The eight most shattering discontinued snacks of the 21st century

The decision to stop making each one of these eight discontinued Aussie snacks was a dagger blow that must be reversed.

It’s a scorching summer’s day, and you’re chasing after a ball on your primary school’s hot asphalt basketball court. The year is 2003.

As recess winds down, you remember you have a few coins saved from your pocket money. You rummage through your backpack and realise you have enough to get a treat from the canteen.

You sprint over and join the queue, patiently waiting your turn. But when you get to the counter, decision fatigue sets in.

Do you get a Sunnyboy to cool down, or a packet of Lifesavers, which your mum doesn’t let you have at home?

To celebrate the launch of the new news.com.au app, we’re celebrating the people, places and events we’ll never forget from the first quarter of the 21st century by asking for Australia’s view. Our 25@25 series will finally put to bed the debates you’ve been having at the pub and around dinner tables for years – and some that are just too much fun not to include.

It’s a tough call.

The canteen lady gives you an expectant look.

“What’ll it be, love?” she asks.

The pressure mounts. Every choice is just SO good.

Feeling nostalgic? Does this bring back memories of simpler times, when the biggest decision you faced was what to pick from the canteen?

Well, my fellow Aussie millennial, I invite you to take a trip down memory lane as we explore the eight most iconic snacks from the past 25 years that have sadly been discontinued.

As we go through them one by one, try to tap into which discontinuation still hurts the most.

And then, like that little kid in the canteen, pick your favourite and vote in the poll below to have your say on the most heartbreaking discontinued snack of the last 25 years.

Lifesavers Hard Candy

Life Savers Five Flavour Hard Candy Rolls were a staple in Australian canteens and corner shops for generations.

These boiled lollies, wrapped in colourful foil and rolled into a neat tube, featured five classic flavours: mint, pineapple, strawberry, raspberry, and lime, and each one seemed to last forever when you were a kid.

The fun was in unwrapping them, trading with friends, and seeing who could make their roll last all day or keep theirs on their tongue the longest.

In 2023, fans were devastated when the rolls quietly disappeared from supermarket shelves, marking the end of an era for this iconic sweet.

Lifesavers Hard Candy were a staple in Aussie corner stores. Picture: USA Foods

Green Frogs

Allen’s Green Frogs used to be a must-have in Aussie party bags, with their lime-flavoured jelly texture and a tart kick that was an acquired taste compared to the much loved red ones.

Despite their popularity in the early 2000s, Green Frogs struggled to keep up with the success of Red Frogs, eventually being outsold 10 to one.

In 2014, they were discontinued, though some nostalgic demand saw them briefly return in mixed bags in 2017.

However, as of now, Green Frogs are officially off the shelves, but their legacy lives on with the Green Frog fans among us, a quiet yet passionate minority.

People who loved Green Frogs were a small, yet passionate bunch. Picture: Brent Corp

Time Out Bars

The Cadbury Time Out bar was a favourite for those wanting the best of both worlds, a crispy wafer and delicious chocolate.

They were the perfect after-school treat, featuring two fingers of ripple-like Flake chocolate between layers of wafer, coated in dairy milk chocolate.

Time Out fans were devastated to find they had quietly disappeared from Aussie shelves in 2016, replaced by a slimmer, less indulgent version called Time Out Wafer, which never quite hit the same spot as the original.

Now, the original bar has been rebranded as ‘Twirl Breakaway,’ which has the familiar features of the OG but with a distinctive ‘Twirl’ twist.

Time Out Bars have had a few iterations since being officially discontinued, but they’ve never been the same. Picture: Woolworths

Fantales

Fantales were the ultimate movie snack and an Aussie icon for nearly a century, and responsible for countless Aussie kids losing their baby teeth.

They had a chewy caramel centre covered in a thin layer of chocolate, and who could forget the bright yellow paper filled with trivia about famous movie stars you’d never heard of as a kid?

For generations, these chocolate-covered, chewy caramels were a party essential, so their discontinuation in 2023 came as a huge shock.

Not to skew your poll votes, but the sweet was so widely accepted as part of our culture that the New York Times once declared it Australia’s most defining lolly. Just saying.

