The Old-School Betty Crocker Candy We Want Back On Shelves

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Most people associate the name and brand of Betty Crocker with baking mixes and recipe books, but the culinary maven (who's not even a real person) also produces several fruit flavored snacks. If you grew up in the '90s, you may recall one particular fruity, gummy snack called Sodalicious, which Betty Crocker was behind and that, sadly, fizzled out in America before the year 2000. Sodalicious deviated from classic fruit snacks in that they were described as "soda pop fruit snacks," coming in flavors of root beer, cherry cola, cream soda, and orange soda. Perhaps the most unique and exciting element to these beloved lunchbox treats was that they were coated in an ingredient that gave you the sensation that you had fizzy soda pop in your mouth.

During its short-lived availability, Sodalicious also came in more fruit-forward flavors, including red punch, lemon lime, and grape. Perhaps this flavor option was due to society's growing consciousness about blatantly marketing soda to kids. In any event, the company even partnered with 7Up, a company whose selling point used to be lithium, to create both 7Up and Cherry 7Up flavors of the treat. 

Released in 1991, Sodalicious began phasing out of productions in 1995 when the boxes of fruit flavors were ditched, followed by the boxes of soda flavors in 1998. Nostalgic Millennials and even some Gen Xers would undoubtedly welcome a return of these sweet treats masquerading as "fruit snacks." After all, if wax candy bottles are still around, surely Sodalicious has a place on the candy aisle shelf.

While fans wait for an undetermined comeback of Betty Crocker's Sodalicious snacks, they can still satisfy their cravings for soda-flavored treats. The difference between the original gummy snacks and the following stand-ins, is that the latter is largely made up of what could be described as candies. Sodalicious was very much considered a lunchtime fruit snack, even though the sugar content was probably equal to many candies at the time. Pocket-sized mints, Tic Tacs, now come in Coca Cola and Sprite flavors, and contain a minimal amount of sugar.

Haribo makes bottle-shaped gummies in a cola flavor called Happy Cola, but they lack the fizzing element that Sodalicious had. Jelly Belly makes a flavor mix of its beloved jelly beans called "Soda Pop Shoppe" which contains such flavors as Dr. Pepper, 7Up, root beer, cream soda, and Grape and Orange Crush. Hi-Chew makes a chewy cola-flavored candy, and you can sometimes find Dad's root beer flavored hard candies shaped like barrels in old-time candy shops, and Amazon, of course.