9 Iconic 1990s Snacks Making A Comeback

As the final decade of the 20th century, the 1990s surely packed a lot in. "Titanic" became one of the biggest films of all time, "Beverly Hills 90210" was the ZIP code everyone wanted to call home, and Snoop Dogg was just beginning to show off his bark and his bite. While the 1990s were a wonderful era of popular culture, not forgotten from that revered decade was a wide array of excellent snack foods born or truly beloved during that time. Sadly, many of those products have gone the way of the Jell-O Pudding Pop. However, some have made triumphant returns in the 21st century, with these throwbacks receiving cheers from consumers wanting to relive the past as well as from those curious to discover them.

So what is it about revived snacks from the '90s that feel like a fresh reminder of perhaps simpler times in these more difficult ones? Hamish Campbell, vice president and executive creative director of the design agency Pearlfisher, told Fast Company in 2023, "The '90s had a freedom of expression and I think that's what people are wanting — and it's still answering a need of how we can bring some joy back to all the pressures that are on us in the real world."

Let's travel back in time, and then return to the present to see which cherished snack foods from the '90s are making most welcome comebacks. Hopefully this go-around, they are here to stay, creating a future sense of nostalgia for a whole new generation. Crunch, crunch!

The 1990s were a glory age for bubble gum. Beyond the fun-flavored squares of Bubblicious, Bubble Yum, and Hubba Bubba, gum back then came in all kinds of forms: beepers, tape, bandages, pop rocks, and even powdered in a jug. One of the leading manufacturers was William Wrigley Jr. Company subsidiary Amurol Products Co. In 1992, it introduced the Bubble Jug, which packed a lot of bubble gum fun in a tiny little jug. The outside label implored users to "shake n' chug," allowing the powder on the inside to transform into something more familiar once it hit your mouth. In 1993, company spokesman Gary Schuetz explained the shift in texture: "The initial coolness of the dextrose pills, then [they] change into something you can chew" (via The Press Democrat). Flavors included tropical fruit, watermelon, strawberry, raspberry crossed with blueberry candy powder, and even co-branded orange ones with Hubba Bubba Crush soda.

The Bubble Jug line was emptied out by Wrigley sometime in the early 2000s. It lay dormant for two decades before the company Iconic Candy picked up the jug and refilled it for a whole new generation in 2024. Kim Wiesen, CFO of Iconic Candy, said in a press release, "The iconic pink jug of Bubble Jug is more than just packaging; it's a symbol engraved in the memories of '90s kids everywhere ... We're excited to reintroduce this beloved design, offering a tangible piece of nostalgia that fans can hold in their hands once again."

In the fall of 1998, Life Savers branched out with a line of hard candy, sans signature holes, called Creme Savers. Made with real cream, these swirly designed suckers, which resembled starlight peppermints, came in Strawberries & Creme, Orange & Creme, and Chocolate & Caramel Creme flavors. The tagline in print ads promoted that they were "blended flavors that last and last," while dreamy TV ads had the musical group Ladysmith Black Mambazo singing their praises. By the time Wrigley acquired the brand in 2005, it had up to 11 different flavors and even a soft candy version.

By 2011, Creme Savers could no longer be saved and were discontinued. Still, these suckers held a special place in the hearts of those who lived in the 1990s. A tweet by educator and national speaker Jon Paul in August 2021 told folks that if you remember the candy, "your knee pops when you stand up," garnering over 31,000 likes. Two months later, Creme Savers triumphantly returned, under the new stewardship of confectionary revival company Iconic Candy. The company even worked with Mars Wrigley to ensure the new product lived up to the same standards. You can now enjoy Strawberries & Creme and Orange & Creme candies whenever your heart desires.

In the fall of 1992, General Mills introduced a novel sweet dipping snack under its Betty Crocker label called Dunkaroos. This product contained two compartments, one that stored kangaroo-shaped cookies, and the other had chocolate or vanilla frosting. Mascot Sydney the Kangaroo was drafted from Down Under to help sell the snack in ads, and it worked well enough that by the following year, frosting flavors chocolate chip, cinnamon, peanut butter, and rainbow sprinkles joined the fun.

Dunkaroos hung around on U.S. shelves until 2012 before being discontinued, though people in Canada could still purchase and enjoy them. Snackers with a sense of nostalgia were unhappy. Among them was Kim Kardashian, who in 2018 tweeted, "Obsessed with Dunkaroos. Please come back!" There was also an online petition on Change.org pleading for the snack's return, stating its absence left "us dunkless." 

General Mills finally answered the many pleas from Americans by bringing Dunkaroos back in 2020. When asked whether their return was only going to be short-lived, Brad Hiranaga, who was at the time General Mills' chief brand officer for North America, responded to The New York Times, "You don't have to worry at this point about stocking them up and putting them in your zombie apocalypse locker. We should have them out there so you can buy them." The comeback was made even more sweeter when the Dunkaroos product line was expanded to include a cereal, cookie dough, cookie and pancake mixes, and a vanilla frosting.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch has been a sugar-dusted dynamo of a cereal ever since General Mills introduced it in 1984. Twelve years after its appearance, amid a price war, the brand introduced a similar breakfast staple captured in pieces of cereal — French Toast Crunch. In a review, syndicated food columnist Carolyn Wyman said, "French Toast Crunch actually tastes a lot more like Corn Pops (née Sugar Pops) than French toast. But it's almost irresistibly, realistically cute."

While French Toast Crunch stayed on shelves continually in Canada, it was discontinued in the U.S. in 2006. Eight whole years later, French Toast Crunch was being served up once again. "We have been overwhelmed by the consumer conversations, requests and passion for the cereal to come back," Waylon Good, the marketing manager at the time for Big G Cereals, said in a press release. "We value our fans and are so excited to be able to bring it back for them."

