Wazoo Bar: History, Flavors & Packaging

Snack History Nostalgia Rating: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆

The Wazoo Bar was a short-lived candy bar made by Topps. The bar was first sold in 2009, and there are not many other candy items that are anything like this little confection. There were only ever two flavors of his candy product made, and since it was not sold for very long, any ideas that might have been in the works for further flavors were never realized.

For lovers of taffy candies, there was probably nothing quite like a Wazoo Bar. Fruity, chewy, and sweet, these little candies took taffy to a new level. Many people were sad that the company making these taffy treats when bankrupt almost right after they were released. Every lover of fruity candy is always looking for something new, and this was a product that was truly like nothing else.

History

The Wazoo Bar was actually just sold under the name Wazoo. Topps never actually called it the “Wazoo Bar”. Wazoo was a taffy product that was tangy, creamy, chewy, and covered in sprinkles. This was a taffy candy that was like a cupcake and a taffy all rolled into one, and there really haven’t been many other candy products like it before or since. 

The marketing for the product was delightfully loud and colorful, and the packaging was tie-dyed and rather psychedelic in nature. Even the lettering on the wrappers was warped and twisted around to match the splashy nature of the colors on the wrappers. 

Wazoo candies had the same overall vibe that the Wonka Chocolate Company products did from the same time period. For those who are attracted to colorful, shiny wrappers and products that promise to be zany, wacky, and wild, these taffy snacks were to die for. Best of all, the sprinkles offered a crunchy note that taffy products had never included, which made them more appealing to people who hate stringy and chewy candies. Breaking up the chewy nature of a candy that doesn’t have a candy bar center was actually a really smart idea.

Topps is a company that is best known for making Bazooka Gum, so this product was a big departure from their usual type of product. This is almost always a bad sign when it comes to new products actually being able to stand the test of time, especially ones that are quite complicated and very unique. The Wazoo Bar was anything but standard and simple, and it is possible that Topps should have known their limits when they decided to try and get involved with such a truly different kind of snack item.

The two flavors that were released to market were Wild Berriez and Blue Razz. Dan Hart and partner Gary Weiss were the designers of the Wazoo products, and they pitched the idea of these flavors and the various textures and fruity notes of the bars to Topps. When Topps accepted, the designers said they had a company lined up to make the treats. Topps was and is more famously known for making bubble gum and simple snack items, so this was probably a stipulation related to the deal.

Sadly, the company that was supposed to make the Wazoo products went bankrupt almost right after the first batch was sent out to be sold in stores. This means that the batch that was made in 2009 is the only batch of this candy that has ever existed. Many people loved the fun and fruity little rainbow candies, and there have been petitions to bring them back. These requests have largely fallen on deaf ears, however. It is likely that this was essentially a licensing deal gone wrong, and the cost of making Wazoo products is prohibitive even for large candy companies.

There are also many other competitors these days that are quite similar as well such as Laffy Taffy. The market might just be too saturated to bear another creative form of taffy. Beyond these difficulties, the lust that consumers had from the 90s to the early 2000s for strangely-colored and sweet candies has waned somewhat. Concerns over sugars, food dyes, and unnatural ingredients in these kinds of products have been the death knell for many products that enjoyed a vast amount of success until about 2010. 

Certainly, for all of its flaws and oddities, this taffy treat made a big impression on those who tried it out in 2009. If you have ever wanted to eat a candy bar that was not actually made of chocolate, then this candy would have been the snacking opportunity for you! Fruit candy lovers are probably completely depressed by this point in this discussion because they are so curious about the actual experience of eating this product. If you are brave, you might be able to track some Wazoo products down on eBay, but they are probably so old by now that they will not be very good.

Clearly, online candy sellers are just as hopeful as consumers that Wazoo products will come back to the market. Nearly every major candy seller who offers to ship candy to customers has a page dedicated to the Wazoo Bar that indicates that they will restock when they are able to do so. Maybe they know something that the rest of us don’t. If you are desperate to give this confection a shot, you should make sure to check back often on your favorite online candy store’s Wazoo Bar page, just in case!

Varieties

• Wild Berriez
• Blue Razz

What Did a Wazoo Bar Look Like?

So, since you are not going to be able to buy these little candy treats and try them out, you might be wondering what a Wazoo Bar looks like. You can see some pictures of this candy online, and you will probably be surprised at what it looks like.

A Wazoo Bar was about four and a half inches long, and many people liken the shape of it to a 3 Musketeers Bar. If you have ever eaten fondant icing, the texture of the outer layer will probably seem familiar to you. There were little round candies dotting the tops of each bar that acted as sprinkles but which also alleviated the gooey and stringy nature of this type of taffy. Many people who are not sticky candy fans would probably be much more likely to eat them if they had a note of crunch to them.

The colors of both flavors of this candy bar were bright, positively neon really, and completely appealing to little kids. The sprinkles on both varieties were many colors as well, and the interior layers were also split into two bright colors.

Lovers of this candy will always comment that the smell of them was really strong. You knew for sure that you were getting a fruity-flavored candy product as soon as you peeled back the wrapper. However, the exterior wrapper should have more than communicated that idea from the jump.

The center of the bars was nougat-like in texture but tart and sweet. There was a bit of a grainy note to the interior layers, but this was offset well enough for most people by the crunchy sprinkles dotting the top of the bar. If you like Airheads candy, this slightly grainy yet chewy texture would not be off-putting at all.

In short, this was a taffy food product that looked like a candy bar, was so bright that it looked like something out of Willy Wonka’s wildest dreams, and which offered the texture of a crunchy candy bar alongside the chewy nature of taffy. The small size was probably just as well because how much of this kind of sweet and chewy snack could you really eat in one setting?

Logo

Ingredients

• Sugar
• Corn Syrup
• Partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil
• Nonfat milk powder
• Palm kernel oil
• Lactose(milk)
• Natural and artificial flavors
• Citric acid
• Soy lecithin
• Maltodextrin
• Malic acid
• Egg white
• Whey protein concentrate
• Dextrose
• Salt
• Artificial colors
• Yellow 5
• Lake Blue 1
• Lake Red 9
• Blue 1
• Red 40 Lake
• Confectionery glaze
• Carnauba wax
• Beeswax

Many parents likely were concerned by the last two ingredients in this list. These are not harmful products to consume in small amounts, but wax products are far less common in candies today than they were ten years ago. After all, wax is not actually a dietary requirement, and including it in food items just to give them form is probably not really ideal.

Nutrition

Serving Size:	1 bar, 45 g	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories	170
Calories from fat	45
Total Fat	5g	8%
Saturated Fat	4.5g	23%
Sodium	35mg	1%
Total Carbs	32g	11%
Sugars	23g	92%
Protein	1g	2%
Calcium	40mg	4%

• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Pictures

Ads

The ads for this product were actually really insane. Most of the ads bordered on a little gross if consumers were being honest. Lots of the ads showed rows of different people’s heads all painted a similar flesh tone, having taffy-type goop poured over them. These people were supposed to be your taste buds, and they appeared to enjoy being covered in this strange slimy material while the song Laffy Taffy by D4L played. A prime example of that kind of commercial is included here:

A taste test and commentary about Wazoo Bar