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Viktorija Ošikaitė

89 Things And Foods That Were Discontinued And People Are Upset About It

Investopedia McDonald Olive Garden Starbucks

There are moments in your life when the stars align and you accidentally stumble on a truly phenomenal product. Maybe it’s a delicious food item, a beauty product, or a piece of technology that is so good that it raises your standards forever. And not to sound overly dramatic, but how do you go on when it’s no longer available?

Upset consumers took to an online thread to vent about the best things they bought that later got discontinued. And it still pains them to remember. Choco tacos, headphone jacks in phones, and cars with CD players are just the tip of the iceberg. Scroll down to read about all the things that people miss the most!

#1

A living wage and benefits.

#2

I miss the opportunity to buy small sedans and compact cars. I know there are still some around, but there used to be a lot more choices.

#3

Headphone jacks and extra ports.

There’s a paradox at work here. Clearly, many consumers love some products so much that they have a visceral emotional reaction when they get discontinued. And yet, these items obviously don’t sell enough to warrant their continued production. It creates this disconnect between consumers and companies, where the latter don’t seem to take into account what the former want.

Some items, like beauty products, might get discontinued due to the scale of production or because of changes in the legality of manufacturers using certain ingredients.

“They are huge brands, and they can afford to just throw stuff out there. They can’t worry about people wanting a certain shade,” Daniel Adler, president and CEO of BuyMeBeauty explained to HuffPost.

Sometimes, however, there are very clear business strategies behind discontinuations.

#4

Unpackaged produce at the supermarket. I waste so much food because I can’t use a whole package before it goes bad.

#5

The McDonald's deep fried apple pies that would burn your mouth. They were so greasy and tasty.

#6

Cinnamon toothpaste. Pearl Drops were the best!

In some cases, companies go for what’s known as planned obsolescence, which is bound to anger quite a few consumers. This is especially prevalent in the technology and fashion industries.

Essentially, according to Investopedia, it’s a strategy where a business ensures that a product becomes outdated or useless within a certain time period. In a nutshell, this drives demand because consumers look to replace what no longer works (well).

“While planned obsolescence can help companies control costs and drive demand, it often faces consumer backlash if the new versions offer minimal improvements over previous models,” Investopedia states. It adds that this practice can harm brand reputation and consumer satisfaction.

#7

Viennetta ice cream cake.

#8

Doo Dads. Best snack mix ever. Eat your heart out, Chex Mix.

#9

CD players in cars.

What are some awesome products that you loved that eventually got discontinued? Do you know why this happened? Realistically speaking, what could you do to convince businesses to bring them back? Do you think any of the things you enjoy right now are at risk of being discontinued in the near future? Let us know!

#10

I will never get over Jello Pudding Pops. Never. 👎.

#11

Philadelphia cheesecake snack bars.

#12

I really miss a certain store that has been shut down for years now. Pier one imports.

#13

Choco Taco.

#14

The original green Herbal Essence shampoo from the 70s.

#15

Carnation Breakfast Bars.

#16

Hydrox cookies were the superior chocolate sandwich cookie.

#17

Alpha-Bits cereal. My childhood in a box. They brought it back at one point but it wasn’t the same.

#18

Saturn cars.

#19

Crabtree & Evelyn. Particularly their Gardeners hand lotion, Citron body wash, and Himalaya Blue cologne.

#20

Kudos Bars, the M&M one was the best.

#21

Brach’s marshmallow eggs.

#22

Little Debbie Caramel Cookie Bars.

#23

Laura Secord pudding. Lifesavers in the Christmas book with all the different flavours. Cherry Blossoms .

#24

Uno candy bar, originally made by a company called “Annabelle Candy Co.” Has a truffle like texture and almonds….

#25

Fresh'n Up Bubble gum, with the gel in the middle.

I don't know if it's disconned, but I LOVED Dr Oetker's brand pizza, esp the mozzarella one. Can't find it anywhere now!

Archway rocky road cookies. Soaked in Kahlúa and covered in whipped cream, yes ma'am!!!

#26

Large salad bars 😭 all of the ones near me never re opened after lock down. whole foods is the only one but it’s sooo expensive.

#27

Peanut Butter Twix. I was known as the Peanut Butter Twix lady at 2 local gas stations and a 3rd about 45 minutes away. I’m not proud of that because imagine how many you have to buy to earn a whole nickname for it! I was having them order cases just for me 💀.

#28

Jujubees. Loved those tiny pieces of flavored rubber.

#29

Apple juice based drinks at Starbucks.

Had been drinking them for over 15 years. Now I have to make my drink at work.

#30

There are two items:

Last seen 1976 ish -Flings - cheddar drenched, soft cheesy goodness. Cylindrical nuggets of joy!
I became addicted as a teen, circa 1975.
I’ve seen these for sale in British stores but they don’t ship to Canada 😭

Disappeared 1999 ish - Sally Hansen wax strips - the absolute best hair removal product I have ever used! Sold in a box and contained 10/12 sheets.
Cut to size and peel & stick, lol. Looked like a very sheer but super strong scotch tape. If I could replicate this, I would be over the moon! rip best hair removal product ever used. 🥺.

#31

Danish Wedding Cookies. Those things were so good.

#32

Sunlight Dish Soap

If they had of told me they were going to do that, I would have bought a pallet of the stuff.

#33

Apple cinnamon pop tarts.