After a couple of decades on the market, Fritos corn chips introduced its Bar-B-Q flavor in the latter part of the 1950s. Its success opened the door for many other Fritos flavors to follow, like Wild n' Mild Ranch, which landed in stores in the late 1980s. Bar-B-Q and ranch remained popular Fritos flavors, gobbled up by smackers in the 1990s. The former was even offered up in single serve bags, alongside sister snacks Lay's potato chips, Doritos, and Funyuns.

Fans of the Fritos ranch flavor had their heartstrings pushed and pulled numerous times with its removal from shelves. It came back briefly in 2012, and in 2016 resurfaced, minus the "Wild 'n Mild" name, as Classic Ranch. In the summer of 2024, the ranch flavor returned yet again, branded with the series "Yellowstone." Fans were beyond ready to snap up and eat the flavor that already tasted pre-dipped.

In 2018, Frito-Lay did what seemed unfathomable — it discontinued Fritos Bar-B-Q. The backlash was immediate, with a fan starting a Change.org petition, bemoaning that the brand's Honey BBQ Twists and Chili Cheese flavors were no substitutes. After hearing the demand from eaters, Frito-Lay brought back Fritos Bar-B-Q in limited fashion for the summers of 2020 and 2021 before permanently reinstating the flavor to the roster in 2022.

General Mills had a healthy stable of fruit snacks as the 1990s began, including such popular items as Fruit Roll-Ups, Fruit by the Foot, and Shark Bites. In 1991, its Betty Crocker label sought to up the game with the introduction of Gushers and Soda-Licious. The latter snack fizzled out before the end of the decade, but the former made quite the splash. The pouches of Gushers contained little drops filled with fruit juicy centers. The initial two flavors were Strawberry Splash and Gushin' Grape, and many more bursting ones followed. Memorable TV ads showed kids' heads literally distorting and transforming into fruit shapes just by eating them. While always commonly known as Fruit Gushers, the word "Fruit" didn't appear on boxes until 1996.

In the 21st century, Fruit Gushers faced some stiff competition, with CapriSun Juicers briefly appearing on the scene in 2005, and in 2012, when Juicefuls started flowing into stores. Still, with the passing of time, some fans felt the modern Gushers weren't nearly as good as they were from back in the '90s. General Mills itself thought Gushers could use some new juice pumped into the product and in 2023 redesigned the packaging with a more nostalgic feel. A year later, in a further nod to the fans, it brought back to life the discontinued favorite flavor first launched in 1997 — watermelon.

Cheese puffs and the snack's rounded cousin were a happy accident invented in the 1930s. As the groovy year of 1968 was winding down, Planters unleashed a quintet of new snacks: Corn Sticks, Potato Sticks, Corn Chips, and its own take on those puffy treats, Cheez Balls and Cheez Curls. Over the ensuing years, Planters expanded its snack line, but those dusty orange ones housed in a rounded blue canister topped with a yellow lid — Cheez Balls and Cheez Curls — remained bestsellers for the brand well into the 1990s. Those canisters were such a familiar sight in homes that they didn't seem out of place when one Ohio drug dealer was busted in 1992 with one of the largest amounts of crack cocaine in the state, all stored within the cans.

Things got a little less Cheez-y when Planters pulled the plug on the two snacks around 2006. In 2018, Mr. Peanut returned with great news — Cheez Balls and Cheez Curls were coming back. Even though they were born in the '60s, their return was hailed as a throwback to the '90s era. Melanie Huet, Planters head of brand building at the time, said in a 2018 press release, "We made sure our Cheez Balls and Cheez Curls still have the same delicious taste, airy texture and fluorescent color you know and love, so our fans can enjoy a nostalgic trip down memory lane with every canister."

Trix was one of the first fruit-flavored cereals to hit the market back in 1954. Five years later, a "silly rabbit" was introduced as the cereal's mascot, who learned all too often in one of our culture's most famous slogans: "Trix are for kids" and not for him. The rabbit and the Trix name proved to be such a winning team that the two would expand the brand into an ice pop and then in 1992 into Yoplait yogurt. The low-fat yogurt came in four flavors: Strawberry Banana Bash, Rainbow Punch, Raspberry Rainbow, and Triple Cherry. While not all kids loved the fruity dairy product, Trix Yogurt was a common sight for breakfast and in lunch boxes throughout the decade.

Yoplait discontinued Trix Yogurt in 1999, but it returned in the following century. However, the product changed over time, and in 2017, the product ditched its swirls and reduced its yogurty colors from two to one. After many pleas from fans, in 2021, Trix Yogurt returned to its beloved, multi-colored form. Its boxes even spelled out that the company was listening, "You asked — it's back!" The following year, Yoplait even introduced a line of yogurts where pieces of General Mills cereals, like Trix, were included as toppings.

Post's Golden Crisp cereal has been delighting breakfast and snack eaters since 1949. As 1995 came to a close, the company introduced a new sweet twist on the breakfast treat with its Waffle Crisp cereal. The waffle-shaped cereal that had a maple syrup flavor was purportedly conjured up based on the recipe from an actual grandmother. In her syndicated column, snack critic Carolyn Wyman said, "This form is sweet and crunchy and as full of maple flavor as a March Vermont breeze. All this virtual breakfast experience is missing is a view of that state's breathtaking mountains." Waffle Crisp had such a lasting impact that it remained one of the best known cereals to hail from the 1990s.

Starting in 2018, Post took a pause on producing Waffle Crisp, leaving eaters with no choice but to defect to Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which you could make from scratch if you want. In 2021, Waffle Crisp made a return for a limited time only, making at least a few customers want to cry at just the sight of the cereal on store shelves. A year later, the cereal returned, proving that petitions do work, and thankfully for us, they're now available on a more permanent basis.