Gone but Not Forgotten
Grocery store shelves have changed a lot over the years, with once-popular canned foods and drinks quietly disappearing. Some were bold experiments, while others were everyday staples that faded away. Whether due to changing tastes or new trends, these vintage canned goods are now just memories of a different time. Take a look at the canned foods and drinks we still miss to this day.
Canned Whole Chicken
One of the most unexpected vintage canned foods is the Canned Whole Chicken. Yes, you read that right—a fully cooked chicken, packed whole in a can! This strange product included not just the meat but also a gelatinous broth that surrounded it. While it offered convenience for busy households, its unappealing presentation and odd texture made it a hard sell.
Over time, as fresh and frozen options became more accessible, the Canned Whole Chicken faded into obscurity, leaving behind a legacy of equal parts curiosity and cringe.
Slice
Slice was a brand of soda drinks introduced by PepsiCo in the 1980s. Its selling point was that it contained 10% fruit juice, although that percentage gradually dropped over time. As with most sodas, there was nothing healthy about it whatsoever, but it was a big success to start off with.
Gradually more and more flavors were introduced – pineapple, grape, punch, even a Dr Pepper flavor – but the market started to shift. By the late 2000s it had been discontinued, though it survives as a sparkling water drink.
Heinz Pokemon Pasta
In the late ‘90s, you could barely move without encountering something Pokemon-related. There were Pokemon cards, Pokemon magazines, Pokemon clothes, Pokemon toys… It was a franchise the likes of which nobody had ever seen. So there was, of course, Pokemon pasta as well.
It was available in two varieties, Red and Blue, and the pasta pieces were shaped like popular Pokemon such as Vulpix and Eevee. Some cans of Pokemon pasta still survive to the current era, but whatever you do don’t eat the contents.
Hi-C Ecto Cooler
When Ghostbusters became a mega-franchise, the company Hi-C took advantage by releasing a citrus-flavored drink themed to the movies and cartoons. But it was so popular it actually lasted longer than the cartoon did, coasting off the love people had for the franchise. It wasn’t discontinued until 2001.
Believe it or not, like a ghost, the Ecto Cooler isn’t quite gone. Sometimes it’s re-released in order to promote a new Ghostbusters movie, now that the franchise has restarted. But then it immediately vanishes back into nothing.
Nuteena
Nuteena might not have been all that appetizing to children. It was a plant-based meat substitute made from peanut meal, soy, corn, and rice flour. People put it in salads or on sandwiches. It was especially popular with Seventh-Day Adventists, whose beliefs align with vegetarianism and veganism. And yet, that couldn’t save it.
Nuteena was taken off shelves by its production company, Loma Linda, in 2005. No-one really knows why, but they know they were devastated about it. People still talk about Nuteena and it has various fan pages across social media.
Campbell's RavioliOs
You’ve most likely heard of Campbell’s SpaghettiOs – they passed into popular culture a long time ago – but you’re less likely to have heard of the RavioliOs. It was pretty much what it said on the tin: Ravioli (stuffed pasta), in sauce, in a can. Quick and easy food to eat after school.
By all accounts RavioliOs tasted quite good, but they’ve seemingly totally disappeared from food stores. People have complained on the internet about their sudden absence, but Campbell’s hasn’t said anything in response.
New Coke
The New Coke debacle went down in history as one of the biggest business disasters of all time. Coca-Cola swapped out their old Coke recipe for a new one, creating New Coke, and the customers all absolutely hated it. Coca-Cola had to hastily bring back the old Coke.
So now, New Coke is off the market and it’s never coming back. There’s a long running conspiracy theory that Coca-Cola messed with their Coke on purpose to sell more of the original. Maybe you believe it?
Chef Boyardee X-Men Pasta
Another winner for Chef Boyardee. This pasta came in the shapes of everyone’s favorite characters from the X-Men: Wolverine, Beast, Rogue and various villains. But of course, it’s very difficult to render pasta in the shape of someone’s head, so none of the pasta shapes really looked like anything much.
X-Men pasta only existed from 1995-1996 to promote the X-Men cartoon. Chef Boyardee missed a trick by not re-releasing it when the new X-Men cartoon, aimed more at adults, came out in 2024.
