The Reason The Nostalgic Wonka Bar Was Discontinued

The original, tangible Wonka Bars some of us grew up with have an even closer association to the "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" movie than most fans realize — even though the chocolate bars have unfortunately had a tough time staying in production. In 1971, a film production company teamed up with Quaker Oats to make a movie version of Roald Dahl's beloved children's book. Quaker Oats put money behind the production, but they wanted the film renamed from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" to "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" to plan a marketing campaign around Willy Wonka-brand products, per the Chicago Tribune. 

However, the film had a tepid box office performance and there were issues creating the original Wonka Bars. Quaker Oats struggled with the chocolate bar formula and wound up only releasing Super Skrunch bars and Peanut Butter Oompas as Wonka-branded candy in conjunction with the 1971 movie release. It took several years for the company to nail down a recipe for the Wonka Bar and they finally released one in 1975, per The Huffington Post. 

The Quaker Oats iteration of the Wonka Bar did not last, however, and it was not until Nestlé bought the company in 1988 — and Wonka-brand products — that the movie-themed chocolate bar found any staying power. Even with Nestlé at the helm, the Wonka Bar would come and go from store shelves over the years as sales declined.

One of the most memorable times for Wonka Bar consumption coincided with 2005's movie adaptation of the children's classic, which led to an enticing marketing campaign.

When Johnny Depp played the titular character in 2005's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," Wonka Bars were once again available. To cross-promote the film and chocolate bar, Nestlé launched their Golden Ticket marketing campaign. Similar to the film, the company put these Golden Tickets into five Wonka Bars, which could be redeemed for grand prizes worth $10,000, per Convenience Store News. While this Wonka Bar resurgence seemed strong, interest in Wonka Bars dwindled again over time — but they had yet to make another strong comeback. 

Almost a decade after the last "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" movie hit theaters, Nestlé brought the Wonka Bar back in 2013 with two flavors. Originally, demand for the chocolate bars was high, with the brand raking in over £3 million a month in the U.K., but those sales quickly declined to just a third of that. It was not long before stores were selling the Wonka Bars at a discounted price, and Nestlé eventually discontinued the candy bars altogether. "Novelty is by its nature often short-term and Nestlé has reintroduced the Wonka brand a number of times," the company said in a statement, per The Grocer.

When Nestlé pulled Wonka Bars out of circulation in 2014 due to sliding sales, they did not plan on discontinuing the bars forever.

When Nestlé halted manufacturing on Wonka Bars in 2014 it described the movie-themed candies as "a brand that comes and goes." While it looked like it could be some time before demand necessitated the candy bar coming back to shelves, that return hit a major roadblock in 2018 when Nestlé sold their confectionery brand to Ferrero. Still, there were a few promising signs that the beloved candy bar could return. For one, Ferrero released a line of chocolate bars based on their beloved candies in 2022. And second, the release of the musical "Wonka" — starring Timothée Chalamet — could kick start another Wonka Bar campaign, as has been the case with previous movie adaptations. 

When news of a new "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" movie was announced, some fans were more interested in the potential return of the candy than the film. "i [sic] don't care who the best willy wonka is, just bring the wonka bar back," one fan tweeted in 2021. 

Those eager to feel a wave of nostalgia by opening a Wonka Bar with a golden ticket inside can still buy them on Amazon, but with a major catch. The wrapper, foil, and ticket are included, but there is no chocolate bar inside. Buyers would have to grab their own non-Wonka-branded chocolate and self-assemble to recreate the Wonka Bar.