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Category Archives: 1980’s
From the Oddball Files – Australia’s LifeSavers Musk flavor.
Ah, flavor… it’s a funny thing, especially where candy is concerned. What one person finds delicious, another finds awful. I don’t spend too much time discussing the flavors of candy, as that’s not what the focus on this site … Continue reading
Posted in 1950's, 1980's, Hard Candy, Uncategorized
Tagged 1950's, 50's, anniversary, Australia, Australian, Centennial, confection, confectionery, Down Under, Life Savers, Lifesavers, mint, Nestle, packaging, sweets, wrapper, Wrigley
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PB Max! – Quite a striking candy wrapper.
PB Max was a delicious treat first put out by the M&M/Mars company in 1989. I loved the candy itself, but it also had a striking wrapper design, and as a collector I’ve coveted adding one to my collection for … Continue reading
Posted in 1980's, 1990's, Chocolate, Uncategorized
Tagged 1980's, 1990's, 80's, 90's, candy, chocolate, collectible, collecting, collection, collector, confection, design, logo, M&M/Mars, Mars, packaging, peanut butter, retro, sweets, vintage, wrapper
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Fun Dip and Lik-M-Aid – A powdery-sugar-filled retrospective.
I am excited to finally be getting to today’s post, as I’ve wanted to cover the subject of Fun Dip for a long time. It’s good that I waited, as the last couple of months have provided key pieces of … Continue reading
Posted in 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, Wonka
Tagged 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, candy, collectible, collecting, collection, confection, confectionery, Fun Dip, Lik-a-Stix, Lik-m-Aid, mascot, packaging, powdered sugar, retro, Sunline, Sunmark, sweets, vintage, Willy Wonka, Wonka
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Toffifay-to-Toffifay – Still Too Good For Kids!
Toffifay was introduced to the United States in 1977. Using ingredients not typically found in US candy bars at the time, it was an unusual kind of confection to make the standard candy isle. Beyond being a distinctive treat, they … Continue reading
The almost-conclusion to the Jeff Nelson Gum Collection!
Today, I’ll be posting the last photos of the display cases of Jeff Nelson’s gum collection. With one small caveat; These were the display cases that were filled and completed before we arrived. We spent our two-and-a-half days in Toledo, … Continue reading
Posted in 1980's, 1990's, Bubble Gum, Fleer, Gum, Topps
Tagged 1980's, 1990's, 80's, 90's, bubble gum, bubblegum, candy, collectible, collecting, collector, confectionery, foreign, gum, international, packaging, retro, sweets, vintage, wrapper
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It’s Monday and still more of Jeff Nelson’s gum collection!
Right about now you might be thinking – when will this glorious wave of gum end? Maybe that’s not what you’re thinking, but either way, I hope you’re enjoying these looks at what is likely the largest collection of contemporary … Continue reading
Posted in 1980's, 1990's, Fleer, Gum, Topps
Tagged 1980's, 1990's, 80's, 90's, bubble gum, bubblegum, collectible, collection, collector, confection, confectionery, gum, retro, sweets, vintage, wrapper
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Back Home – And still more of the Jeff Nelson gum collection!
After a little more than a week away, the CollectingCandy.com staff has returned home. It was an amazing road trip, though it is nice to be able to post from my home PC, while having easy access to my scanner … Continue reading
Posted in 1980's, 1990's, Bubble Gum, Novelty, Topps, Uncategorized
Tagged 1980's, 1990's, 80's, 90's, bubble gum, bubblegum, candy, collectible, collection, collector, confection, confectionery, gum, kids, novelty, packaging, retro, sweets, vintage, wrapper
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More of the Jeff Nelson Gum Collection
Tonight I’ll be revealing additional images from the gum collection of Jeff Nelson. Before we get to that, a little update on the CollectingCandy.com field trip. Today was the last leg of a week-long sugar-filled journey, as we visited the … Continue reading
Posted in 1980's, 1990's, Bubble Gum
Tagged 1980's, 1990's, 80's, 90's, bubble gum, bubblegum, candy, collectible, collecting, collection, collector, confection, gum, novelty, packaging, retro, sweets, vintage, wrapper
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The Jeff Nelson Bubblegum Collection – Cases and Cases
I promised to reveal more of the Jeff Nelson bubblegum collection earlier in the week, and today I’m going to showcase a portion of the display cases that were already assembled and on display when we arrived. Starting with case … Continue reading
Posted in 1980's, 1990's, Bubble Gum, Novelty, Uncategorized
Tagged 1980's, 1990's, 80's, 90's, bubble gum, bugglegum, collectible, collection, collector, gum, pack, packaging, punk, retro, vintage, wrapper
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Bubblegumageddon with Jeff Nelson – Day One
Just spent an incredible day with all-around amazing guy, Jeff Nelson. Beyond having built what is likely the largest collection of contemporary bubble gum in the country, Jeff is an artist, entreprenuer, activist – not to to mention being a … Continue reading
Posted in 1980's, 1990's, Bubble Gum, Uncategorized
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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)