Coca-Cola BlāK
Coca-Cola created a coffee-flavored soft drink in the ‘00s, one that came in both bottles and cans. In order to lend it a veneer of sophistication, it was called “BlāK” – but drinks with difficult-to-spell names never tend to do very well.
And it did indeed not do very well. It launched in 2006 and by 2007 it was all over. Who knows why it didn’t take? But it didn’t… although its failure probably barely put a dent in the wealth of the Coca-Cola company.
Eckerd Award Sodas
In 1994 the pharmacy chain Eckerd decided to make their own brand of sodas. An odd choice for a pharmacy chain since sodas most definitely do not improve your health! The Eckerd Award sodas were basically just copies of already popular sodas with a new name slapped on.
You could get Dr. Riffic (Dr Pepper), Eckerd Up (7Up), Eckerd Mountain (Mountain Dew) and a good few others. But they were all discontinued when Eckerd went out of business in 2006.
Like Cola
So this stuff was… like cola, but not actually cola? That’s what the name indicates. 7Up introduced it in 1982 and it differs from other products on the market because it was meant to be low in caffeine. The company promoted it relentlessly, but it just couldn’t compete with Cola-Coca products.
One of the issues seems to be that 7Up went to the wrong bottlers. Because the same bottlers made drinks for Coca-Cola, they refused to bottle any competing product and thus Like Cola was doomed from the start.
Lunch Bucket
Lunch Bucket presented itself as expensive food, using a traditional English butler as the mascot for the product. In truth, though, Lunch Bucket meals were cheap and easy, just the way people liked their food in 1989. The food came in a special metal-plastic can and just needed to be put in the microwave for a tasty meal.
But they didn’t last. Gradually the microwave fell out of fashion and people started to realize that the quicker a meal is to cook, the less likely it is to be good for you. By the middle of the ‘90s, Lunch Bucket meals were no more.
Dinty Moore Meatball Stew
Dinty Moore has an interesting backstory. It took its name from an old comic, Brining Up Father, where a man hangs out at a diner called Dinty Moore’s and eats things like, well, meatball stew. The company Hormel decided to use this name to create a line of tinned stews.
Dinty Moore’s meatball stew was popular enough. It contained meatballs, potatoes, peas and carrots, all you need for a good meal. But it was never quite as popular as other Dinty Moore products, so the company discontinued it in the 2010s.
Altoids Sours
Sour candy isn’t for everyone, there’s no doubt about that, but to some people it’s the most delicious thing in the world. Altoids Sours were considered one of the kings of the canned candy world, and had a huge fanbase… but then one day they were gone just like that.
People clamored from them to make a comeback. Someone even started a petition that racked up thousands of signatures. But it was all to no avail. People still mourn the death of the Altoids Sours.
Pepsi Twist
This was a Pepsi with lemon flavor, and you might know about it purely because of the sheer number of stars who advertised it. A Super Bowl commercial from 2003 featured Ozzy, Kelly and Jack Osbourne – then massive reality TV stars – advertising it. Britney Spears endorsed it, and CM Punk named a move after it.
And yet… it’s gone from American shelves. By all accounts it didn’t actually taste great, so maybe that’s why? It is actually available in some other countries but they’re few and far between.
Josta
Josta was basically the first energy drink on the market. It was bad for you, like most energy drinks are, but it fast gained a fandom. Sadly, though, all the people who loved it were disappointed when it was discontinued in 1999, just four years after hitting shelves. Fans attempted to save it but Pepsi didn’t listen to them.
Josta has had an interesting afterlife, though. It’s still fondly remembered and it shows up in the 2021 Disney+ series Loki, which features a lot of time travel.
Chef Boyardee Pac-Man Pasta
Waka waka waka! Pac-Man was so big in the ‘80s that Chef Boyardee released a line of Pac-Man pastas to appeal to children and game-loving adults. The pasta was shaped like Pac-Man, the little ghosts who chase him around, and the dots he eats. There were three flavors: spaghetti, cheese, and golden chicken.
By 1986 the Pac-Man craze was over and the pasta was discontinued. People occasionally find old cans of the stuff lying around in the back of their pantries and get wistful for an era now long gone.
