Snack History: the candy & snacks you grew up with

Remember the candy counter at the corner store? Look up when your favorite candy bar, cereal, chip or soda was invented, who made it, how it changed, and what happened to the treats that disappeared. Over 750 snack histories, from the 1920s to today.

📖 Our most-loved pageFind your favorite in the A–Z List of Snacks750+ candies, snacks, cereals & sodas in one alphabetical list. Can you find the one you remember?Open the A–Z list →
Feeling nostalgic?Let the candy jar pick a snack history for you.
Est. 2021 · The encyclopedia of candy & snacks CANDY
  • 750+snack histories
  • 300+brands
  • 40+countries
  • 100years of candy

As featured in

📼 Nostalgia trip

Candy & snacks by decade

A hundred years of sweets, from penny candy and soda fountains to neon 90s wrappers. Pick the decade you grew up in.

Vintage candy guide →
  1. 1920s candy 1920sThe first candy bar boom: Baby Ruth, Milky Way and Mr. Goodbar1920s candy1920s snacks
  2. 1930s candy 1930sSnickers, 3 Musketeers and Depression-era penny candy1930s candy1930s snacks
  3. 1940s candy 1940sM&M’s, Almond Joy and wartime ration treats1940s candy1940s snacks
  4. 1950s candy 1950sPeeps, PEZ, Atomic Fireballs and soda-fountain days1950s candy1950s snacks
  5. 1960s candy 1960sSweeTarts, Lemonheads and space-age candy1960s candy1960s snacks
  6. 1970s candy 1970sPop Rocks, Reggie! Bars and Bubble Yum1970s candy1970s snacks
  7. 1980s candy 1980sNerds, Skittles, Garbage Pail Kids and neon wrappers1980s candy1980s snacks
  8. 1990s candy 1990sBaby Bottle Pops, Dunkaroos, Warheads and Surge1990s candy1990s snacks
  9. 2000s candy 2000sFruit By The Foot, Wonka Bars and millennial classics2000s candy2000s snacks
🍭 Old-fashioned candy🏛️ Oldest candy still made🥣 80s cereal🥣 90s cereal🫧 80s gum🫧 90s gum🐰 Candy mascots🍫 Vintage wrappers
🎃 🎄 💝 🐣 Through the year

Candy by season

The holiday treats that marked every year, and where they came from.

All seasonal candy →
Halloween candy In season nowHalloween candyCandy corn, full-size bars and the history of trick-or-treat Christmas candy In season nowChristmas candyCandy canes, ribbon candy and stocking-stuffer classics Valentine’s Day candy In season nowValentine’s Day candyConversation hearts, heart-shaped boxes and chocolates Easter candy In season nowEaster candyPeeps, Cadbury Creme Eggs and jelly beans
Halloween snacksChristmas snacksEaster snacksThanksgiving snacksHanukkah candySt. Patrick’s Day candy4th of July snacksCinco de Mayo snacksDiwali snacks

The A–Z List of Snacks

Our biggest page: every snack, candy, drink and food on Snack History in one alphabetical list. Find the one you remember and read its full story.

Open the full list →

Candy from A to Z

Pick a letter to see every candy that starts with it, from Abba-Zaba to Zotz.

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All A–Z candies →

Most-loved snack histories

The articles readers, journalists and Wikipedia editors reach for most.

Browse all candy →
The Oldest Candy Bars Still Sold Today The Oldest Candy Bars Still Sold TodayFrom Fry’s Chocolate Cream to the Goo Goo Cluster, the bars that outlived everything The Lost Candy Mascots Everyone Forgot The Lost Candy Mascots Everyone ForgotForgotten faces from candy wrappers and Saturday-morning ads
York Peppermint Pattie York Peppermint PattieThe cool mint patty from York, Pennsylvania Sprite SpriteHow Coca-Cola’s lemon-lime soda took on 7 Up Cocoa Puffs Cocoa PuffsSonny the Cuckoo Bird and the chocolate cereal Takis TakisThe rolled tortilla chip that conquered lunchboxes Sour Patch Kids Sour Patch KidsSour then sweet, and once shaped like Martians Twix TwixLeft Twix, right Twix and the cookie bar’s UK roots 100 Grand Bar 100 Grand BarThe candy bar first called $100,000 Pringles PringlesThe stackable chip in the famous tube Dunkaroos DunkaroosThe 90s cookie-and-frosting snack that came back Mars Bar Mars BarForrest Mars and Britain’s classic bar Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Reese’s Peanut Butter CupsH.B. Reese’s peanut butter and chocolate hit PEZ PEZCollectible dispensers and Austrian peppermints
💬 Reader favorites

The candy you talk about most

The snack histories with the most reader memories in the comments. Remember one of these? Add yours.

