A Favorite Candy Of Childhood Is No More

We've all had the experience of talking about something with friends and soon discovering our phones are paying WAYYY to close attention to us.  For example, a co-worker told us about going to the upcoming outdoor hockey game Saturday at Truist Field.  I told her of my work over the years with The Charlotte Checkers as a parttime public address announcer.  The next thing I know?  Both my Facebook and Instagram feeds are bombarded with Charlotte Checker and Carolina Hurricane ticket and merchandise offers.

This is a little creepier than that, though.  I can't even remember how it come up, but somehow on Sunday the subject of Fruit Stripe chewing gum was brought up by my wife.  We both remarked how much we loved it as children.  In fact, it was my go-to when it came to begging and pleading for candy when at the grocery story with my mom as a child.  Each piece was visually a different colored stripe (and therefore, flavor).  Shoot, the zebra like wrappers could even be used as temporary tattoos.  Now honestly, as gum goes, Fruit Stripe was not all that good.  The flavor only lasted for a couple of minutes and the consistency didn't last much longer.  However, to a kid in the 1970s and 1980s, that didn't matter.  It was bright, colorful and fun.

Less than a week after that conversation, Fruit Stripe gum has been discontinued after 54 years.  The news was confirmed in a statement from the gum’s parent company, Ferrara Candy Company. A rep for the company said in a statement, “We have made the difficult decision to sunset Fruit Stripe Gum, but consumers may still be able to find product at select retailers nationwide.” The statement continued, “The decision to sunset this product was not taken lightly, and we considered many factors before coming to this decision, including consumer preferences, and purchasing patterns — and overall brand trends for Fruit Stripe Gum.”

I probably haven't had a piece of Fruit Stripe gum in 20-30 years, but I'll miss it.

If I could eat candy every day, I would. Sadly I would be in poor health if I did, so that is why I currently don't. Candy sweet tooth is very different in America, there's no sugarcoating that fact. The team at Coventry Direct wondered if each state had a favorite retro candy. Based on search volume for 56 classic candies, Coventry mapped out the most popular choices by state and region.

Trying to find Americans’ favorite candy in every state was jawbreakingly sweet, but no easy task. Based on a list of 58 childhood candies that are still being produced today, the study used Google Trends data from February 2021 to February 2022 to find out which nostalgic candy is America’s favorite.

North Carolina has a particular sweet tooth for a certain treat. Find out what it is below. We also included some additional state favorites on the list too. Personally, Sno-Caps are my weakness. Turns out I’d fit in just fine in New Hampshire and Wyoming! You can view the full report and your state’s favorites here.

The retro candy of choice is Bazooka Bubble Gum.

The retro candy of choice is Heath Bar.

The retro candy of choice is Sno-Caps. These are one of my favorites.

The retro candy of choice is Chick-O-Stick Candy.

The retro candy of choice is Bottle Caps.

The retro candy of choice is Charleston Chew. These retro candies are the most popular, appearing as the favorite retro candy of 3 states.

The retro candy of choice is Life Savers.

The retro candy of choice is Pixy Stix.

The retro candy of choice is Chocolate-Covered Raisins.

The retro candy of choice is Zotz/Dubble Bubble.

The retro candy of choice is Charleston Chew.

The retro candy of choice is Candy Corn.

The retro candy of choice is Butterfinger.

The retro candy of choice is Wax Lips. These were so much fun as a kid.

The retro candy of choice is Vanilla Cow Tales.