Birds Eye Awake
This product would have definitely kept you awake. It advertised itself as “frozen concentrate for imitation orange juice” and it was not good for you. It was full of sugar, syrup, corn syrup and plenty of other teeth-rotting ingredients. The 1960s, its heyday, were a truly different time, don’tcha think?
People still occasionally find old cans of these and sell them online. If you should find one in your possession, don’t drink it whatever you do.
Campbell’s Pepper Pot Soup
When Campbell’s Pepper Pot Soup was discontinued, a bit of food history went with it. You see, the stuff had been around for a very long time – it was first sold in 1899, before the sinking of the Titanic and the start of World War I!
But it couldn’t last forever. People fell out of love with it and it slowly decreased in popularity before being discontinued in the 2010s. It’s still iconic, though – it’s even the subject of one of Andy Warhol’s paintings.
Campbell's Oyster Stew
It goes without saying that Campbell’s have released and discontinued a lot of soups, given the vast length of time they’ve been around. Oyster Stew is another one that was immortalized by Andy Warhol and then later discontinued. But it lasted all the way into 2012.
The problem with the Oyster Stew may have actually been safety. People were concerned that the oysters used in the making of the soup weren’t safe. Campbell’s has never officially said why they pulled the product, however.
Hunt's Canned Snack Pack Pudding
The people who made this pudding knew that kids were likely to cut themselves on the can lid, and went to great lengths to warn people about this in the marketing. But then technology marched along and plastic packaging was invented, rendering the cans obsolete. You can’t get Snack Pack pudding in a can anymore.
Some people miss the cans though. They actually showed up in an episode of Stranger Things, a show which often highlights everything that was weird and wonderful about the ‘80s.
Trader Joe’s Bay Blend Coffee
Trader Joe’s Bay Blend Coffee first made an appearance in 2002 and it soon gained a lot of fans. So those fans were very disappointed when the product was suddenly pulled in 2022. According to a spokesperson for the company, it was “not selling strongly enough to earn its spot on the shelf.”
Don’t worry too much if you liked it, though. Coffee lovers across the internet will be able to find you good alternatives if you ask them.
7Up Gold
7Up Gold is long gone, as it only lasted for a few years past its 1988 release date. It was a mildly spicy cinnamon ginger drink and it used caffeine in the recipe, which was a bit awkward since 7Up drinks advertised themselves as not containing caffeine. Oops.
Occasionally someone remembers 7Up Gold and posts about it on Reddit. Opinions are divided as to the taste, though. “It tasted like if apple pie was trying to hurt your feelings,” one witty user wrote on the r/80s board.
Campbell’s Bounty Pudding
In 1967 Campbell’s decided to expand into canned pudding and released a line called “Bounty From Campbell’s”. It advertised itself as “the fanciest pudding you never cooked” with ingredients like “imported Dutch chocolate” and “fresh whole milk.” They came in many different flavors, including French Vanilla and Rice with Cinnamon.
But it was still at its heart just canned pudding, and there were a lot of them to compete with. So the Bounty puddings only lasted until the 1970s and then they were gone. They’re not even particularly well-remembered.
Franco-America Macaroni With Cheese Sauce
Imagine you come home from school or work and you want something cheesy, but not macaroni cheese. You might be tempted to reach for a can of Franco-America Macaroni with Cheese Sauce… because despite the name it was not actually macaroni cheese. It was more like spaghetti noodles in cheese sauce.
As is the case with all canned cheese products, it didn’t taste anything like real cheese at all. But it had its fans, and they all mourned its loss when it got discontinued in 2004. Luckily, you can recreate most pasta and cheese products at home quickly and cheaply!
Libby’s Fruit Floats
This food debuted in 1974. It was a big ol’ mix of dessert and real pieces of fruit, which you just had to add milk to. You could make delicious desserts with it, such as “Raspberry chill cake.” And yet despite the versatility of the brand, it was discontinued in 1975.
Some people still remember Libby’s Fruit floats fondly. Whenever they come up as a subject of discussion on nostalgia-focused message boards, someone always asks the powers that be to bring them back.
Jolt Cola
Jolt Cola had just one mission: to jolt you awake and keep you awake. It’s advertising slogan was even, “All the sugar and twice the caffeine." Probably safe to say that that wouldn’t work as an advertising slogan these days. But yep, it did indeed keep people awake!
