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.

[Trust but Verify]

I think those were Charms Pops. I'm a 60's and 70's candy connosieur!

[firebrand]

Walnettos! Not just a Saturday Night Live joke. They were good!

[FlJoePa]

Gosh, I ate ALL of this crap! What I'm still looking for is German bubblegum though!

There were two kinds that our schools used to sell for fundraising - one in a long stick the other in a golden foil wrapper in the shape of a coin.

Man was that good stuff!

[Miss Marple]

Here are my favorites:

[Bonaparte]

"Chocolate Babies were great."

So was Abba Zabba, which formerly had the pre-PC picture of the Ubangi on the wrapper. Somehow, it got decided that a close likeness of the traditional Ubangi was "demeaning."

[not-an-ostrich]

They have Black Jack and Beeman's gum at 7-11's in Dallas.

[abner]

Sour Bites... The little sweet/tart things that had zoo animals on them.. I have been looking for them for years and years!

[Bonaparte]

"...Abba Zabba..."

See post 65. The little Ubangi guy has been gone for decades.

[abner]

I think you can go to www.quisp.com and buy it.. It was one of my faves too. Yum!

[not-an-ostrich]

You can also find the old-fashion chocolate drops at the Dollar stores. Although growing up what we called this candy is unrepeatable in this pc world.

[abner]

Walnettos!

You can get them at CrackerBarrel stores.

[freeangel]

OOOh-my favorite. I bought them a couple years ago at the dollar store, but they didn't come with the cardboard coupons to redeem for more.

[venturin]

I remember Quisp too, but does anyone remember the other cereal at the same time called Quake? My brother liked Quisp and I liked Quake.. I see Quisp around the internet, but I never see Quake... Sigh.

[not-an-ostrich]

Can you believe "not being allowed soda"? We weren't either except if we were having a party and then folks bought a case of bottles.

[abner]

I never had Quake. Try the Quisp.com site and see if it is there.

[abner]

I never had Quake. Try the Quisp.com site and see if it is there. Quisp is very similiar to Sweet Crunch of today, but the texture just isn't the same!

[DryFly]

Jello 1-2-3? Was that the stuff that set up in three layers? Followed many a meal of Spaghetti-Os with a cup of that stuff.

Anyone else want to confess to being a blackmarket supplier of Bubble Yum when it first came out. It was forbidden in class, the stores sold out of it, but for a mere 25 cents I'd sell you a piece from the pack of six pieces that I could buy for 35 cents. Quite a profit maker for a sixth grader!

[Charles Martel]

Sen-Sen's are the nastiest things I have ever tasted...nasty, nasty, nasty....tastes like soap.

Yep, they are unpleasant... something like licorice mixed with dishwashing detergent.

Still, these are not as bad as they might be. Here's the *really* putrid confection:

[ClearBlueSky]

I just saw Chocolate Babies for sale on some nostalgic candy site, a place in California that was featured on the Food Network. It may be that 'homestead' site someone posted a link to here. They are in pound bags, not very expensive.
I would do UNSPEAKABLE things for Kraft Fudgies! Nothing compares. Last I saw Mars bars they were full of chopped nuts. I can get things like Dots, Pixy Stix and Valomilk here in the New Orleans area. Check Big Lots for some unusual candy not seen for awhile. Got Mallo Cups there too.
Milky Way Dark is close to the old Forever Yours.
Anyone remember the 7-Up bar?
Fudgies...my swampland for a case of Fudgies!

[ClearBlueSky]

OH, I LOVE Violets!! They were gone for awhile, but they're in some supermarkets and convenience stores here. You either love'em or hate'em. Kids think they taste like perfume.
But then, I like violet perfume too!