?
The ‘90s were a pivotal decade for snack-food marketing and brand development.
Through clever marketing and the beginning of our “on-the-go” mentality, companies like Frito-Lay and other snack-time giants introduced many staples still widely enjoyed today. But what about those tasty treats that didn’t stand the test of time?
It’s easy to make a list of snacks I miss, reinforced by occasional cravings that still go unsatisfied every time I enter a convenience store. However, I’ve limited it to the top three snacks of our youth that are no longer available.
3.) Doritos 3D
According to Information Resources International, in 1993, Doritos earned $1.3 billion in retail sales, one-third of the total Frito-Lay sales for that fiscal year. Using their power and political sway in grocery store aisles across the nation, a mere three years later, in 1996, they introduced a puffed up, 3D version of the already popular, flavored corn chip. Despite being unreasonably delicious when paired with a cold Mountain Dew, these two products held their own in a convoluted market because they fit into the “EXTREME!!!” marketing campaigns prevalent in the ‘90s. MTV, The X Games and “alternative” styles were on the rise, and the boldly colored packaging and then-modern flavors of 3D Doritos made it easy when capitalizing on these trends for product promotion.
Now, they are reduced to various online petitions for their return.
2.) Crystal Pepsi
This soft drink didn’t earn its spot on the list for flavor or longevity on the shelf, but as a great example of the power of advertising. In the early 1990s, a marketing fad equating clarity of the product with purity spread from soaps to soft drinks. PepsiCo marketed Crystal Pepsi as a caffeine free, clear and healthy alternative to sodas, endorsed by a series of high-production commercials. In its first year on the market, Crystal Pepsi captured a full percentage point in U.S. soft drink sales, and a cool $474 million. Imitation products subsequently spawned, and after the release of Coke’s “Clear Tab,” sales for both products dropped and they were pulled from their respective company’s roster.
1.) Dunkaroos
Claiming the No. 1 spot on the list, these kangaroo-shaped cookies had a reputation for being delicious early on in their career. However, they are now only available in certain Australian and Canadian markets. In my search of various web forums, “Dunkaroos” was the most commonly listed snack that people missed.
Cougs84 of SFF.com’s “good snack foods that are now obsolete” thread wrote, “I would sell my first born child for a lifetime supply of Dunkaroos.”
In 1996, the company launched a marketing campaign called the “Dunk-a-Roos Kangaroo Kanga-Who Search.” Children from all over poured in with submissions and in 1997 a winner was chosen in “Duncan the Dunking Daredevil.” Commercials consisted of this consumer-envisioned mascot attempting (and mostly failing) stunts into the chocolate or vanilla frosting dips that came with the cookies.
Next time you eat a bag of Doritos or break off a piece of that Kit Kat bar, think about the marketing that went into your purchase and give a moment of silence (or at least close your mouth to chew) and pay tribute to the fallen, but never forgotten snacks of the past.
Tell Ben to go on a diet and to stop writing about food at bkarris@asu.edu