The loss of Fantales was felt deeply across the country. Picture: Supplied

Sunnyboys

Ah, Sunnyboys, the pyramid-shaped, Tetra Pak ice block that was the ultimate canteen treat or summer holiday snack.

Yes, they were a nightmare to eat unless you cut the corner just right, and they had a habit of slipping through your sticky fingers.

But they came in four delicious flavours: Glug Cola, Orange Explosion, Razz Raspberry, and Zap Lime, which always got the job done.

In 2016, Aussies collectively mourned the loss of the colourful ice block, and many have said that summer has never been the same since.

Who could forget the joy of eating a Sunnyboy on a hot day? Picture: Supplied

Starburst Chews

Starburst Chews were the quintessential 2000s lolly.

Those bright, squishy little squares always sparked a family feud on road trips or at parties over who got the best flavour (no-brainer: it was pink).

Unwrapping each individual one was quite the effort, but it was always worth it once you got a taste of those overly-sweet, fruity treats.

Sadly, they were removed from shelves in 2022 due to supply chain issues and rising costs, which caused a real stir online.

However, there have been rumours of ‘bootleg’ versions popping up in independent grocers. They’re just not the same, though. *Wipes tears*.

Mass devastation hit the nation when it was announced in 2022 that Starburst Chews were being discontinued. Picture: Supplied

Arnott’s Classic Assorted Variety Pack

Arnott’s Classic Assorted Family biscuits were a pantry staple in Aussie households and office tearooms, often the cornerstone of many catch-ups over a cuppa.

The large white box was filled with six loved biscuit varieties: Shortbread Creams, Kingstons, Monte Carlos, Scotch Fingers, Butternut Snap, and Choc Chip, each sparking passionate debates about which was best.

This box was perfect if you weren’t sure what sort of bikkie you wanted, because there was something for everyone – creamy, crunchy, chocolatey, or just plain (which, in my humble opinion, were perfect for dunking).

Families would argue over their favourites, and kids would always try to sneak the last Monte Carlo before anyone noticed.

The disappearance of the pack in 2022, replaced by a pricier, smaller version, marked the end of an era for the classic biscuit mix-pack.

There was nothing like a cuppa and a ‘coupla bikkies from this iconic pack. Picture: NewsLimited

Vegemite Snackabouts

Snackabouts, especially the Vegemite variety, were in nearly everyone’s lunch box in the early 2000s.

For Vegemite lovers, these were a recess dream.

While you could easily grab some crackers and spread on Vegemite, it never quite matched the joy of dunking a biscuit into the salty spread from a pre-portioned pack.

Vegemite fans shed a tear when these Snackabouts left shelves. Picture: Supplied

This snack was always shared around, but it was at its best when you’d generously spread heaps of Vegemite and press two biscuits together to squish the spread out like worms.

They were sadly discontinued in the late 2010s.

Expert weighs in on the ‘why’ behind food

If you’ve read through this list and felt a tug at your nostalgic heartstrings, there’s good reason for that, says Advanced Sports Dietitian Alicia Edge.

The dietitian (who, fun fact, is the nutrition lead for the Matildas) explains that food is closely tied to memory.

“There’s so much about food that is tied to our emotions and mood, as well as aspects like celebration, connection, belonging, religion, and beliefs, which we often don’t fully appreciate,” she tells news.com.au.

“When it comes to nostalgic snacks, it’s really about that emotional safety. It’s tying us back to a memory, almost like a time machine. It takes us to a time when we might have felt safer or more comfortable, or to a cherished memory, a relationship from that period, or a place we once knew.”

She says that our love for nostalgic food is really because it links us to the feelings and emotions they stir up.

“With our busy, full lives and all the stress and fast pace many of us face, if we find something that transports us back to a time when we felt more relaxed or secure, or when life was quieter or slower, that’s what we’re really after,” Ms Edge notes. “It’s not just about the food itself, but the feelings and memories it brings up.”

Not just a snack addict? Vote in the rest of our 25@25 polls

Originally published as The eight most shattering discontinued snacks of the 21st century