In 2006 the line was rebranded as energy drinks and Jolt Cola was no more. But it lives on in the 1995 movie Hackers, where it’s referred to as "the soft drink of the elite hacker.”
Quirst Soda
Quirst was an invention of the 7Up company, who were still independent in 1978 and raring to put new drinks on the market. Unfortunately, they ran into some trouble with Quirst. Two years after its release, the 7Up Company was sued by Squirtco who claimed the named “Quirst” infringed on the copyright of their soda “Squirt.”
“Quirst” sounds absolutely nothing like “Squirt” but there you go. The drink was discontinued as a result of the lawsuit and now it only lives on in people’s memories.
Chef Boyardee Tic-Tac-Toes
Say what you will about Chef Boyardee but the company knew how make foodstuffs young children would love. Tic-Tac-Toes was pasta in the shapes of Xs and Os and they led to many fun dinnertimes where kids would attempt to play Tic-Tac-Toe at the table.
But alas, the Tic-Tac-Toes were discontinued and dinnertime suddenly got a lot less fun. However, many old ads for the product exist and they provide a nostalgic glimpse of life in the pre-internet world.
Chef Boyardee Spider-Man Pasta
The X-Men weren’t the only comic book heroes kids loved in the ‘90s. That same decade brought the world a very popular Spider-Man cartoon, and Chef Boyardee made some pasta to match. It advertised itself as “So hot it’s practically radioactive” because Spider-Man was after all bitten by a radioactive spider in his origin story.
In 2020, a Twitter user found an old can of Spider-Man pasta and decided to open it for the amusement of his followers. Inside there was just a big brown lump, which thankfully he didn’t eat.
OK Soda
This soda wasn’t great, it was just OK. At least, that’s what the advertising would have you believe. It deliberately aimed itself at apathetic Generation Xers and won itself a small fanbase as a result. But the trouble was that advertising yourself to people who don’t care will result in, well, people not caring.
So no-one really cared about OK Soda and it soon got discontinued. No-one really even remembers it now. It’s a fascinating story for would-be advertising executives to study, however.
Snow Crop Juice
Snow Crop was the first frozen concentrated fruit juice on the market and it actually did pretty well for a while… it’s just that that while was the 50s and thus few records of its impact exist on the internet. But we do know that it was discontinued when Minute Maid bought the company out.
If you happen to find an old Snow Crop can while cleaning out your grandmother’s house, hold on to it. People sell them on eBay and Etsy and they actually go for a fair amount.
Dr Pepper Berries and Cream
The Dr Pepper Berries and Cream fandom was a case of people not knowing what they’d got until it was gone. The original drink was released in 2006 and sold poorly, being discontinued after a mere six months. Then, people demanded it back to the extent that Keurig Dr Pepper offered it as a flavor that could be won in a 2022 sweepstakes.
But to get into the sweepstakes, people needed to sign up to the Pepper Perks awards program and a lot of people weren’t interested in doing that. The drink was actually brought back for a limited time, but then it vanished again.
Hubba Bubba Soda
The Hubba Bubba gum company decided to get into the soda making business come 1988. However, it seemed there just wasn’t an appetite for Hubba Bubba flavored soda… and even less of an appetite for diet Hubba Bubba flavored sofa. By all accounts it tasted awful.
The Reddit r/nostalgia board once hosted a discussion about it. “I remember this one, it tasted very very sweet. Like sugar with extra sugar,” one person wrote.
Swerve
Swerve was a dairy drink available in cans and marketed towards children in 2003. Some people were fooled into thinking it was healthy, but it was very much not. Most people who’ve tried it said it tastes disgusting, but no-one will ever be able to back that statement up now.
Swerve wasn’t actually very popular, especially among its target demographic of kids, and it was swiftly discontinued before the ‘00s were over.
Daisys and Whistles
Once upon a time there were three canned snack foods: Daisys, Whistles, and Bugles. All of them did what they said on the tin: Daisys were flower shaped, Whistles were tube shaped, and Bugles were bugle shaped. But somehow, Bugles connected and the other two didn’t.
Maybe it was because you could put Bugles on the ends of your fingers and pretend to be a witch? You couldn’t do that with Daisys or Whistles and now they’re in the snack food graveyard.