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Tuesday, March 25, 2008
RuntsI was at the bulk candy shop at the mall last month and saw what looked like a new mix of Runts in the bins. Curious, I bought a little sampling of them. I thought they were Tropical Runts (which used to exist).
Instead, I found out that they’d reformulated the Runts flavors yet again. The new assortment includes: Strawberry, Banana, Orange, Pineapple and Mango. The previous version had: Blue Raspberry, Watermelon, Cherry, Strawberry, Banana and Orange.
The version before that, that I remember best was what they introduced in 1982: Banana, Orange, Cherry, Strawberry, and Lime. It was the best replacement for Wacky Wafers. Back when they were that first assortment of flavors I bought them quite a bit. They were cute, they didn’t roll around when you sorted them out and the flavors were nice ... only one in the mix I didn’t like, which were good odds as far as I was concerned. But when they went to the 21st century flavors, I lost interest completely. I didn’t like watermelon or blue raspberry or cherry ... so half the box was thrown out or given away. This new version though, we’re back to 80% efficiency! The Banana is quite artificial. It reminds me of Circus Peanuts and nail polish remover. Strawberry is sweet and flowery. Orange is bland and tastes like Tang or Jell-O mix. (That’s not a bad thing.) The new Pineapple is awesome. It’s tangy, it’s fragrant, it’s a real hit. The Mango surprised me because I didn’t like it. I love mangos, I have a serious mango addiction when they’re in season (I’ll buy a half a dozen when they’re on sale and eat them in a weekend). But mango flavor is kind of like peach, it’s just not quite the same. It takes like pine needles and fake peaches to me. A complaint I’ve heard about the new mix is that it’s no longer as colorful as it used to be. There are two yellows in there, no more blue or green. (Honestly, the Mango could have been green ... or even the Pineapple.) But I still find them very pleasant and are now back on my list of candies that I pick up every once in a while. Wonka has always had the best names for their candies. Discontinued ones (that some will remember fondly): Wacky Wafers, Punkys, Oompa Loompas and Dweebs. Their current lineup still includes: Bottlecaps, Everlasting Gobstoppers (well, Roald Dahl came up with that one), Laffy Taffy (formerly Tangy Taffy) and of course all of the items swallowed up from Sunline like SweeTarts & Pixy Stix.
The new flavor set is Green Apple, Banana, Orange, Grape and Strawberry. Read more about it here at the revised review. Related Candies
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Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.
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COPYRIGHT NOTICEAll content (text and photos unless otherwise credited) is copyright 2005-2010 by Cybele May Please do not use my photos without prior permission directly from me, they represent what I ate in preparation for these reviews and are not to be used for other purposes. Design by Hop Studios &
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Banana runts are seriously awful. I used to throw them away instead of eating them.
I’m glad someone else notices a resemblance between nail polish remover and banana scent.
An archaeologist friend told me that Runts are the perfect candy for care packages sent to friends in hot climates. They’re durable, so they don’t break up in the mail, and they don’t melt and get sticky in the heat. Good news when you want to send treats to friends in lousy, hot places overseas. Iraq, Peace Corps assignments, whatever.
(And the last piece of candy I ate was a Milky Way Dark during a break at work yesterday.
My hubby is a serious Wonka addict. He came home with these last fall and I agree that they are much better than the last mix of flavors. Now if they would only get rid of the banana…..
I don’t understand you people, the banana Runt is the best! Granted it is a little hard to bite down on because of the shape, but by far, it’s my favorite flavor in the box. Just as the banana Wacky Wafer was the best flavor….
OMG… I LOVED Oompa Loompas. The yellow one (I think it was suppose to be lemon) tasted like cake batter. YUM!
I had some runts yesterday and blech, those mango ones are gross!! I do fancy the banana and pineapple though.
I thought banana was the best flavor of the bunch. Sure wish they would bring back chewy runts, though. I’m afraid of breaking all my expensive crowns on the regular ones (Why do I have all these crowns? Could it have been from the tons of candy I’ve eaten over the years?)
hmm… i’m not sure if these are “new” runts as opposed to runts that are directed towards hispanic markets. in my neighborhood, the shops sell those 2/$1 cellophane bags of candy with generic labels, and i’ve been buying these (what i thought were bootleg) runts for a long time now. i didn’t know wonka actually made them. i don’t believe these will replace classic runts though.
I’m with JoAnn - I favor the banana runts! I haven’t seen this new box, but I haven’t been looking either….
Dweebs!!! I haven’t thought of those in forever! I used to love wacky wafers, too! I like most of the wonka candy. I do think that the new Runts will get a lot of complaints, though. Maybe they will change them after that. I for one am going to send out an email to them. Nothing nasty… but I’m a pro-active consumer.
(as you can see, I’m not too happy about the new lineup)
In this mix of runts I like all, but the mango. I agree that they taste like peach and I dislike all things peach, flavor and smell alike. I miss the cherry and lime, but hated the blue raspberry that one tasted and smelled like the gross thick pink amoxicillin medicine my kids took when they had ear infections. Maybe they should sell flavors individually in bins like Jelly Bellies so that everyone can choose their own assortment.
The new mix of Runts is horrific!!! I went one day and opened a newer pack, only to find out that there were different shapes and, consequently, different flavors. I put a mango into my mouth, not knowing it was mango, and it promptly ended up in the trash can, along with my language. What happened to the good old fashion Runts? Willy Wonka, WHY!?!?!?!
