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Category Archives: 1970’s
Brach’s 1972 “Share a Little Love” Valentine’s Day Promotion!
For today’s pre-Valentine’s Day post, I’ll be sharing a Brach’s candy salesman promotional packet created in support of their 1972 “Share a Little Love” campaign. It’s a terrific and unique look into our confectionery past and it follows up a … Continue reading
Posted in 1970's, Boxed, Chocolate, Holiday
Tagged 1970's, 1970's candy, 70's, 70's candy, Brach's, candy collecting, candy collection, candy collector, candy wrapper collection, candy wrapper collector, collectible, collecting candy, confectionery, confections, packaging, packaging design, promotional, sales, salesman, sweets, Valentine's Day, vintage candy wrappers, wrapper
2 Comments
The (Nearly) Definitive History of Nestle’s Choco’Lite! — Plus: CollectingCandy.com’s Third Anniversary!
Today is special to me as it marks the Third Anniversary of CollectingCandy.com – first launched on February 6th, 2012. And while I wasn’t able to program a week-long anniversary celebration as I did last year, I have endeavored to … Continue reading
Posted in 1950's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, British, Chocolate, Nestle
Tagged aerated chocolate, candy collecting, candy collection, candy collector, candy wrapper collection, candy wrapper collector, chocolate with bubbles, Chocolite, collectible, collecting candy, confectionery, confections, discontinued, Nestle, Nestle's, packaging, packaging design, sweets, vintage candy wrappers, wrapper
17 Comments
The Surprising Candy of Howard Johnson’s!
I’ll often talk about how much I enjoy branded candy packaging that comes from unusual sources like private label or “store brands”. These aren’t your typical Hershey or Mars offerings in that you can only find them at specific retail … Continue reading
Posted in 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, Chocolate, Gum, Hard Candy
Tagged 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 50's, 60's, 70's, candy collecting, candy collection, candy collector, candy wrapper collection, candy wrapper collector, collectible, collecting candy, confectionery, confections, hotel, Howard Johnsons, motel, packaging, packaging design, private label, store brand, sweets, vintage candy wrappers, wrapper
28 Comments
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
3 Comments
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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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
2 Comments
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
4 Comments
A Frappé For Friday – Welch’s Frappé, That Is!
Over the years, I’ve received all sorts of e-mails quizzing me about the identity of some nearly forgotten candy or requesting images of a fondly missed favorite chocolate bar. It’s a fun challenge and incredibly satisfying when I’ve been able … Continue reading
Posted in 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, Chocolate, Timeline, Uncategorized
Tagged candy collecting, candy collection, candy collector, candy wrapper collection, candy wrapper collector, collectible, collecting candy, confectionery, confections, Nabisco, packaging, packaging design, raisins, sweets, vintage candy wrappers, Welch's, wrapper
24 Comments
Origins of the Sprint Bar – Mars’ Original take on the Kit Kat!
Early last year, I unearthed the story of M&M/Mars 1970’s take on their competitor’s Kit Kat – a chocolate wafer bar dubbed the Snik Snak. But what I didn’t realize at the time was that Mars’ history with a Kit … Continue reading
Posted in 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, Chocolate, M&M's, Mars, Timeline
Tagged candy collecting, candy collection, candy collector, candy wrapper collection, candy wrapper collector, collectible, collecting candy, confectionery, confections, Kit Kat, KitKat, M&M's, Mars, packaging, packaging design, sweets, vintage candy wrappers, wrapper
37 Comments
Cold War Russia’s Soviet Uniform Wrappers!
I don’t typically cover non-USA material here on CollectingCandy.com. It’s not that I find foreign wrappers unappealing in any way. In fact, they are often some of the most ornate designs I encounter. It’s simply that it is more challenging … Continue reading
Posted in 1970's, Chocolate
Tagged 1970's, candy collecting, candy collection, candy collector, candy wrapper collection, candy wrapper collector, cold war, collectible, collecting candy, communist, confectionery, confections, packaging, Russia, Russian, Soviet, sweets, USSR, vintage candy wrapper, 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)