Lunchbox Snacks From The '90s You Hardly See Today

Before lunchboxes were insulated and parents actually read ingredient lists, the '90s were a bit of a free-for-all when it came to kids' food. This was the era of neon colors, cartoon mascots, loud packaging, and snacks that bordered on being toys. Lunchbox snacks weren't just about the taste — they were about the experience. Who could forget the thrill of dipping your Dunkaroo cookies into frosting or putting together your cracker stacker Lunchable? Every snack had a gimmick, a collectible, or a jingle that stuck in your brain all day long, which was all part of the fun.

In the golden age of artificial flavors and colors, no one questioned why yogurt was neon green or why juiceboxes made your throat itch. As consumers have become more educated on nutrition, the movement away from artificial ingredients has resulted in some truly iconic lunchbox snacks disappearing from the shelves. While there are certainly some foods from the '90s that we don't miss, the adults who were once sugar-craving kids are not quick to forget some of these lunchbox staples.

It's hard to discuss '90s snacks without mentioning the iconic Lunchables. These were one of the highly sought-after lunchbox staples that were so popular they became something of a status symbol at the elementary and middle school lunch tables. 

From pizzas, nachos, and cracker snackers, this lunch item earned the '90s stamp of approval from kids, for its creative build-your-own approach. Everyone had their favorite, and many lunches were spent debating the ranking of the best Lunchable. Plus, parents loved that they took the work out of packing a school lunch. Since then, however, Lunchables have declined in popularity, and they are not the lunchbox staple they once were. In fact, in 2024, they were officially removed from the National School Lunch Program due to weak demand. Likely, this was a result of parents focusing on healthier meal options for their kids. 

Consumer Reports tests found extremely high levels of lead and sodium in Lunchables products, and consumers have become more educated on nutrition, emphasizing the importance of creating healthy eating habits for kids. As registered dietician Amy Keating explained to Consumer Reports, "They're highly processed, and regularly eating processed meat, a main ingredient in many of these products, has been linked to increased risk of some cancers."

These brightly colored fruit juices were a quintessential '90s lunch beverage. They stood out from other artificially colored and flavored drinks of the time, like Capri-sun, Kool-Aid, and Sunny D, for their unique opaque barrel-shaped packaging, through which you could clearly see the neon colors of the juice. The Little Hug juice barrels still bring back fond nostalgia for many kids who grew up in the '90s and lust for a time when they were blissfully unaware of the sugar content.

Some people recall how these would make their throats itch, likely due to the copious amounts of sugar or dyes they used. Another Reddit commenter mentions, they "actually intensified your thirst" to which another agreed, saying it was "like drinking seawater," so it's no surprise that these have not exactly stood the test of time. More recently, a food reviewer at Buzzfeed tried the juice barrels and found they tasted pretty much how you'd expect: A combination of sugar water, flavoring, and those familiar "plasticky" notes to top it off. You can still find them in some select locations today, but the decline in demand has made them hard to come by.

Betty Crocker released the infamous Dunkaroos in 1990 and this was one of those '90s snacks that were the peak of cool, becoming an instant hit. It came with round cookies and frosting for dipping, and like so many snacks of the time, each packet was chock-full of sugar and artificial ingredients. Tragically, Dunkaroos were discontinued in 2012 as attitudes started to change on healthy snacks for kids.

However, fans couldn't seem to shake the memory of their favorite childhood snack, so Dunakroos made a comeback in 2020. But according to the grownups that remember the Dunkaroos from childhood, the new product is simply not the same. One nostalgic commenter on Reddit said, "Definitely not the same formula. Frosting and grahams are completely different. And it's not just a 'my palate changed' thing." Most customers seem to agree that the new cookies are much worse than the ones they remember, with some people saying that whatever new formula the company uses makes the cookies taste like sawdust.

Doritos 3Ds are a perfect example of a '90s snack: Take something that kids already love and making into an extreme version. These chips came in the original popular flavors of Doritos, including Cool Ranch and Nacho, but with an exciting twist. The puffed versions of this popular chip were a hit with kids, no matter how impractical they were, or how much they cut up the sides of your mouth. Fans claim that there was no other chip that could compare to the flavor and texture of these 3D Doritos.

Despite their popularity, this lunchbox food was sadly discontinued in the early 2000s, and although it is unclear why they stopped production, it may be a result of production costs being too high. Years later, there was a re-release of the product with different flavors, but it didn't live up to the high expectations of nostalgic fans. As one Reddit commenter wrote, "These re-release ones were so disappointing. Like, you have the original recipe, why can't you just copy it?!? Also, they had to get wacky with the flavors, just give us an original."

