As food continues to come and go, with brands chopping and changing their offerings, there’s nothing quite as nostalgic as food from your childhood, and the 1980s was full of wild and wacky items on the shelves.
This era changed the way that school lunchboxes looked and how supermarkets operated as snacks ruled the shelves.
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A diverse range of flavors and fun packaging popped up in a way that had never been seen before, and for so many, it’s these treats that take them right back to their childhood.
Although, like most things, many of them didn’t last and many promotions ran out, so one by one they began to disappear from the shelves.
Back then it was even common to trade snacks from your lunchbox, and hopeful kids could only wish for some of their top favorites, many of which even came with prizes of their own in the form of collectables and toys.
Childhood snacks from the 80s
In the 1980s food brands and supermarkets changed the game for kids’ lunchboxes, offering a whole new range of snacks.
They were wild and wacky in all their different variations, often brandished with fun packaging, and some were even accompanied with collectable toys and other items.
When it came to doing the good old snack swap at school, kids would have their fingers crossed hoping to land one of the snacks on this very list.
1. Squeezit
Squeezit was a much-loved fruit-flavored juice made by General Mills in the 1980s, following its creation in 1985.
The drinkable snack was discontinued in 2001 but remains a fond memory of many 80s kids who loved to squeeze the plastic bottle and rink it.
They come in various flavors, including Cherry, Grape, and Fruit Punch, among others.
2. Bonkers!
The 80s saw kids tucking into Bonkers! both during and after school, as they popularly eat fruit chews, had a hold over them.
The chewy sweets were made out of a soft exterior and inside and offered a tangy and juicy center.
Nabsico was the brand that created this fan-favorite treat, and they are most remembered for their unforgettable TV commercials.
3. Cracker Jack with the Original Prize
Popcorn lovers will remember eating away at Cracker Jack, the legendary caramel popcorn and peanut treat.
The snack is famed for the iconic toy surprise that is hidden inside each box, and little ones would often be excited to tear it open to find out what they were left with.
Metal and plastic trinkets were pulled out of the packets; nowadays these little joys have been replaced by the likes of paper riddles and digital QR codes.
4. Handi-Snacks Cheez ‘n Crackers
This much-loved lunchbox snack from the 80s was salty crackers with a processed cheese dip.
The Handi-Snacks Cheez ‘n Crackers came in an iconic red plastic stick used for spreading the cheese on the rectangular crackers.
It remains missed by food fans for the ritual of spreading the cheese, reminding them of the good old days.
