Fruit snacks as Americans know them today are pretty much a product of this one decade. Before the 1980s, the options were slim — fruit leather had been around since the 1970s, and raisins had been a lunchbox staple for generations. Then, almost overnight, a whole new category showed up.
Fruit Roll-Ups launched in 1980 under the Fruit Corners brand (a Betty Crocker label from General Mills) and set the template, which included real fruit, chewy texture, individually wrapped and aimed squarely at kids.
Sunkist followed with its own Fruit Rolls in 1984, and Del Monte entered the market in 1985 with a line of fruit-based snacks packaged in resealable canisters and single-serving pouches. By the middle of the decade, the grocery aisle had filled up fast.
The products kept evolving. Fruit Corners added Fruit Bars in 1985, then Fruit Wrinkles in 1986 — bite-sized pieces rather than strips — and Fruit Swirl Bars by 1987. Sunkist rolled out Fun Fruits in chewy shapes, then added yogurt-coated Creme Supremes and novelty shapes like dinosaurs and alphabet letters by 1988. Even Lipton got into the mix with Flavor Tree Fruit Nibbles, sold in flavors like grape-peanut butter and strawberry-chocolate.
The “real fruit” pitch was everywhere, and brands leaned into it heavily. Whether the products actually delivered on that claim was another matter — most contained fruit puree concentrate alongside plenty of added sugar, and a 1987 Fruit Corners ad took a direct swing at Sunkist Fun Fruits for having “50% more added sugars.” The category had gotten competitive enough by the late ’80s that brands were openly comparing labels.
The ads and packaging collected here capture the decade’s fruit snack boom at full speed — the bright colors, the kid-focused copy and the parade of new products that hit shelves practically every year.
1980s fruit snacks: New Betty Crocker Fruit Roll-Ups (1980)
Unroll delicious new Fruit Roll-Ups and you’re ready to enjoy an exciting new kind of chewy snack made from real fruit.
Try Strawberry, Apricot, Cherry, and Apple Fruit Roll-Ups. All four, wholesome and fun to eat, too.
The perfect snack. Pick up a box of New Fruit Roll-Ups, and get real fruit and fun rolled up in one.
Introducing the fruit you unroll, peel and chew! (1982)
New Fruit Roll-Ups are a whole lot more than a fantastic new snack. They’re a whole new way to eat fruit! Real fruit.
Fruit roll-ups are made from real strawberries, cherries, apples or apricots rolled up into a wholesome, chewy snack.
Now, kids think they’re real good because they’re real fun. But you’ll think they’re real good because they’re real wholesome real fruit snacks. Really.
ALSO SEE: Del Monte Yogurt Cups were awesome snacks for ’80s kids
Sunkist Fruit Rolls: A kid’s idea of the perfect fruit. (1984)
And a mom’s idea of the perfect snack. Because they’re made with real fruit and other wholesome ingredients, pressed flat and rolled onto cellophane, so kids can peel off a piece anyplace, anytime they feel like it.
Sunkist Fruit Rolls are individually wrapped for freshness and packed six to a box. You’ll find them in cherry, grape, strawberry and orange in the granola snack section of your supermarket.
ALSO SEE: Vintage Breakfast Squares: The sweet frosted bars that General Mills used to make
Del Monte fruit snacks: New energy sources discovered (1985)
Look for new Del Monte Fruit Snacks in the Granola Bar section of your favorite store.
Resealable canisters: Diced Fruit Mix, Seedless Raisins, Pitted Prunes, Yogurt Raisins, Strawberry Yogurt Raisins
Single serving boxes: Diced Fruit Mix, Yogurt Raisins
Snack Packs (pouches): Tropical Fruit
Packed with concentrated fruit energy
Bite & smile: Fruit Corners strawberry Fruit Bars (1985)
New Fruit Corners Fruit Bars just changed the face of fruit forever.
They’re 100% natural. 100% delicious. Made with real fruit. They come in grape, cherry, strawberry, and orange-pineapple.
Just give someone a Fruit Corners Fruit Bar and watch a bite turn into a smile.
Strawberry Fruit Corners Fruit Roll-Ups and Fruit Bars (1986)
Beat around the bush: This strawberry wasn’t easy to pick. We traveled to a world-renowned field where some of the best strawberries grow. We looked for the ripest. We looked for the sweetest. And we looked for the juiciest.
