Sweet Childhood Memories of Popular Candy in the 1970s

If you were a kid in the 1970s, chances are you spent a good part of the decade with sticky sweet stuff stuck to your teeth…and you probably have the metal fillings to prove it! Popular candy in the 1970s might not make the nutritional cut for today’s health-conscious consumers, but it sure left some sweet memories behind. How many of these do YOU remember?

Pixy Stix

Pixy Stix had a clean, sweet and tangy flavor that was best described as fruity without any one fruit dominating. It consisted of sugar water with coloring added to make it come alive in your mouth! These babies are still being made, and if you ever “need” a quick rush of sugar, you won’t find many candies that will do a better job.

Fruit Stripe Gum

Fruit Stripe gum was a popular gum that you could find in any store. It was packaged with two flavors, and I always preferred the grape one as it had just enough sweetness to make it enjoyable for kids of all ages! The only drawback was the slightly waxy and stiff consistency.

Tootsie Pops

What could be better than a Tootsie Pop? I was always a sucker for this classic. The outside of the pop is hard and tangy, while the inside is made of Tootsie Roll goodness that coats your mouth with sweetness! You can find these in just about any store as well, but I loved them most when they were fresh out of their wrappers.

Rocky Road Bars

You could easily make Rocky Road Bars at home back in the 70s, but it was so much more fun to buy them! The bar had a layer of chocolate on top with some marshmallow pieces and miniature M&Ms sprinkled all over. It’s not quite as good now that you can make these easily for yourself, but still worth trying once or twice if you’re feeling nostalgic.

Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars

I don’t remember what it was that made Hersheys my favorite chocolate bar, but I know for sure that this is the one most popular with adults back in the day. This candy might not be as sweet or creamy as a Milky Way Bar, but you can smell and taste just how high quality the chocolate is.

Dots

Dots were another popular candy in the 70s, and they’re still pretty common today. I personally preferred Dots to M&Ms for a while because of their bright colors and fruity flavor that was very different from most other candies at the time.

Astro Pops

Astro Pops were actually one of the first candies I ever had as a child. They’re not as popular now, but they still have that same great taste! These pops were multicolored cones of see-through candy, and about as sticky as you could possibly want. Think Bit-O-Honey times Jolly Rancher level of stickiness — no filling was safe!

Bit-O-Honey

And speaking of Bit-O-Honey,-O-Honey, it was a favorite of mine and many other children in the 1970s. It’s still popular today, but more people are opting for chocolate or fruity flavors than simple honey nowadays.

Mike & Ike

The Mike and Ike duo were always my go to candy because they’re just so good! They come in lots of different flavors, but I always preferred the red ones that they used to make.

Laffy Taffys

Laffy Taffys were a popular candy in the 70s because they came with jokes on them. The taffy itself was chewy and had an orange-ish color, but it was always fun to unwrap these just to see what kind of joke you got!

SweeTARTS

SweeTARTS lived up to their name,because they were so sweet … and so sour … all at once! They also came in many different configurations, including chewy varieties. My favorites were always the original hard paste rounds in a foil roll.

Spree

Can there be a list of popular 70s candy without Spree? They were one of the most popular brands and came in so many different flavors. I loved their fruit-flavored ones, but had to spit out some of the others!

Candy Necklace

A Candy necklace is just what it sounds like -a long strand with different flavors of candy on it! The big ones were the best, because they had more to choose from; but for a small gift idea, go with an individual necklace.

(Like Candy in the 1970s? Then you might like our article on Candy in the 80s, click here. Or our article on Popular Candy in the 60s, click here.)

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