Hickory Farms is mostly associated as a catalog retailer of meats and cheeses these days (with the occasional holiday pop-up store), but over the years they’ve had permanent mall locations and offered all sorts of consumable gifts, including a run of delicious-sounding chocolate bars I recently discovered that were first released in the early 1970’s!
As a confectionery brand historian and collector, one the most common inquiries I get are those that ask my assistance in identifying some product or brand from the hazy memories of that persons childhood. I’m happy to get these requests as it’s always a fun challenge and I’m proud to say that in the majority of cases I am able to provide the answers being sought. One product that I’ve received a number of inquiries about over the years is one that I’m going to showcase today, that being Fruit Face. Make the jump to check it out!
While most folks do their 2017 “year in review” type editorials in December or January, mine tend to slip to February and in the case of this year and last, the month of March. Even so, I’m wonderfully-excited to share the highlights from my previous collecting year, having created a colorful retrospective collage of extra-groovy pieces I’ve added to my archives over the previous twelve months. Make the jump to check it out!
Today’s entry is going to be a big one, and it covers a brand whose history I’ve been chasing down for over a decade. One of the original “big stick” bubble gum brands, it’s Bazooka’s (and Topps’) Big Buddy!
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that’s true, then Philadelphia Chewing Gum was an irrepressible flatterer when they released Mountain Chew in the 1980’s, a bubblegum product that managed to pull inspiration from two iconic brands: Big League Chew and Mountain Dew!
During the Summer of 2017, Hershey’s of Canada released an amazing series of special edition Twizzlers packaging featuring artwork by four talented artists. This promotion was called Twizzlers Twisted Shout-Outs and resulted in sixteen different striking Twizzlers packs. Make the jump to check them out!
You may not know the name Astor Chocolate but you’ve almost certainly seen their products. They’ll often produce private label chocolate bars for cities and tourist locations – I featured a pair of their lovely Times Square Toys R Us bars back in 2012. Lately they’ve been partnering up with the FYE retail chain to create some pretty fun offerings but what they’ve come up with now has knocked my socks off; a group of milk chocolate bars featuring crazy flavor combos called Food Fight!
Back in 1958, the Mars company introduced a product to the USA market that might sound familiar: It was a roll of caramel-filled drum-shaped chocolate candies, wrapped in gold foil. Mars called this new offering Marsettes, and while their time on store shelves was relatively short, it was tasty and colorful. Make the jump to check it out!
Though it arrives a little later than I’d planned, today I’m excited to present my 2016 “Year in Collecting” retrospective graphical collage. This is the eighth year in a row that I’ve put one of these together and it’s fun every time I get the opportunity to do it. Make the jump to check it out!
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! While there was a lot of great new Valentine’s seasonal offerings this year, I’ve only time for one post. I’m choosing to dedicate today’s feature on the six new-for-2017 Just Born boxed Valentine’s seasonal offerings – with three new Mike and Ike and three new Hot Tamales boxes. Make the jump to check them out!
