We Ranked 10 Discontinued 90s Items By How Much We Miss Them

You grew up with snacks, sodas, and goofy breakfast cereals that shaped weekend mornings and school lunchboxes — and now many of them have vanished. This article ranks ten discontinued ’90s items by how much you might miss them, so you can relive the small joys and nostalgia that still stick with you.

Bold feeling sentence: You’ll find which discontinued favorites score highest on the “miss” scale and why they still tug at your memory.
Flip through the list to see classics like Dunkaroos, Crystal Pepsi, Fruit Gushers, and a few weird one-hit wonders — and decide whether any of them deserve a comeback.

Dunkaroos

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You remember the ritual: little kangaroo cookies and a tub of frosting begging to be dunked.

The snack hit peak nostalgia for kids who loved dipping and bright sprinkles, and its 2012 U.S. discontinuation left a lot of lunchboxes suddenly lonelier.

General Mills brought Dunkaroos back briefly in 2020, but some fans say the comeback doesn’t always match the original taste you remember.

Surge soda

You probably remember Surge as neon-green, loud, and built for ‘90s extreme energy. It tasted sweeter and more caffeinated than other lemon-lime sodas, which made it a go-to for late-night gaming or road trips.

Coca-Cola pulled it from most shelves in the early 2000s, but fans kept its memory alive. You can still find limited runs and reissues, which shows how much people miss that over-the-top flavor.

Butterfinger BB’s

You remember the tiny, crispy Butterfinger balls that vanished from shelves in the 2000s.
They packed the same flaky, peanut-buttery center as the bar but in a poppable form that disappeared too soon.

You probably saw commercials with Bart Simpson selling them; they were movie-theater and lunchbox favorites.
Nestlé replaced them with other formats, but for many, nothing matched the original BB’s texture and melt.

Orbitz beverage

You remember Orbitz: a clear, slightly sweet drink with tiny floating jelly beads that made the bottle look like a lava lamp.
The texture divided people — some loved the novelty, others found the spheres off-putting.

It launched in the late ’90s as a texturally enhanced novelty and vanished fast when most shoppers didn’t buy the vibe.
If you miss weird soda experiments, Orbitz still shows up sometimes on collector sites and specialty sellers.

Crystal Pepsi

You probably remember Crystal Pepsi as the clear cola that surprised everyone in the early ’90s.
It grabbed attention with novelty more than taste, and that’s why it vanished after a short run.

Pepsi brought it back a few times for nostalgia, but those limited releases only proved people liked the idea more than the flavor.
If you miss the era, Crystal Pepsi hits that sweet spot between kitsch and curiosity.

Fruit Gushers

You remember tearing open a bright packet and biting down to find a juicy center that squirted out. The mix of chewy gummy shell and liquid burst felt futuristic and a little messy.

Gushers launched in the early ’90s and became a lunchbox legend. When you want a quick hit of nostalgia, nothing beats that first gush.

Toaster Strudel Frosting Packets

You remember tearing open those tiny frosting packets and squeezing a perfect icing swirl over a warm pastry. The extra icing specials—like the pink Mean Girls one—made busy mornings feel a little more fun.

Sometimes you could get “Mega Icing” promos that doubled the frosting, and that felt like a small victory. Losing those packets meant losing a quick, customizable sweet finish you actually looked forward to.

Planters Cheez Balls

You probably remember the bright blue can and that orange dust on your fingers.
They were a ‘90s snack staple—crunchy, tangy, and oddly addictive.

Planters discontinued them in 2006, and fans pushed for a return for years.
When they briefly reappeared, nostalgia hit hard, proving how much you missed that simple cheesy crunch.

Pogo Pops cereal

You probably remember Pogo Pops as the colorful, crunchy rings that vanished from shelves.
They packed a sweet, playful flavor that made morning cartoons feel like a treat.

If you liked cereal that doubled as a snack, Pogo Pops hit the spot.
Its short-lived run left a small but vocal group of fans who still wish it would come back.

7-Up Gold

You probably remember 7-Up as clear and caffeine-free, so Gold felt odd the first time you saw it.
It was a dark, cinnamon-ginger–spiced version introduced in 1988 that contained caffeine and looked like a cola.

You might’ve tried it out of curiosity; sales never caught on and it was pulled quickly.
Its unusual flavor and appearance made it confusing rather than comforting for many drinkers.

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