More vintage candy →
Now and Later 💬 35 memoriesNow and LaterTaffy squares that sold for a penny Jujubes 💬 26 memoriesJujubesThe rock-hard movie-theater gumdrops Big Hunk 💬 26 memoriesBig HunkHoney nougat and peanuts since 1950 Zero Bar 💬 23 memoriesZero BarThe white-fudge bar from 1920 Ice Cube Candy 💬 16 memoriesIce Cube CandyThe German chocolate that melts cold Whoppers 💬 15 memoriesWhoppersMalted milk balls in the milk carton Life Savers 💬 14 memoriesLife SaversThe candy with the hole, since 1912 Bit-O-Honey 💬 12 memoriesBit-O-HoneyHoney taffy with almond bits, 1924 Raisinets 💬 12 memoriesRaisinetsChocolate-covered raisins since 1927 Denver Sandwich 💬 12 memoriesDenver SandwichThe peanut-and-caramel bar of the 40s Sweet Marie 💬 12 memoriesSweet MarieCanada’s peanut-caramel bar Regal Crown Sours 💬 12 memoriesRegal Crown SoursThe sour drops in the little roll Atomic Fireballs 💬 11 memoriesAtomic FireballsThe jawbreaker that burns, since 1954 Boston Baked Beans 💬 11 memoriesBoston Baked BeansCandy-coated peanuts, not beans PayDay 💬 10 memoriesPayDaySalted peanuts around caramel, 1932 Milk Duds 💬 10 memoriesMilk DudsChocolate-caramel balls from 1926
🍫 Hershey Bar🥜 5th Avenue🌈 Chuckles🍬 BB Bats🍯 Sugar Mama👀 Look Bar🥣 Carnation Breakfast Bars🍫 Snickers🍬 Tootsie Roll🍫 Charleston Chew🍫 Kit Kat

Gone but not forgotten

Discontinued candy, snacks and sodas that live on in our memories.

All discontinued candy →
Discontinued Candy Discontinued CandyEvery candy bar and sweet that disappeared from shelves, and a few that came back Seven Up Candy Bar Seven Up Candy BarSeven flavored pockets in one bar, gone since 1979 Milkshake Candy Bar Milkshake Candy BarThe malted nougat bar from Hollywood Candy Marathon Bar Marathon BarEight inches of braided caramel, 1973 to 1981 Sen-Sen Sen-SenThe licorice breath mint of the 1900s Chum Gum Chum GumThe penny bubble gum of the 50s and 60s Cheez Waffies Cheez WaffiesWise’s cheese-filled waffle crackers Doo Dads Doo DadsNabisco’s crunchy snack mix Space Food Sticks Space Food SticksPillsbury’s astronaut snack Bub’s Daddy Bub’s DaddyThe long rope of bubble gum Screaming Yellow Zonkers Screaming Yellow ZonkersGlazed popcorn in the black box Crystal Pepsi Crystal PepsiThe clear cola of 1992 Tab TabCoca-Cola’s original diet soda

Candy by color

Planning a themed candy buffet? Shop the rainbow.

Candy from around the world

The sweets people grew up with in other countries, and the imports you remember from vacations.

International candy →

Lists, rankings & nostalgia trips

Best-sellers, record-breakers and Saturday-morning favorites.

All lists →

Browse by category

🧰 Fun with candy

Candy tools & calculators

Find the candy from the year you were born, see what a nickel candy bar costs today, and plan Halloween and party candy.

All candy tools →
🧠 Test your candy memory

Candy quiz

Twelve quick questions on the candy, snacks and sodas you grew up with. Every answer links to the full story.

More quizzes →
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About Snack History

Snack History is an online encyclopedia of candy, snacks, cereals and drinks. Since 2021 our writers have researched more than 750 brands, from the first chocolate bars of the 1800s to the limited editions on shelves today, covering who invented them, how the recipes and packaging changed, and why some disappeared.

Our articles are cited by Fox News, Business Insider, Newsweek and other publications. Read more about Snack History, meet the team, or get in touch if you remember a snack we haven’t covered yet.

🧠 Snack trivia quiz

Think you know your candy history? Test yourself against our snack quiz.

Take the quiz →