14 Retro Candy Bars That Are Just Memories Now
These forgotten candy bars once ruled lunchboxes, vending machines, and corner stores before quietly fading into sugar-coated legend.
- Alyana Aguja
- 4 min read
In the fast-changing world of snacks, even candy bars with cult followings can disappear overnight. Whether it was due to shifting tastes, corporate takeovers, or production issues, these sweets now live on only in memory. For those who grew up unwrapping these treats, the nostalgia hits harder than the sugar ever did.
1. PB Max
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Launched in the early ’90s by Mars, PB Max was a peanut butter lover’s dream, with layers of peanut butter, oats, and a chocolate coating. It had a hearty crunch that made it feel almost like a meal. Mars quietly pulled it from shelves, allegedly because the family wasn’t fond of peanut butter, and fans have been grieving ever since.
2. Marathon Bar
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The Marathon Bar was an iconic 8-inch rope of caramel covered in chocolate and twisted like a braid. It came with a ruler on the wrapper to prove its outrageous length. Discontinued in 1981, it left a sweet void that even today’s Snickers can’t fill.
3. Reggie! Bar
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Named after baseball legend Reggie Jackson, this circular candy bar was stuffed with peanuts, caramel, and chocolate. It was famously handed out at Yankee Stadium when Reggie hit a homer. The hype didn’t last long though — it disappeared from stores by the mid-1980s.
4. Bar None
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Hershey’s Bar None was introduced in 1987 as a chocolate wafer bar meant to satisfy serious chocolate cravings. It had layers of cocoa wafers, chocolate cream, and crushed peanuts, all wrapped in chocolate. Despite a cult following, it vanished in the ’90s after a brief rebrand that just couldn’t stick.
5. Milkshake Bar
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Don’t let the name fool you — this chewy nougat bar didn’t require a straw. It was like a malted Milky Way with a creamier texture, first made by Hollywood Candy. Fading in the late 1980s, it now exists only in the hazy sugar-laced memories of Baby Boomers.
6. Seven Up Bar
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Not related to the soda, this unique bar had seven distinct chocolate-filled sections, each with a different flavor like mint, caramel, and cherry. It was like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, but in bar form. The labor-intensive production meant it didn’t survive past the 1970s.
7. Choco’Lite
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Choco’Lite was Nestlé’s answer to an airy chocolate treat, sort of like a more bubbly Crunch bar. The texture was light and fun, but it didn’t have enough staying power against more intense flavors. Its final years were in the early 1980s before it quietly disappeared.
8. PowerHouse Bar
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With fudge, peanuts, and caramel, the PowerHouse bar was an underrated heavy hitter. It was a calorie bomb before anyone cared about calories. Once popular through the ‘60s and ‘70s, it faded into obscurity when tastes turned to sleeker, flashier treats.
9. Toblerone White Chocolate (original version)
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Though Toblerone still exists, the original white chocolate version with honey and almond nougat had a brief cult following in the ’80s before being discontinued. Its unique triangular shape gave it flair, but the white chocolate twist couldn’t compete with the milk chocolate classic. Occasionally revived in limited editions, the original formula remains elusive.
10. Butternut Bar
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The Butternut Bar, from the Hollywood Candy Company, was a chewy caramel and nut-filled bar coated in milk chocolate. It had an old-school richness that made it a favorite among Depression-era kids. It was eventually absorbed and discontinued after company acquisitions.
11. Bun Bar (vanilla flavor)
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Bun Bars came in several flavors, but the vanilla-filled one was a standout for its creamy center and nutty chocolate shell. You had to eat it slowly, but it melted too fast in your hand. The vanilla flavor has largely been phased out, leaving only faint echoes in candy collectors’ stashes.
12. Chicken Dinner Bar
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Despite the bizarre name, the Chicken Dinner Bar had no poultry — it was a nut roll with a misleading Depression-era marketing gimmick promising “a square meal in every bar.” It was popular for decades purely out of nostalgia. It finally clucked out in the 1960s, leaving behind puzzled candy historians.
13. Oompas
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Originally launched by Willy Wonka Brands, Oompas started as chocolate and peanut butter candy-coated disks, a crunchy cousin of Reese’s Pieces. Later versions became fruit-flavored, but neither iteration lasted long. The name was whimsical, but the taste couldn’t compete with M&M’s dominance.
14. Rally Bar
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The Rally Bar was a dense blend of caramel, peanuts, and nougat, like a cousin of Snickers with a homemade vibe. It had a loyal following through the ‘70s and ‘80s but quietly exited stage left when Hershey decided to streamline. It made a brief comeback in 2013 before vanishing again.
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