can reveal a great deal about our values.