From Mars Pods to Tangy Fruits, and Strawberry Toppas to Lemon Squeezes, what iconic summer treat do you miss the most?
From Mars Pods to Tangy Fruits, and Strawberry Toppas to Lemon Squeezes, what iconic summer treat do you miss the most?
New Zealand has seen many of its iconic sweet treats discontinued over the years.
Notable losses include Fruju Tropical Snow, Strawberry Toppas, and Pascall’s Snifters and Sparkles.
Limited releases and grassroots campaigns have occasionally brought these treats back into the mainstream, highlighting their enduring popularity.
It can be devastating to find out your favourite snack has been discontinued. How common is it, and what are some notable losses from New Zealand shelves and freezers? Tom Rose takes a trip down memory lane to look at the summer treats that have vanished over the years.
Grassroots efforts have seen Strawberry Toppas, Dessertalicious, and the grapefruit and lemon Fruju brought back from the dead with similar fanfare.
This summer, Tip Top has released a range of new products, including Fruju Minis, while reintroducing the popular Cola Popsicle. But chief executive Ben Schurr understands Kiwis still lust over many of the brand’s old-school creations.
Tropical Snows and Strawberry Toppas are a common request, Schurr told the Herald. But “while they won’t make a return this summer”, he said it was “possible they may make a return sometime in the future”.
Schurr said the company has produced a “special one-off run” of the grapefruit and lemon Fruju, which “should be available in various stores around New Zealand”.
There aren’t plans for other products such as the Paradiso and Hokey Bars in the pipeline, as Schurr said there’s little demand from consumers for their return.
So as the summer holidays kick off, let’s look back at some long-lost treats from back in the day.
Fruju Tropical Snow
One of the greatest creations ever made by Kiwis, Fruju Tropical Snow is arguably the ultimate frozen summer treat.
A trifecta of whipped pineapple, orange and lemon sorbet-style flavours, the ice cream-block combo was a constant favourite.
While it was discontinued in 2009, Tropical Snow has been brought back several times for a limited run – most recently in 2020.
Schurr said while the product won’t make a return this summer, it’s “always possible” it will in the future, so fingers crossed for another limited release.
Tip Top's Fruju Tropical Snow.
Licorice Allsorts
Confectionery brand Mondelez, which owns Pascall, scrapped the coconut, liquorice and fruit-flavoured sweets from Pascall’s range in 2015, claiming consumers just weren’t buying them.
Allsorts aren’t completely gone though – Levin company RJ’s has its own version in stores.
Pascall's Licorice Allsorts.
Wave Iced Coffee & Milk
Frucor Suntory, the maker of V and h2go, quietly pulled these sweet milk drinks from shelves a few years back citing production issues, leaving many consumers fuming.
“Please for the love of god bring these back. I’ll pay. Barista Bros doesn’t even come close,” wrote one Reddit user.
An Auckland-based company employee of 35 years even said in a Q2 2024 report that the one Frucor drink he’d bring back was the Wave range.
Frucor Suntory's Wave iced coffee drinks.
Grapefruit and Lemon Fruju
The grapefruit and lemon Fruju was not the most popular of the bunch, but it held a high level of respect among ice block enthusiasts and had gathered a loyal fanbase over the years.
A sophisticated flavour that was bitter, sour and yet irresistibly sweet, the grapefruit and lemon Fruju offered something different to consumers that standard flavours such as orange or pineapple never could.
Fruju’s alternative flavour started to be phased out in late 2022 and was confirmed to no longer be on the market in May 2023.
It was given a limited release at the start of 2024 following constant inquiries from fans, and Schurr said they should still be available in some stores. If not, ask your local if they can sort some stock – we may have to wait a while longer for the next batch.
Tip Top's Fruju Grapefruit & Lemon.
Sparkles
The fruit-flavoured candy once had a cult following in New Zealand society, with the ready-to-eat packs proving to be a popular 3pm pick-me-up from the dairy for office workers and schoolkids alike.
After nearly 100 years on the market, a spokesperson said that due to “production constraints”, Whittaker’s was unable to consistently make Toffee Milks and decided to cease production to prioritise its chocolate block variants.
The company’s founder, J.H. Whittaker, once described Toffee Milks as “timeless”. At the time of the announcement, a Herald reader said they’d become “so hard to find”, and it was “sad to see another childhood favourite disappear”.
Whittaker's Toffee Milks.
Airwaves Chewing Gum
Confectionery conglomerate Mars ended production of its Wrigley’s Airways gum in 2022, telling The Spinoff that its last stock was dispatched in June of that year.
