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Author Archives: Jason Liebig
Superbowl 2015 and the Collation Conundrum! (plus a little NFL Snickers history)
Once again it’s Super Bowl Sunday and for the third year in a row I’ll be featuring Snickers NFL Minis and their team wrappers! Make the jump to check them out.
Posted in 1990's, Chocolate, Mars
Tagged candy collecting, candy collection, candy collector, candy wrapper collection, candy wrapper collector, collectible, collecting candy, confectionery, confections, football, licensed, NFL, packaging, packaging design, Snickers, Super Bowl, Superbowl, sweets, teams, vintage candy wrappers, wrapper
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The Return of Mike and Ike Cotton Candy and Root Beer Float Flavors!
It’s been an exciting month in the world of candy already and the fun keeps on rolling as today I get to share the news that Mike and Ike Cotton Candy and Root Beer Float flavors are returning! Not seen … Continue reading
Posted in 1960's, 1970's, 1990's, Boxed
Tagged candy collecting, candy collection, candy collector, candy wrapper collection, candy wrapper collector, collectible, collecting candy, confectionery, confections, cotton candy, Just Born, Mike & Ike, Mike & Ikes, Mike and Ike, Mike and Ikes, packaging, packaging design, root beer, sweets, vintage candy wrappers, wrapper
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For Snowpocalypse 2015 – Snowman Wrappers!
Yesterday, the northeast United States braced for what threatened to be an unprecedented belting of snow and wind. Here in New York City traffic was halted, mass transit was suspended, schools were closed and grocery stores were raided by consumers … Continue reading
Posted in 1970's, Canadian, Chocolate, Christmas, Gummies, Hershey, Holiday, Mars, Necco
Tagged blizzard, candy collecting, candy collection, candy collector, candy wrapper collection, candy wrapper collector, Christmas, collectible, collecting candy, confectionery, confections, packaging, packaging design, snowman, sweets, vintage candy wrappers, winter, wrapper
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A Remarkable Wrapper Array for Wonka’s Randoms Gummies!
Nestle-Wonka introduced their Randoms gummies product to the USA marketplace early last year. The concept was simple and appealing: the shapes and assortment of the gummy candies in each package would be “random” creating an “endless gummy variety”. If you’ve … Continue reading
Posted in Gummies, Nestle, Wonka
Tagged candy collecting, candy collection, candy collector, candy wrapper collection, candy wrapper collector, collectible, collecting candy, confectionery, confections, Gummies, packaging, packaging design, sweets, vintage candy wrappers, Wonka, wrapper
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The History and Triumphant Return of Crispy M&M’s!
After vanishing from American store shelves for the last decade, Mars has brought Crispy M&M’s back from the grave. I first spotted their newly-minted bright green packages a month ago and by now they should be available across the country. … Continue reading
Posted in 1990's, Chocolate, Japanese, M&M's, Mars
Tagged Australia, candy collecting, candy collection, candy collector, candy wrapper collection, candy wrapper collector, collectible, collecting candy, confectionery, confections, international, Japanese, M&M, M&M's, Mars, mascot, packaging, packaging design, sweets, vintage candy wrappers, wrapper
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Merry Christmas with Vintage Santa Claus Wrappers!
For those out there that celebrate it; Merry Christmas! And for everyone else, Happy Holidays and end-of-year wishes from CollectingCandy.com! My main priority this week has been my friends and family so I haven’t had much time to devote to … Continue reading
Posted in 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, Chocolate, Christmas, Holiday, Topps
Tagged 1970's candy, candy collecting, candy collection, candy collector, candy wrapper collection, candy wrapper collector, Christmas, Christmas candy, collectible, collecting candy, confectionery, confections, packaging, packaging design, Santa, Santa Claus, sweets, vintage candy wrappers, wrapper
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Christmas Countdown: M&M’s 2012 Holiday Packs!
Back in 2011-2012, M&M/Mars expanded their seasonal M&M’s offerings by adding holiday releases in standard-sized packs. Since that time, I’ve covered their Candy Corn M&M’s, M&M’s Holiday Mints, and even an array of twelve different Easter packages. While Candy Corn M&M’s have … Continue reading
Posted in Christmas, Holiday, M&M's, Mars
Tagged candy collecting, candy collection, candy collector, candy wrapper collection, candy wrapper collector, Christmas, collectible, collecting candy, confectionery, confections, holiday, M&M's, Mars, packaging, packaging design, seasonal, sweets, vintage candy wrappers, wrapper
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Vintage-Style Just Born Candy Box Holiday Ornaments – New for 2014!
After a day of holiday travel, I’m back to my native midwestern home of Nebraska and spending time with family and loved ones. While I’m here, I want to continue to share some of the neat Christmas candy goodness I’ve got … Continue reading
Posted in 1960's, 1970's, Boxed, Christmas, Holiday
Tagged 1960's, 1970's, candy collecting, candy collection, candy collector, candy wrapper collection, candy wrapper collector, Christmas, collectible, collectibles, collecting candy, confectionery, confections, holiday, Just Born, ornaments, packaging, packaging design, sweets, vintage candy wrappers, wrapper
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Christmas Countdown: New Nestle Crunch Peanuts for 2014!
Kicking off our Christmas Countdown today, I’ll be showcasing the return of the Peanuts gang to some mainstream confectionery holiday offerings. I should mention that the Peanuts characters have already been featured on a series of seasonal releases from Russell … Continue reading
Posted in 1980's, Chocolate, Christmas, Holiday, Nestle
Tagged candy collecting, candy collection, candy collector, candy wrapper collection, candy wrapper collector, Charlie Brown, Christmas, collectible, collecting candy, confectionery, confections, holiday, Nestle, Nestle Crunch, packaging, packaging design, peanuts, seasonal, Snoopy, sweets, vintage candy wrappers, wrapper
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![I was going to title this “If your family was poor and you grew up in the 1980s, this image will hit your soul.” but after some consideration, I realized that in 1983 your family didn’t have to be poor to want to find whatever way they could to save money.
Those early 1980s years were a period still coming to grips with years of inflation and other economic troubles. Those realities helped give way (and opportunity) to not only lower-cost private label products, but also “generics”.
The idea behind generics was that you were getting the absolute lowest cost possible for the item in question. Not a cent spent on design or advertising - it was plainly utilitarian.
The generics area of any grocery aisle (or your pantry) was visually stark and minimalist, so if you loved specific brands or eye-catching branding, it was also kind of sad. But for families that were struggling, cents mattered and these products were lifelines.
In the post pandemic years, we’ve had to endure similar inflation and so we’ve seen big growth in the private label category. Though I haven’t seen a movement to embrace “generics” in the same way.
Rather, private label has been an area of colorful innovation, offering the cost-savings without sacrificing all of the flash.
And while these generics of old were products one might have felt sad or embarrassed about having as a child, as a brand historian I find them nostalgic and deeply moving for the struggling family story they can help tell.
[Pictured are several early 1980s generic Mac and cheese boxes from my historical packaging archives.]
#privatelabel #branding #1980s #80snostslgia #genericproducts](http://collectingcandy.com/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)