We circled all the bushes in that field and put a lot of thought into picking just the right berries.
Because only the sweetest, juiciest, freshest fruit has a chance to become Fruit Corners Fruit Roll-Ups and Fruit Bars. Great-tasting fruit snacks come from great fruit. About that, we get right to the point.
If it comes from Fruit Corners, it’s made with real fruit.
1980s fruit snacks: Flavor Tree Fruit Nibbles (1986)
Easy and fun to eat, bite-size real fruit snacks. Made with real strawberries, oranges, cherries and grapes. Enjoy Fruit Nibbles anytime with school lunch or at play whenever you want a great tasting snack.
Flavors: Assorted Fruit, Cherry & Yogurt, Orange & Yogurt, Strawberry & Choccolate, Grape & Peanut Butter
[In the coupon information is the name Thomas J Lipton, Inc. so this looks like it was a division of Lipton]
Retro ’80s Fruit Corners Fruit Wrinkles snack treat (1986)
“Why I like new Fruit Wrinkles.”
According to Kids: “They’re neat to eat ’cause they’re fun and taste great!”
According to Moms: “I knew my kids would like these Fruit Wrinkles because they’re made with real fruit. And my kids love fruit.”
“Gimme this. Gimme that I’m glad my kids are asking for something that’s good for them.”
“Orange, lemon, cherry, strawberry… my kids like them all. I like them because they’ve got Vitamin C.”
“They’re so easy to pack… in a pocket or a lunchbox.”
“My son thinks they’re neat to eat ’cause they’re fun and taste great!”
“I knew Fruit Wrinkles would be good. They come from the makers of Fruit Bars and Fruit Roll-Ups!”
ALSO SEE: Pillsbury Space Food Sticks, the vintage snacks for astronauts that kids loved
Fun Fruits: Introducing 3 new kinds of fun (1986)
Sunkist Fun Fruits — chewy real fruit snacks. Flavors: Tropical Fruit, Fantastic Fruit Punch and Berry Bunch
THINK TWICE: Vintage Sunkist Fun Fruits vs Fruit Corners Fruit Wrinkles (1987)
Why choose Strawberry Fun Fruits with 50% more added sugars?
Choose Strawberry Fruit Wrinkles, with nearly twice the real fruit.
Comparison between Fruit Comers Strawbery Fruit Wrinkles and Sunkist Strawberry Fun Fruits only. Fruit Wrinkles contain both strawberries and pear puree concentrate. Fruit and sugars content of other Fruit Corners products vary by product and product line.
THINK TWICE AGAIN: Vintage Sunkist Fun Fruits vs Fruit Corners Fruit Wrinkles (1987)
First, think about all the luscious, real fruit flavors of Fruit Corners fruit snacks. Now think what an excellent source of Vitamin C they are. It’s no wonder Moms choose Fruit Corners.
Fruit Swirl Bars (Real Raspberries and Cream), Fruit Roll-Ups (Grape), Fruit Wrinkles pouches (Orange)
DON’T MISS: Remember old-school packaged cookies, like Hydrox, Almost Home, Chip-a-Roos & others?
Powerful good: Vintage Del Monte 1980s Fruit Snacks (1987)
Concentrated fruit energy. Bits of real fruit. Delicious. Flavorful. Packed to go where you do. In varieties like Tropical Fruit Mix and Sierra Trail Mix. (Also Strawberry Yogurt Raisins.)
For a natural lift, tear into some. It’s a powerful good snack.
Introducing Sunkist Fun Fruits Creme Supremes (1987)
Now we’ve turned real fruit and yogurt into a whole new kind of wholesome fruit snack.
We put a strawberry, cherry or orange Fun Fruit on the inside. And a delicious coating of yogurt on the outside.
New varieties: Fun Fruits Dinosaurs & Fun Fruits Letters (1988)
One of the best things about being a kid.
Sunkist Fun Fruits’ fruit snacks have become a wholesome part of growing up. A way of having fun. And sharing fun.
But the best thing about Fun Fruits is that they’re made with real fruit. So every chewy one is real fruity fun. Fun to eat… and especially fun to share. We turn real fruit into real fun for kids.
NOW SEE THIS: Kudos granola bars: What happened to these popular kids’ snacks from the ’80s & ’90s?
