Weird (and super sugary) foods truly dominated the 90s, from purple ketchup to Orbitz pop.
If you’re feeling a little nostalgic, travel through time and take a look at your favourite strange snacks from your childhood, or at least revel in the peculiar food choices you made growing up. Surprisingly, some of these odd, yet delicious foods have stood the test of time.
Live in 90’s snack heaven by remembering the most ridiculous foods of the decade below.
Purple Ketchup
Heinz really crossed the line with this one. Even ketchup fanatics would feel a little sick looking at this horrifically colourful condiment that was marketed as a fun food for young children, but after the novelty wore off it flopped pretty quickly. Who thought it would be a good idea to go against mother nature and dye a tomato-based ingredient purple? The ketchup producer also introduced a short-lived green line.
Ecto Cooler
HI-C released this neon coloured drink alongside a picture of Slimer from Ghostbusters II, and branded it as “Ecto Cooler.” The company repurposed their Citrus Cooler flavour into a slime-shade of green so that Ghostbusters fans across the globe could prove that they weren’t afraid of no ghost.
Orbitz
Each of these noncarbonated fruit-flavoured drinks had a heaping handful of gellen gum that gave the bottles its lava lamp look. The bottled beverage was introduced in 1997, but quickly disappeared because of poor sales even though they advertised it as a “texturally enhanced alternative beverage.” The peculiarly enjoyable drink made with tiny floating edible balls was truly out of this world!
Incredible Edibles Creepy Crawlers
Kids across the country were enamoured with the idea of making food that looked like creatures that gave them the heebie jeebies. Creepy Crawlers was a toy created by Mattel that had a bunch of dye-cast molds resembling several different bugs. You would pour a special Gobble De-goop into the molds and let it set to indulge in a tasty (and freaky) treat.
Yoplait Trix Yogurt
It’s nearly impossible to wrap your mind around why someone would choose to create rainbow-coloured yogurts, but it happened, 90s lovers. These Trix cereal-flavoured yogurts were almost considered a “healthy” snack by parents at the time. It just so turns out that, if you really hunt, these little cups can still be purchased online, and there have been several slime tutorials made around this peculiar 90s snack.
Bubble Jug
Why would you ever need an entire jug full of bubble gum? Nevertheless the Bubble Jug was loved by 90s kids far and wide. This tropical fruit flavoured gum had a “no stick” factor, as it’s more of a powder candy that slowly turns into bubblegum, giving you two sweet treets at once! The pink container is an iconic 90s staples, and you were the coolest kid on the block if you were caught carrying one of these around.
Squeezits
I mean, I don’t really want to know what chemicals were in this, but it was delicious. The beverage came in multiple flavours including Chucklin’ Cherry, Berry B. Wild, Silly Billy Strawberry, Mean Green Puncher, and more. Plus, these vibrant, colourful containers of sugary juice could double as a water gun, so what kid wouldn’t want to drink these?
War Heads
Apparently 90s kids were masochists who were willing to suffer to enjoy a little bite of candy. In fact, these candies have even served the test of time, and are widely available at most candy and bulk stores. These lip-puckering candy are more than just a treat, as they’ll give your friends a laugh with the silly faces you’ll be making while it dissolves in your mouth.
Crystal Pepsi
Crystal Pepsi was a staple marketing flop of the 90s, and it was marketed as a caffeine-free clear alternative to their regular cola. The tasty Pepsi beverage was something totally new at the time, and their slogan was a standout, stating “You’ve never seen a taste like this.”
Gummy Hamburgers
Who doesn’t want food that looks like other food? These adorable mini gummies were a staple in every 90s classroom and arcade, with kids far and wide indulging in mini versions of their favourite foods with a sugary flavour.
Jawbreakers
Jawbreakers were the hardest, sweetest candy around, but the bright coloured spheres came with a danger. It seem like every 90s kid knew someone who chipped a tooth or got a cavity from trying to bite a chunk out of the rock hard treat. For the safe candy eaters, this was the longest lasting candy you could have, as you’d keep your taste buds occupied for hours.
Lead photo courtesy of Tiia Monto.
