Candy From The 60s - Iconic 60s Candy In The Swinging Sixties - Snack History (2024)

Have you ever wondered were the Beatles’ favorite candy from the 1960s? Or what did the Rolling Stones have in their pockets while performing on the stage? Or what would James Bond enjoy if he did not have to go through all the adventures? The 1960s was the era of peace, love, and, of course, some new, mouthwatering candy, which was on its way to being introduced to the public.

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The 1960s was the era of hippies, peace signs, revolutionary movements, and the hype of Rock N Roll music, introduced by the Beatles and The Rolling Stones. People got hooked on their TVs to see all the newly produced Hollywood movies. The “Free Love” movement was starting to take place. And, of course, there was candy. Which was groovy by that time.

What would go better with hippies style than the artificial tattoos found in the Fruit Stripe Gum wrappers? Or what would make you feel like an astronaut more than Astro Pops? Would you be able to resist the temptation of bursting Starburst flavors in your mouth? In this article, you will find all the answers about your favorite iconic candy from the 1960s.

Names of Candy From The 1960s

1. Starburst
2. Pop-Tarts
3. Shockers
4. Lemonheads
5. Fruit Stripe Gum
6. Astro Pops
7. 100 Grand Bar
8. Now and Later Candy
9. Kaboom Cereal
10. Apple Jacks Cereal
11. Sixlets

Advertisem*nts for 60s Candy

As TVs had become part of people’s everyday lives and were found in almost every family, it made advertisers’ jobs a lot easier. There were dozens of 60s Candy commercials rotating all day long, appealing to people to try newly introduced treats.

Some companies created very tempting advertisem*nts like 100 Grand Bar. They used all the voices on the radio and all the faces on TV to make their product attractive, even doing tricks on people sometimes. Cereal companies started creating mascots for their brands, which sometimes included several TV series and were exciting and very popular among children to watch.

The 1960s gave huge opportunities to candy manufacturers. You were able to see popular candy posters and commercials everywhere. Thის made candy from the 1960s easily approachable and vastly popular.

Most Popular Candy from the 60s

The 1960s was a colorful era, and popular candy from the 60s played a big role in making lives even more colorful. Many famous fruit-flavored candies were introduced during that time. They were used as decorations for birthday parties, classroom wall paintings, and even children’s room decorations. People would draw Fruit Stripe Gum on the walls, or include bright coating colors for fun birthday parties.

What was your all-time favorite childhood treat? I bet you can find at least one of them in this list below. Candy from the 1960s broke the stereotypes about enjoyable sweets. The unusual combination of sweet and sour was becoming increasingly popular in candies such as Shockers. It is believed that its flavor will give you a shock when you first try it.

1. Starburst

Starburst is fruit-flavored taffy that is produced by The Wrigley Company, which is fully owned by Mars, Incorporated, the company famous for creating Snickers Bar.

Starburst was one of the first new treats introduced in 1960. It was initially produced under the name Opal Fruits. Strawberry, orange, lemon, and lime were the four original flavors in both Opal Fruits and Starburst.

The originality of the name Starburst is not certain, but it was probably an expression of the burst of flavor in your mouth with each bite, and to draw attention to the Space Race, which was at its peak during that period.

You probably remember the famous tagline for Starburst “Unexplainably Juicy”. Did you enjoy the juicy, bursting flavors of starburst in your mouth?

2. Pop-Tarts

Pop Tarts have been around for a while, these sweet pastry with filling and coating is some of the most popular candy from the 1960s. It was introduced by Kellogg’s in 1964 and is the best-selling product of the brand in the United States.

The first Pop-Tarts came in four original flavors: strawberry, blueberry, brown sugar cinnamon, and apple currant. The initial ones were not frosted. The company also produces limited holiday Pop Tart editions.

Some of you might be surprised to hear that Pop Tarts are designed to be microwaved or toasted before eating, but most people enjoy them as they are. Do you prefer warm, melty Pop-Tarts or do you just eat them out of the package right away?

