Ferrara Candy Company has chosen to discontinue their iconic Fruit Stripe Gum after 50 years. Best known for its bold colors, Zebra mascot, and flavor lasting for about 30 seconds, the childhood favorite to many was first introduced to the market in 1969.
“We are sad to announce that Fruit Stripe Gum has been discontinued by the manufacturer. We are disappointed too,” OldTime Candy, a website that sells “retro” candies, said. The news of the discontinuation has been hitting fans hard, one claiming that this is “a moment of silence for a moment of gum.”
“We have made the difficult decision to sunset Fruit Stripe Gum, but consumers may still be able to find the product at select retailers nationwide,” a Ferrara Candy Company representative said in a statement. “The decision to sunset this product was not taken lightly, and we considered many factors before coming to this decision, including consumer preferences, and purchasing patterns.”
Fruit Stripe Gum was invented by James Parker and hit shelves in 1969. The brand would later adopt a Zebra named Yipes as their mascot. The tagline was “Yipes! Stripes!” The gum consisted of five flavors – Wet n’ Wild Melon, Cherry, Lemon, Orange, and Peach Smash. Even the individual stick wrappers doubled as temporary tattoos. The gum was extremely popular from the late 1970s to the early 1990s and is looked back with fond nostalgia today.
It sucks that we must say goodbye to another piece of our childhood this early into 2024.
