R is for Runts

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R is for Runts, next in the?90sNibbles?series! I couldn't get enough of Runts when I was a kid. I EVEN didn't mind the banana flavor! Runts are small, hard-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside bites of tang with a hint of fruit. Inside the box, you would find fruit-shaped pieces corresponding to the flavor. I liked knowing exactly what I was getting by the easily recognizable shapes. The future designer in me loved the almost perfect consistency and shine of the candy too.

Chances are, you're familiar with Runts being made by the Wonka. This company didn't exist before Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory came out. Quaker Oats forked over $3 million to get in on the action. They used their sub-brand Breaker Confections to produce candies for the movie release under the Wonka name.

With some success under its belt, the Willy Wonka brand took advantage of its famous fictional namesake. It began rolling out more candies like Laffy Taffy and Everlasting Gobstoppers. By 1980, Breaker Confections officially took on the Willy Wonka Candy Company name. Two years later, it launched Runts candy with five flavors: cherry, strawberry, orange, lime, and banana. They landed on banana, orange, strawberry, grape, and green apple flavors. A winning lineup, if you ask me. Now I sound like a commercial.