Sweet-Tooth Fix For Baby Boomers: Nostalgic Candy

wlky ^ | 10-30-03

[wheelgunguru]

Baby Boomers can't seem to grow up, at least when comes to their taste in candy.

People who want to celebrate Halloween with wax lips, Gold Mine Gum and other hard-to-find candies from their youth are finding more companies catering to the middle-age sweet tooth.

The Woodstock Candy company in upstate New York is doing a booming business, catering to the boomers' sweet-tooth.

They have retro goodies like wax lips, candy cigarettes and those candy buttons on paper. But the company is up-to-date in marketing.

Boomers can buy their sugar fix from the Web site WoodstockCandy.com.

There's also a bow to the political correctness of the 21st century. Candy cigarettes are now called candy sticks. But some old-time favorites still provide a puff of sugar when you blow through a hole in the middle.

Bridget Sweeney-Bell says people are usually thrilled to find candy from their childhood is still available. She says candy buttons, Nik-L-Nip and candy cigarettes are big sellers this year on her Web site.

Tom Scheiman stocks 2,500 items in his Cleveland candy store, 200 of which he classifies as "nostalgic."

Nostalgic candy has become a niche in the $24 billion U.S. candy business, in part because the biggest candy makers like Wrigley and Pennsylvania-based Hershey have concentrated on fewer items, especially chocolate.

That means wax lips and Atomic Fireballs can be hard to find on store shelves.

[Yaelle]

You can get Swedish fish at Cost Plus stores for sure.

[Yaelle]

Aren't Quisp and Quake basically the same flavor as Cap'n Crunch? Just different shapes?

[Yaelle]

We do not allow soda at our house, unless it's for guests. My kids can drink soda only if we go out, and we don't go out all that often.

[woofie]

We were so poor we ate chocolate dirt....still remember how crunchy it was

[Yaelle]

(Anyone remember the short-lived "Reggie" bars?)

Sure! We were in college. My best friend's last name was Reggie at the time. She thought it was pretty cool!

[Fledermaus]

Bring back the "Look" bar...white, soft taffy covered in chocolate.

But please get rid of candy corn. I hated it when I was 8 years old and it's still around decades later.

[Fledermaus]

Quake was the same taste but bigger, like GIANT Capt Crunch morsels. If you weren't careful, Quake would scrap the skin off the roof of your mouth.

Quisp was more like Sugar Pops but without the sugar and were shaped like little crecents.

[Fledermaus]

Anyone remember the Incredible Edibles? We had a machine (hot pad) that made jelly goo into shapes.

And in the "give children hot plates and transformers" mode we had this really silly toy thing that took plastic cubes that we put into the heating element and they became dinosaurs. Then you heated them up again and put them in a vice like device and supposedly squished them back into cubes. Of course, it never really worked out well over time. Once you did it over and over the "cubes" wouldn't form back and you'd get this little square with legs and wings sticking out.

At that point I put them on my Hot Wheels tracks and ran them over! And don't even ask me what we did to GI Joe. Let's just say I had access to firecrackers at a young age. < g >

[scan58]

Chum Gum and Slow-Pokes or Black Cows....miss those, too.

[Conservative4Ever]

Ahhhh the great candies of our youth. Somebody mentions Boston Baked Beans....yummmmm....still love um though hard to find. There is a catalog called The Vermont Country Store where you can still buy some of this stuff. They have a web site too...vermontcountrystore.com. To this day I still like Pez. My co-workers make fun of me cause I keep a Pez despenser in the pencil holder on my desk.

Red

[oreolady]

I raised my kids that they could have pop only on Friday night, (except for picnics and special events), now one has made Friday night "POP NIGHT" got his kids!!!!!
Sat and Sun is Chocolate milk night, too!!!
5 days a week-milk-ugh!

[geege]

These were just as good as the fun size Butterfingers that I ate last NIGHT BECAUSE I HAD ONLY ONE SET OF TRICK OR TREATERS....SO I ATE EM....I ATE EM ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[geege]

Does anyone remember "Danish Go Rounds"???????

[Manic_Episode]

No one mentioned Bubs Daddy Bubble Gum, the foot long stick of gum in sour apple, red hot, grape, and possibly watermellon.

I remember in 3rd grade my teacher catching me chewing Bubs Daddy gum in class and made me spit it out, only to catch me again not 30 seconds later. She was livid.

[expatguy]

I read through all the replies and no one mentioned Clark's Teaberry Gum. Am I the only one that misses this?

This was one of my favorites.

[expatguy]

And no one mentioned Chick-O-Stick?

[Eagle9]

Do you remember, "Mother! I can do it MYSELF!"

I think it was, "Mother! I'd rather do it MYSELF!" - (insert male voice) "Excedrin headache #89. Headaches can make you feel grouchy, not really yourself. Take Excedrin to relieve the pain of tension headaches. - (daughter taking Excedrin) - (daughter's voice) "Mother, would you like a glass of fresh lemonade?" - (Mother's voice) "Yes, thank you. Feeling better?" - (daughter's voice) "Yes, much better. Thanks to Excedrin." (Mother and daughter smile) - (male voice) "Remember, take EXCEDRIN for quick relief!"

[COBOL2Java]

Sadly, Bonomo's Turkish Taffy is no more, as this article from www.oldtimecandy.com attests. However, there is a substitute, called French Chew Taffy.

[6323cd]

Those characters were in the tie-in comic books sold in grocery stores the summer of 1968. They are collectors' items now.

[mafree]

I remember 'em but didn't like 'em.