3. Shockers

Shockers candy was not always known by this name. Initially, it was called Shock Tarts and was introduced in 1962 by The Sunmark Candy Company. This great 60s candy was discontinued but later re-released by the Willy Wonka Company under the name of Shockers.

Why are they called Shockers? They are sweet and sour chewy candy from the 1960s, made with the same recipe as the famous Fun Dip and Pixy Stix. The sweet and sour taste causes shock in people as they eat them. Try and eat one and you’ll see yourself.

The flavors include Cherry, Grape, Orange, Lemon, Green Apple, and Blue Punch. This 60s candy has not changed a lot since the release date, but if you loved Shockers in your childhood, you would probably still enjoy them now.

4. Lemonheads

Lemonheads are round, lemon-flavored candies, with a sweet coating, a soft sour shell, and a hard candy core. They were created by the Ferrara Candy Company in 1962. Some other varieties of popular candy from the 1960s are Cherryheads, Grapeheads, and Appleheads. Which one is your favorite?

Lemonheads were created in the same cold panned process as Red Hots candy. If you are a long-lasting, non-chocolate candy lover, then these small, mouthwatering balls might be the ones you enjoy.

Lemonheads candy has been commercially successful. Ferrara Company, a prominent sponsor of The Bozo Show, where different products of Ferrara were given as a prize during the “Grand Prize Game”. Who would not wonder to try the candy that was given as a prize in a famous TV Show?

5. Fruit Stripe Gum

Introduced at the beginning of the decade by James Parker, Fruit Stripe Gum was a favorite candy from the 1960s for many people, and especially for children. Every package of gum came with a temporary tattoo adorning its wrapper, so children would get very excited about getting inked artificially, but still cool. Do you remember thinking you were cool when wearing a Fruit Stripe Gum tattoo?

Fruit Stripe Gum is a mix of five flavors in a zebra-striped package. The chewing gum is made by the Ferrara Candy Company and is the only one to feature zebra stripes on every piece of gum.

Though children are the ones to get a feeling of safari adventure, while chewing the gum, even adults can’t say no to their favorite flavors. The original five flavors include Cherry, Lemon, Orange, Peach Smash, and Wet-N-Wild Melon. Do you prefer traditional Dubble Bubble Gum flavor or are you ready to taste the adventure with the 60s Candy Fruit Stripe Gum?

6. Astro Pops

Inspired by the Space Race hype in the 1960s, Astro Pops were first introduced in 1963 by two rocket scientists. It was very popular among people interested in UFOs and astronomy. Like the famous Satellite Wafers, children would get very excited about imagining themselves as space travelers while they were enjoying Astro Pops.

Astro Pops is an unusual candy from the 1960s because it is directly poured into the wrappers, so the wrapper becomes the mold for them. Astro Pops are modeling the three-stage rocket, which makes them even more popular with science lovers.

The original flavors of candy are passionfruit, cherry, and pineapple. Later, Astro Pops were expanded into making lollipops with flavors of banana split and caramel apple.

7. 100 Grand Bar

Produced by Ferrara Candy Company, a 100 Grand Bar is a chocolate bar, which includes caramel and crispy rice. It resembles the famous Crunch Bar from the 1930s. Originally it was called the Hundred Thousand Dollars Bar. If not $100 000, who would not want to have at least 100 Grand Bar?

The advertisers for the 100 Grand Bar did a really good job of creating the slogan. The first slogan was, “It’s so good it’s almost illegal.” Rules are for breaking, right? And illegal is for attempting, so everyone was eager to try this 60s Candy.

100 Grand Bar was used by radio stations to prank people. They would announce a giveaway of 100 Grands, and when people were expecting $100 000, they would get 100 Grand Bars instead. It was used in a similar fashion at the famous sitcom The Office.

