Fruit Stripe Gum‘s parent company Ferrara Candy Company announced the gum has been discontinued after spending nearly 55 years on shelves.
The iconic gum was best known for its short-lived bursts of flavor and a temporary tattoo on each stick of gum’s wrapper that featured Fruit Strip’s mascot, Yipes the Zebra.
The gum, which came in flavors Wet n’ Wild Melon, Cherry, Lemon, Orange, and Peach Smash, was first introduced in 1969 and was beloved by millions who grew up with the temporary tattoos.TODAY.com confirmed with Ferrara Candy Company, Fruit Stripe Gum’s parent company, that it was discontinuing one of the most iconic chewing gum brands of all-time. This led to almost immediate backlash on social media by people who likely haven’t chewed Fruit Stripe in decades but were still sad to see it go.
CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla
Someone on X astutely pointed out that Liza Minnelli has outlived Fruit Stripe gum, an apparent measure of longevity:
Liza Minnelli has outlived Fruit Stripe Gum which is being discontinued. pic.twitter.com/B8TJjkOM6Z
— LizaMinnelliOutlives (@LiZaOutlives)
Tributes went out alongside the Fruit Stripe jokes and memes:
The ‘20s have brought nothing but pain and sorrow. Another fallen brother.
RIP Fruit Stripe pic.twitter.com/FCBWQsudLi
— Leftover Pizza Club (@lftovrpizzaclub)
Jason Liebig of ‘CollectingCandy’ fame on X
It does appear, however, that some people on X were reporting the news of Fruit Stripe Gum’s demise as early as January 4th:
I have some sad nostalgia news. Fruit Stripe gum has been officially discontinued. Stock up now while you can pic.twitter.com/iTSCLtHe78
— The Haunted VCR (@thehauntedvcr)
There are still thousands of stores with Fruit Stripe on the shelves. A quick look at eBay shows that the forthcoming buying frenzy hasn’t been triggered yet. The eBay prices on Fruit Stripe are still quite fair. Unlike when the Choco Taco was discontinued.
Here’s how Meta’s Imagine AI envisions the Fruit Stripe Gum zebra mascot, by the way:
I will forever remember Fruit Stripe for two reasons: the short-lasting flavor and the temporary tattoos. I couldn’t actually describe what it tasted like because it’s been so long since I las had Fruit Stripe Gum but I could tell you that it was delicious, albeit for like 15 seconds before the flavor disappeared.
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