Planter's P.B. Crisps capitalized on the popular peanut butter flavor and the '90s obsession with oddly shaped snacks. These cookies were shaped just like Planters peanuts, but were graham cookies filled with peanut butter creme. They later expanded with more popular flavors, including chocolate and peanut butter jelly. They weren't available for long, as they were introduced to shelves in 1992 and disappeared in 1995, but they sure made a lasting impression on '90s kids.

P.B. Crisp lovers have not been able to let go of this unique snack and are even still petitioning online to get them back on grocery store shelves, which is a testament to the impact they had. In a Reddit thread of dedicated P.B Crisp supporters, one commenter wrote, "I've never for one second forgotten their deliciously light and crispy outer shell and delicate smear of peanut butter inside. A mastersnack, truly." Planters still makes tons of popular flavors, but it's safe to say that if the P.B. crisps do make a comeback, millennials around the country will be thrilled.

Like so many other iconic snacks from the '90s, Kudos bars managed to trick parents into thinking they were a healthy snack, as they were advertised as granola bars with only 100 calories each. In reality, they were simply a candy bar, which made them all too popular among sugar-craving kids. As one person remembered on Reddit, "Ah yes, back when 'slightly less unhealthy than other candy bars' meant it was 'healthy.'" 

The original Kudos bars were offered in three flavors: Chocolate chip, nutty fudge, and peanut butter. Eventually, the brand partnered with candy brands like Dove, M&Ms, and Snickers to create the Kudos bars that '90s kids really loved. While these were certainly a staple for the infamous bartering and trading system at lunchtime back in the day, they were ultimately discontinued, likely over criticism of their low nutritional value and high sugar content — especially amid rising competition from healthier snack bars, like Clif Bars, which were hitting the market. However, fans just can't let go of how tasty this snack was, and some brands even capitalize on their popularity to sell a healthier version of the product today, made with whole ingredients.

A staple branding trick for kids' snacks during this era was to slap a beloved brand name on new products. Most of us can probably remember iconic '90s breakfast foods like Reese's Puff cereal, and Trix Yogurt had the same idea. Yoplait's Trix Yogurt was a colorful, flavor-packed yogurt rendition of the popular Trix cereal. It featured kid-centric flavors like cotton candy, triple cherry, and rainbow punch, and many of its flavors had split colors, which made it an obvious crowd pleaser, especially if you liked mixing the yogurt to achieve the perfect bizarre grey color.

The product was discontinued in 2016 but did make a return in 2021 with limited flavors. Today, you can find strawberry and berry yogurts at some stores and online. Some people fondly recall the ultimate '90s combination of Trix yogurt, Lay's potato chips, and Coca-Cola as a staple meal growing up. However, most adults today agree that Trix yogurt belongs in the past, due to all the sugars and additives, especially since there are now much healthier yogurts available in stores.

Gummies were a staple of the '90s lunchbox, and there were tons of brands putting out popular versions of this chewy, sugary snack. Between Gushers, Scooby Snacks, and Fruit Snacks, there were tons to choose from and trade like currency. While you can still find some of these brands at the grocery store today, one that vanished is Shark Bites. The shark-shaped bite-sized snacks were highly popular, and real '90s kids will recall the popular white shark gummy in particular.

A nostalgic fan on Facebook writes, "The play was to hoard all of the Great White pieces and treat them like precious delicacies, meant to be eaten slowly and thoughtfully." Shark Bites were still around until 2016, when General Mills underwent major changes to remove some of the artificial coloring and flavors from its products. And while this was an effort to make healthier versions of the beloved snacks, customers claim it changed the texture and taste that they loved about their nostalgic childhood favorites.

Ritz handi-snacks could be found in lunchboxes, at school cafeterias, and at sports games. Like many other snacks of this era, this product gained popularity for the interactive element. Fans will remember the iconic red stick that came with the snack so that you could spread your own cheese over your Ritz crackers. It was snacks like these that turned middle schoolers in the '90s into millennials with charcuterie board addictions today.

Ritz handi-snacks are still sold today, although they aren't as novel as they used to be. And the company stopped producing the red spreading stick a few years back because of its impact on the environment — prompting some fans to say that they're just not worth it without this key element. One Reddit commenter explains, "Now you can't really scoop every last molecule of cheese from the tray, which was honestly my favorite part." The company also sells a premium version of this snack today that is made with real cheese and breadsticks instead of crackers, but again, it's simply not the same.