8. Now and Later Candy

Now and Later was created in New York in the year 1962 by The Phoenix Candy Company. It is a taffy-like candy that is produced by Ferrara Candy Company today and is very much like the famous Starburst and Mamba Candy.

The name “Now and Later” suggests that it is so good that you are going to like one now and want some more later. Because of the chewy texture, the name also suggests that if you put one piece in your mouth now, you will still be chewing it later. Whichever interpretation might be correct, you will most likely enjoy it later.

There are twelve flavors of Now and Later candy to choose from. With the variations of tropical or usual fruits, there’s also the “original” flavor of the candy from the 1960s. Which one do you enjoy chewing the most? Are you up for tropical flavors, or do you prefer to stick to the original?

9. Kaboom Cereal

Did you enjoy clown faces in your milk in the morning? Then you might remember Kaboom Cereal from the 1960s, which was very popular in that era. It was produced by General Mills. The cereal box stated that it had “100% minimum daily requirements of vitamins and iron in 1 oz”.

As it was known as vitamin cereal, people considered it healthy and important to include in their daily rations. A 1969 TV commercial featured a smiling clown introducing vitamin cereal. The commercial suggested that Kaboom Cereal would make you stronger. Did you hurry to finish your bowl of Kaboom Cereal hoping you would become strong as a ringmaster?

Kaboom Cereal was referenced many times in movies and novels before it was canceled in 2010. Examples include Don DeLillo’s novel White Noise and Quentin Tarantino’s film Kill Bill. Do you get excited when you find your favorite treats in books or movies?

10. Apple Jacks Cereal

Apple Jacks is an American brand introduced by Kellog’s, which is also famous for creating Pop-Tarts. Apple Jacks was initially introduced in 1965 as “Apple O’s” because of their O shape. It is one of the top four cereal brands consumed by cereal lovers.

Apple Jacks cereal has the flavor of apple cinnamon, which makes a great combo for breakfast. The original cereal only had orange O shapes, but later green O shapes were added.

The first advertising mascot for Apple Jacks was “Apple Guy”. There was also an “Apple Car,” which had cereal pieces for wheels. The official mascot was introduced in 1971, “Apple Jacks Kids”, which was simply a boy and a girl. They used children in advertisem*nts to express their enjoyment while eating Apple Jacks. The slogan stated, “We eat what we like.” Did you really like eating Apple Jacks when you were a child?

11. Sixlets

Sixlets are like M&Ms, but slightly varied and thicker-coated chocolate candy. It comes in different colors and each color has a slightly distinguishable flavor from the other. While other candies will melt in your mouth, Sixlets will melt in your hand because of the sugary coating. Sixlets were made by Leaf Brands. There’s a hypothesis about the name Sixlets: originally they were sold six for a penny in a bubble-gum-like machine. That’s when people started calling them “Sixlets.”

Sixlets’ colors include red, brown, orange, yellow, green, and blue. During the holidays, there are color variations of the candy. As Easter candy, they add white and pink, while removing the brown ones from the mix. As Christmas candy, they have only red, green, and white. Sixlets produce a special Valentine’s Day candy, with variations of red, pink, and white. Color variations truly add sparkle to the holiday season. We bet it’s hard to say which holiday Sixlets is your favorite.

60s Candy Bottom Line

With the rise of the film and music industries in the 1960s, candy became an essential part of concerts and movie theatres. It was hard to find someone who did not have their favorite treat in their hands (or their mouth) as they were attending famous Rock N Roll concerts or watching exciting James Bond films.

The development of technology helped candy companies to offer a huge variety of choices for every taste. Candy from the 1960s was affordable, fun, and exciting to enjoy while doing your favorite free-time activities. Did you find your favorite treat in the list above? What associations do these iconic candies give you when you think of them from your childhood? Please share with us if you were hit by candy nostalgia from a very exciting era of pop culture history.

Candy Era

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1930s Candy

1940s Candy

1950s Candy

70s Candy

80s Candy

90s Candy