The Seven Up Bar – Seven Flavors in One Sweet Package
The Seven Up Bar was a candy bar comprising seven different chocolate “pillows”, each filled with a different flavor. Flavors changed with the availability and popularity of ingredients, which included, among others, brazil nut, buttercream, butterscotch, caramel, cherry, coconut, fudge, mint, nougat and orange. Picture biting into what was essentially a chocolate sampler box without the fancy packaging. It was a creamy milk chocolate bar with seven different sections that break off in a snap, one for every flavor a candy lover could want. Mint, nougat, butterscotch, fudge, coconut, buttercream, and caramel fill each creamy pillow of chocolate.
The anticipation of biting into a pillow of coconut, butterscotch caramel, buttercream, fudge, mint, cherry cream, or orange jelly was the thrill of the Seven Up Bar, manufactured by Pearson’s from the 1930s to 1979. It’s gone for good, but the Sky Bar could be an apt alternative, with four chocolate squares containing caramel, vanilla, peanut, and fudge fillings. The high manufacturing costs and trademark issues with a soda manufacturer (The American Bottling Company, today Keurig Dr Pepper), caused the bar to be retired in 1979.
The Chicken Dinner Candy Bar – No Poultry Required
The bar, introduced during The Great Depression, was so called in reference to President Herbert Hoover’s promise of “a chicken in every pot”. The bar did not contain chicken or other poultry products, but was, rather, a chocolate-covered nut roll. The name wasn’t accidental – it was brilliant marketing psychology during tough economic times.
This nutritious and delicious candy bar was first produced in 1923 by Sperry Candy Company. Sperry truly went all out when it came to maximizing this candy bar. The truth is this candy bar had absolutely nothing to do with a chicken dinner. It was made to have a good amount of protein. It’s a simple nut roll that is coated in chocolate. They marketed it as candy made good. In 1962, almost 40 years after its beginning, the Chicken Dinner candy bar came to an end. Sperry Candy Company was sold to Pearson’s and Pearson’s ceased production of this candy bar.
The Squirrel Nut Zipper – Born from a Prohibition Tale
A Squirrel Nut Zipper is a delicious vanilla nut caramel that was first introduced in 1926 by the Squirrel Brand Company whose primary products are nuts. Squirrel Brand’s managers developed the formula for a vanilla nut caramel to complement their chocolate caramel candy. The naming story reads like something out of a comedy sketch.
One of the managers came across an article in a local newspaper documenting the arrest for public drunkenness of a resident who had to be talked down from a tree by the police. When they got him down and asked him to explain himself he said “it must have been the Nut Zipper” referring to a local alcoholic concoction that was popular at the time. Squirrel Brand’s managers decided that this would be the perfect name for our new candy. When Necco’s brands were picked over after the company’s closure last year, the poor Squirrel Nut-Zipper didn’t find a new manufacturing home. Named after a prohibition-era cocktail and originally produced by Squirrel Brand Company, the nutty-vanilla caramels were a penny candy akin to BB Bats and Tootsie Rolls.
The PowerHouse Bar – America’s Original Energy Bar
The PowerHouse – introduced in the 1930s by the Peter Paul Candy Co – was a hefty 2-ounce bar of chewy caramel, fudge, and peanuts covered in chocolate, and it was an early “energy bar” styled candy. Its marketing played on strength and sustenance, positioning it as a substantial treat that could boost your energy, essentially a protein-bar precursor. Think of it as the grandfather of today’s gym-bag snacks.
This hefty creation packed chocolate, caramel, peanuts, and fudge into something that actually deserved its energetic name. TV ads made sure everyone knew this wasn’t some flimsy snack – this bar meant serious business. Folks really appreciated how substantial it felt compared to lighter options. Despite loyal fans from all walks of life, the PowerHouse disappeared by the mid-1980s. PowerHouse, which contained peanuts, fudge and caramel. Peter Paul obtained the rights in 1966 through a merger with another company. In the late ’80s, Peter Paul was bought by Hershey, and somewhere along the way, PowerHouse vanished.
The Marathon Bar – Eight Inches of Braided Bliss
Stretching an impressive 8 inches long, this chocolate-covered caramel braid came with ruler markings on the wrapper that made it both a treat and a toy. Kids went wild for its uniquely stretchy texture that seemed to last forever, though Mars mysteriously pulled it in 1981 despite strong sales. The Marathon wasn’t just a candy bar – it was an experience that required commitment.
The Marathon Bar was an 8-inch twist of braided caramel covered in milk chocolate, and it even came with a ruler printed on the wrapper to prove just how much candy you were getting. Launched in the 1970s, it was stretchy, chewy, and totally irresistible if you had the patience (or strong enough teeth). It was the kind of treat that took actual effort to eat, which made it feel like an adventure in every bite. But despite its ubiquity in the 1970s (and that of commercial spokesman Marathon John, played by Patrick Wayne), it was phased out in the 1980s. Maybe it took too long to eat.
The Caravelle Bar – Peter Paul’s Forgotten Masterpiece
A milk chocolate crisped rice and caramel bar made by Peter Paul Candy Company (the same confectionery genius behind Mounds and Almond Joy). It was introduced in 1965 to compete with Nestlé’s $100,000 Bar (now “100 Grand”). It had a similar formula of smooth caramel and crunchy rice bits – and many fans swore Caravelle was way better. Sadly, Caravelle’s life was cut short when Peter Paul merged with Cadbury-Schweppes in 1978; the new parent company discontinued Caravelle in the late ’70s, much to devotees’ dismay.
The Caravelle was similar to the 100,000 Dollar bar, but better. Think caramel mixed with Rice Crispies, covered in milk chocolate. Softer and less sweet than the 100,000 Dollar Bar. Those who remember it often describe it with an almost reverent tone, as if describing a lost love.
