The Old-School Bubble Gum Soda '80s Kids Wish Would Come Back

Bubble gum is a sweet treat that's been enjoyed by kids and adults for almost 100 years. Soda has been around even longer, dating back to the 18th century. It shouldn't come as any surprise, then, that companies over the years have tried to combine the two. Along with soda-flavored bubble gum that still pops up from time to time, bubble gum-flavored soda has made appearances numerous times over the decades. One of the most famous examples of this is Hubba Bubba bubble gum soda.

Kids of the late 1980s and early 1990s may remember seeing these pink and yellow cans on shelves, or even commercials advertising the drink. A select few may even remember how it tastes. According to many who once sipped this soda, it was one of the sugariest things a kid could get their hands on. And yes, it really did taste just like gum. One Reddit user recalled how it was a sought-after rarity, saying, "My sister and I would beg our mom for it, it was our treat if we were good." Another user raved about the taste, stating, "I LOVED it!!! As a middle-aged adult, I wished this still existed, and would absolutely drink it."

Not everyone is all aboard the nostalgia train when it comes to Hubba Bubba soda, though. One Redditor who remembers trying it states, "First sip is really good. Then just tastes like water after a while." Another dubious user says, "Oh man this makes me want to throw up." Still, even people who have never tasted its cloying sweetness are curious to give it a try. Unfortunately, this soda hasn't been produced for decades. It's regularly listed as a discontinued soda flavor people want brought back, but there's no sign of it making a triumphant return.

Believe it or not, Hubba Bubba soda was not originally intended to taste exactly like Hubba Bubba bubble gum specifically. It was, in a way, a product created by happy accident. A man named Steve Roeder was trying to make his own sodas from snow cone syrup during the late 1980s, and it was he who first came up with the idea to make a new bubble gum soda. As he worked with club soda and bubble gum snow cone syrup, he found one creation that he thought tasted similar to Hubba Bubba bubble gum. Because he had no rights to the name, he and a partner, Larry Wilson, put together a company known as the "Novelty Beverage Company." From there, they sought licensing from Wrigley, the owners of Hubba Bubba, to make the soda an official one.

In 1988, all of Roeder's hard work finally came to fruition. Officially-licensed Hubba Bubba soda was first sold in Toys "R" Us stores in Chicago, then spread throughout the United States as it was produced by Wrigley and the AJ Canfield Company. Commercials marketed the drink as fun, cool, bubbly, and very pink. Almost immediately, people were curious to try it, although it was never intended to be a long-term item. Soon after, a second Hubba Bubba soda, this time a diet one, was released with a paler can and much less sugar.

Although there was plenty of buzz around the soda, it did face a few problems. For one thing, it was a novelty that didn't have the same staying power as a cola or root beer. There were lots of other new sodas on the market, so Hubba Bubba soda faded in popularity, likely leading to unfortunately low sales numbers. It's unknown exactly when the soda stopped being made, but we do know that the fizzy delicacy lasted less than five years. By some accounts, it may have gone out of production as early as 1989. Although some fans have called for it to be re-released, it's never been seen again, and is likely to remain a discontinued soda that some people don't even miss.

If you're still seeking a bubble gum soda to sip, you have a few options. Inca Kola is a Peruvian soft drink that some soda fans compare to bubble gum in flavor. Bazooka Bubble Gum came out with its own soda, but some say its flavor isn't as intense as anticipated, similar to how real bubble gum flavor fades quickly. Others claim that Big Red, a soda still currently on the market, has a similar flavor to Hubba Bubba soda, but there's nothing exactly like the original. You may be able to find merch or cans of Hubba Bubba soda on eBay, but given that they are over 20 years old, you definitely shouldn't drink them.