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.

[FlyVet]

300 posts, and no one Bub's Daddy bubblegum? I'm disappointed.

[Manic_Episode]

You missed #274

[FlyVet]

You missed #274

Ah, so I did. And IIRC, I used to get on my Columbia sting-ray with the tiger stripe seat and cheater slick, and ride a mile to the five and dime (what's a five and dime???), to pay a nickel for a stick of Bub's Daddy. My $1 allowance went a long way back then.

[wheelgunguru]

bttt

[Manic_Episode]

Once on a family camping trip as a kid a relative offered me something like a nickle a stick to gather kindling for a campfire. I made about $1.80, all of which I spent on penny candy and gumballs at the giftshop. Wow was I a happy camper, but when I got back with my filled-to-the-top sack of goodies my Dad was mad and took it away.
I saw where he put it tho, and it was mostly gone by the end of the weekend.

[BBT]

There was something called ValoMilk...looked like a peanut butter cup, but had marshmallow filling. Awfully sweet.

http://www.valomilk.com/

http://www.hometownfavorites.com/index_dyn.asp

[wtc911]

BONOMO...smack it and crack it!

[wtc911]

Old style luncheonette in Great Neck stocks Chunkys...."what a chunk o' chocolate"...Arnold Stang

[babaloo]

Great fun reading this thread. Thanks to all.

WalMart sells Breck shampoo for under $2.00 per bottle.

Bed Bath and Beyond sells lots of candy. They have those wax bottle things, pixie stix, Charleston Chews and Sugar Babies!

[wheelgunguru]

my Dad was mad

Why was he mad?

[wheelgunguru]

bttt

[Manic_Episode]

I think he said something about not wanting to pay for the dentists vacation to Hawaii.

[wheelgunguru]

bttt

[iceskater]

Bummer. Maybe someone will buy the rights to the recipe/name and bring it back.... I would consider giving up my fillings and other dental work for a taste of Turkish Taffy.

[COBOL2Java]

I'm told that French Chew Taffy is a close facsimile. Of course, you'd have to purchase something with the name "French" in front of it.. :-)

[iceskater]

There is that. Sigh. Couldn't they change the name?

[paulklenk]

Most of this candy was awful tasting. My brother and I had a term for it: Depression Candy.

[steppenwolffe]

bttt

[chatterbunny]

i was searching for the black jack toffee for my moms cousin and was able to find some at vermontcountrystore.com

[chatterbunny]

they sell quisp @ walmart