Dessertalicious was ahead of its time - a two-litre tub consisting of honeycomb icecream, sponge filling and a healthy dose of chocolate mousse on top.
In the 2000s, the Tip Top ice cream flavour disappeared almost overnight, and Kiwis were so distraught that a petition was organised to try to bring it back.
Monkey Business came at a time when Tip Top peaked in its tub creations.
It consisted of chocolate and banana ice cream swirled together with a generous serving of chocolate chips, and the flavour pairing was considered outrageous (or fabulous, depending on your taste) for its time.
The banana split-like flavour was first shrunk into 1.6-litre tubs before it started disappearing altogether in the early 2010s.
Despite years of searching for a dupe, I’ve never been able to find anything quite like it.
Yet another Kiwi favourite to be banished to the past, Snifters were snuffed by Pascall in 2009 – the last of the “big three” (alongside Tangy Fruits and Sparkles) to face the cut.
Like the others, Pascall’s parent company Cadbury blamed Snifters' demise on a drop in consumer demand. Yet many people felt hard done by, and a wave of protests took hold across the country in opposition to the decision.
Mars discontinued its range of Pods in 2021, claiming it had to balance customer expectations with the needs of the business and could no longer manufacture them.
The gooey snacks came in flavours such as Snickers, Mars, Twix and S’more and had a golden reputation among snack lovers, with some paying hundreds of dollars for a pack after they left shelves.
A timeless jewel woven into the fabric of Aotearoa’s ice cream history, the Strawberry Toppa was one of Tip Top’s earliest creations.
Launched in 1954, millions of these vanilla ice creams with strawberry shells would’ve been sold over the decades, bringing smiles to Kiwis’ faces across the country.
Akin to a frozen strawberry milkshake, Tip Top phased out these classics at the turn of the century. Still, 140,000 people voted for its limited return in a 2014 campaign by the brand.
Fans may get their wish in the future, with Schurr hinting the treats may make a return.
Tip Top's Strawberry Toppa.
Zap Flavoured Milk
Forget Primo. Forget Calci-Yum. Before the flavoured milk market became oversaturated with dozens of brands making the same four flavours, Aotearoa’s flavoured milk scene was dominated by Zap.
Launched in the 1980s, the ultra heat-treated milk drinks came in all the classics alongside flavours such as Hokey Pokey and Just Jaffa.
Zap ultra heat-treated milk drinks. Photo / Flickr / Steve Williams
Crazy Joe
These ice blocks were a mainstay product of Wall’s (now Streets) in 20th-century New Zealand.
A simple flavoured ice block, cola was always a fan favourite and featured often in commercials, while raspberry and lemonade were also popular choices.
Wall’s released a new Crazy Joe range in the 80s under its new ownership from Tip Top, which saw a mashup of colours and flavours called the prink, yellange, and blurple by fans.
A blurple Crazy Joe wrapper from the 1980s. Photo / Flickr / Steve Williams
Hokey Bars
Ask someone who grew up in the 1980s what ice cream they miss most from their childhood and many of them will probably reply with the Hokey Bar.
These bad boys had a “heart of gold” which continues to hold as much of a grip over millennials and Gen X as Vine does over Gen Z.
The Hokey Bar's wrapper, circa late 1980s. Photo / Flickr / Steve Williams
Lemon Squeeze
Consumers recall fond memories of this forgotten favourite. The Tip Top lemon-flavoured ice block tube paved the way for other iterations that remain staples in Aotearoa’s sweet treat scene today, such as Calippos.
You could choose anything from orange to watermelon to lolly pop, and there was even a lucky dip box for those who couldn’t decide.
Unfortunately, these frozen creations disappeared from the freezers in the 2000s, yet Kiwis have craved them ever since.
The 1995 Polar Pops range. Photo / Flickr / Steve Williams
Tandem Ice Cream Sandwich
Ice Cream Sandwich, anyone? The bar held vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate cookies, a simple, go-to creation.
They haven’t been seen in decades, although Tip Top technically brought them back in 2017 (in half) when it released the Duo - one side ice cream sandwich, the other side chocolate-dipped.
On the other hand, the Mud Puddle took the treasured chocolate flavour and shrouded it in an extra layer of vanilla. You couldn’t go wrong with either of them!
Paddle Pop Mud Puddle and Frozen Chocolate Thick Shake.
Tom Rose is an Auckland-based digital producer and editorial assistant for the Herald who covers lifestyle, entertainment, and travel.