They weren’t frosted, just some cinnamon sugar on top. They were amazing.

Now all of the flavors are stupid lol.

#34

Neutrogena Pore Refining Toner and Exfoliating Cleanser. Nothing else I've tried is as good.

#35

Betty Crocker’s Gingerbread mix. I know I could “probably” make the loaf myself, but this was something specific I always made for my children every Thanksgiving! (I’m not much of a cook and that was my one contribution).

#36

1) Oreo Big Stuf

2) Starbucks Snickerdoodle Cookies

3) Those small jelly jars with cartoon characters that our family used as juice glasses when the jelly was gone.

#37

Dr. Pepper Berries and Cream

TreSemme Deep Clean Shampoo (down to half a bottle out of the 16 closeouts I bought at Ollie's a while ago)

Pizzarias (chips).

#38

Long time ago, when the Earth was young, there were microwave cakes. And they were pretty good. Just the cake mix, in a microwave tray and frosting. Add some water, nuke for 2 minutes. Done.

#39

Lemon cream cake at Olive Garden. I seriously do not know what Olive Garden was thinking by discontinuing that. It's the worst move since the Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees.

#40

Peanuts on McDonald's sundaes.

#41

Revlon flex shampoo.

#42

Brown sugar life cereal. Can’t find in store.

#43

Product 19 cereal.

It had so much iron it smelled metallic when you opened the box. I have always struggled with keeping my iron levels up and I used to (well, still do) crave it so strongly.

I can't believe that the vastly inferior Special K was the breakout product and not delicious, crunchy, wonderful Produxt 19.

#44

Surge.

The only answer is Surge.

#45

Pillsbury Space Food Sticks. I’m old. They were great.

#46

Kraft Savory Chicken Noodles.

#47

Sega Genesis.

#48

Borden canned egg nog.

#49

Brachs Bridge Mix with the chocolate covered jellies. They still make the Bridge Mix but the jellies were removed years ago.

#50

Ragu express :( like easy mac but ragu pasta instead.

& v05 blueberry shampoo & conditioner.

#51

Cheese nips and spam spread and soft batch chocolate chip cookies. Also they cookies that had chocolate in the center! .

#52

Oil of Olay lotion 😭 the shea butter kind.

#53

The scented oil at The Body Shoppe called woody sandalwood. It was everything.

#54

Coke Blak. I’m pretty sure I’m the only person on the planet who likes it, so it’s not available anymore.

#55

Coca-Cola Life. I loved the natural sugar in those green cans!

#56

White chocolate peppermint m&ms 😭 Christmas just isn’t the same without them.

#57

I'm surprised I didn't find this here.
Hi-C Ecto Cooler.

#58

This is not completely discontinued. But it’s a limited edition item:
Ben & Jerry’s makes a Caramel Core flavor that is vanilla icecream with a center core of salted caramel. A HUGE log (for lack of a better term*) through the center.

Whenever they re-release it I try to get as much of it as I can.

And then, there are the sad times. 😔.

#59

Stella’s original perfume was the only perfume I’ve ever enjoyed wearing.

#60

Burple. Those orange expandable jugs were so cool! Wish I had like 6-7 of them.

#61

Clarins After Sun Moisturizer. How dare the company change its formula and completely ruin it. I've emailed them several times begging to go back the original lotion. All I got back in return was nada. Nothing but crickets.

#62

Lay's Wasabi Ginger chips, Sour Tangerine Altoids, Blue Pepsi, and those Orbitz drinks with the suspended tapioca balls from the 90s.

#63

Snuggle Cherry Blossom and Rosewood fabric softener. Smells so good. It disappeared and the company claims it's still available in some regions but when I look online I only see old bottles on eBay.

And no, I don't care about how fabric softener is bad for my clothes and my dryer and giving me cancer.

#64

Sheer freesia body spray.

#65

Chef Boyardee box spagetti dinner. It contained the spagetti, sauce, and a parmasen cheese pack. It was the long rectangular box. Back in the 80s. Gosh, I loved that stuff.

#66

Dark chocolate kit kats.

#67

The original blend of Good Earth green tea.

#68

I miss the old green skittle. Lime for life.

#69

Simply chex. It was the seasoned chex pieces by themselves. As soon as I found them, they were gone .

#70

Hostess Susie Q's, original Pantene, O'Boises chips, Hawiian punch (the OG formula in the can).

#71

Chocodiles.

#72

Fruitopia.

#73

When I was a kid I would sometimes get these cheese-filled soft pretzel twists from Speedway

They were far better than any gas station food had any right to be

It’s been like 20 years and I still think about them.

#74

Trader Joe’s frozen polenta.

#75

Taco Bell's Naked Chicken Chalupa. The chicken shell was always perfectly crispy and perfectly moist. I want it back!

#76

Sensible bites pita crackers.

#77

Peeps eggs with the dark chocolate coating.

#78

Woven dental floss.

#79

Libby’ potted meat. Soooo many friends and relatives mourned this injustice 😞.

#80

Sunshine lemon wafers. Ak Mak crackers. Sans Sucre Mousse mixes.

#81

Cheez-It —— Twisterz.

My 11 yr old self would eat them by the box. The ‘hot wings and cheesy blue’ flavor to be precise. I’m 36 now and still not over it. I still scan the cheez it section in stores, secretly hoping I’ll come across them again.