Retro Sweets You Loved as a Kid (And Wish You Could Still Buy)

We’re jumping back onto the nostalgia train for another stop in our retro series, looking at the sweets and crisps you used to ram into your mouth as a kid. Ready? Let’s dive in.

Dweebs

Nerds’ less-fortunate cousins (see below), Dweebs were the real deal. Bigger, less sour and offering three flavours in one box, they were a playground legend. Then, without warning, they vanished — while Nerds have slowly started making a comeback. Justice? We think not.

Red Mill Corn Snacks

From tomato-flavoured Tangy Toms to cheeseburger-inspired QuarterBacks, these snacks were the dog’s danglies. For 10p you could inhale a packet of crunchy joy. Inflation has pushed them to a monstrous 15p, but you can still find them in some corner shops and most cash-and-carries. The Average Joes office is still powered by Tangy Toms.

Runts

Runts: the sweets shaped like fruit, tricking children everywhere into thinking they were getting some sort of nutritional value. Another Willy Wonka creation (technically Nestlé), they had that unmistakable tangy crunch we all loved. You can still find them in those 20p twist machines that never dispense quite enough.

Sherbet Fountain

Not everyone’s favourite — largely due to the liquorice stick, which definitely divides opinion — but the Sherbet Fountain has been around for over 50 years. Sadly, the iconic paper tube is gone, replaced by a plastic version that somehow makes the whole thing less fun. “Improved packaging,” they said. Right.

Snaps

A crisp-like snack that’s been hiding for at least a decade. Snaps got their name from the noise they supposedly made when you bit into one. Originally available in Spicy Tomato and Cheese, the latter disappeared due to lack of love. The Spicy Tomato version apparently still exists… though we’ve not seen a packet in years.

Space Raiders

Launched in the ’70s, these maize snacks came shaped like alien heads — green for pickled onion, red for beef. Thanks to banned food colourings, they’re now a disappointing shade of beige. They stayed at 10p for most of their existence before jumping to a scandalous 15p in 2007. Still delicious though, and still dangerous when you “accidentally” eat four packs in one sitting.

Nerds

A mainstay of pocket-money shopping. Less stylish than Dweebs, but far easier to get hold of, Nerds were the crunchy, sour little treats you inhaled before the shopkeeper finished counting your change. They’re making a comeback now, although the nostalgic tax is real — £3 a box?! Ok, go on then…

Flying Saucers

What were these? Rice paper UFOs filled with sherbet shouldn’t have worked, yet somehow they were incredible. Light, cheap and churned out in vast quantities, they were a favourite stocking filler — my dad still loves them.

Fruit Salads and Black Jacks

Heaven and hell, side-by-side. Black Jacks tasted like doom and stained your tongue black (an acquired taste at best). Fruit Salads, on the other hand, were raspberry-pineapple perfection. Which side were you on?

Pez Candy

Of course you remember these. A plastic dispenser shaped like your favourite character, flick the head back and out pops a sweet. PEZ has been around since 1927 and is still going strong — over three billion little bricks are eaten annually in the US alone.

Got any more sweets from yesteryear you wish you could still get? Let us know which ones you miss the most!