P.S. I love the banana flavor!
katie, tricia & JoAnn - up until last year Nestle sold the Banana Runts in bulk ... so there’s not even that option any longer.
Mary - oh, I remember that ear infection stuff! I think it spoiled so many candies for me. I’d love to “build my own runts mix” (but that’s why I like going to the bulk bins ... I will be selfish and try to at least avoid the ones I don’t like).
Mandy - I don’t think Wonka leaves anything alone, even SweeTarts have been swapped around in their flavor mix and they were perfect in their original form.
Ben - they’re definitely the new mix, but it may take a while for old inventory to be sold off.
RH - I think I still have some of the chewy runts in single packs sitting around. But again, I only like some of them, so it’s hard to muster the courage to open a pack and see what my percentages are.
Doreen - they really should have been making pineapple all along, what took them so long!
Utlmnop - Again I think Wonka gave up without really trying to make the Oompas work.
Sabrina & Kevin - sounds like you’d have lots of new best friends in this mix of commenters! (Everyone loves me because I don’t like the red candies, so they’re always going to get those when I “share”.)
OC - these are definitely up there on my list now of hot weather candies (along with Tootsie Pops).
Joy - I think it’s even more noticeable in fresh Circus Peanuts (which is probably why I prefer them, if I eat them at all, when they’re stale).
ummm, I like banana the best. I don’t think it taste like nail polish remover! lol I will take all the banana’s from those who don’t like them please!
Cherry is always the flavor I eat first, because I’m a cherry fanatic. The banana flavor is good too, but I’d miss the cherry too much to buy a box of runts just for the banana.
Please, please, please, someone tell me what ever happened to “Flip Flops?” I’ve been searching web sites like mad to find any info on these oh so delicious two sided candies! I became addicted to these round sweet tart like heavens back in the early eighties. Then one day the local gas station clerk told my father that they had stopped making them and the last case was coming in the next day. My wonderful father DID buy the entire case for me but they only lasted a few weeks and I’ve never seen them again. They were packaged in a long skinny box, and one side of the candy would be one flavor and the other side another. There were 4 different combinations. I thought Willy Wonka made them but have found no trace on any of their sites. Please help. Flip flop withdrawal!!
I am soooo glad those NASTY watermelon runts are gone.. I dont know anyone who liked them. They had a burning sensation taste… I love the pineapple, but banana is still my fave..
Hate the banana?!? Those are the BEST. Please mail me you extras instead of throwing them away.
I LOVE STRAWBERRY, LIME, CHERRY, BLUE RASBERRY!!!! I’ll eat the orange when all else is gone but bananas are so terrible. My husband likes artificial banana flavoring so he’ll eat them. I was quite scared when I grabbed the new box. Where are my other favorites at?? I called Mr. Wonka’s secretary and she informed me the other flavors are not gone, just in the other box. If anyone knows where I can buy 1 flavor in bulk, I would love the info!!!
it pisses me off that there are no green runts anymore. green runts were the best candy of all time. mango is horsesh1t.
we would like to know if there is any way
yall could just put bannana in a bag all
by itself. so many people dislike it and im
afraid that yall wont make it any more. we work
at a hospital and just about all of us by runts
daily. we are big fans of all willy wonka
candy.
I agree that the new mango flavor is rather bad.
I CANNOT BELIEVE SOMEONE ELSE REMEMBERS PUNKYS! I have been trying to find an image somewhere, anywhere on the internet to no avail.
Anyway, I am disappointed they took away the blue and green runts. The new pineapple is tasty but the Mango is horribly disgusting.
Sorry but i hate the new flavors… the only flavor I like now is strawberry
I LOVE the banana runts. they’re my favorite.
And i used to love the chewy ones too, especially the blue raspberry flavors.
I miss wacky wafers though.
hahaha yea i never liked the banana so why of all the good flavors they have had is banana still alive? i miss lime and blue raspberry
muy buen dia me podrian informar con quien puedo comprar cajas de runts, para mis maquinitas de dulce que tengo en monterrey,nuevo,leon mexico si tienen una direccion en este pais o que proveedor puedo dirigirme aqui en mexico. muchas gracias, su amigo ALFONSO.
I seriously dislike the new assortment of runts. The red candy resembles the old one, yet does NOT taste anything like it. It tastes like a mango’s asshole, if a mango had one. They need to bring the cherry flavor back, that was my favorite! Willy Wonka can suck it.
I saw some chewy runts in a vending machine and I only bought one pack to try. I went back and they were all gone. I went to every store in town, but could not find one pack. Please tell me if you have any vendors in Marion, Mullins or Florence,South Carolina.
I was very upset to find that again the flavors for runts changed! Please tell me that the pineapple and mango are still available. They were two of your very best flavors. The new green apple and grape are terrible. Put the pineapple and mango back in the box !!!!
I was thrilled to see that the awful mango and pineapple have been replaced! The new flavors, green apple and grape, are quite good and I like the new mix of colors. I miss cherry, though.
wow. i hate those mango, they are simply DISGUSTING
I have just scored a ___load of old style runts. They were in a quarter machine that’s been sitting in a closed pharmacy nearby. I was helping prepare it for sale (the machine) and was allowed to empty the contents. Yah, sure, the candy has been there a couple years or so, but… you can’t really hurt solid sugar!!! I tossed the M&M;‘s, they were chalky and busted up. The Reeses Pieces were not good tasting either. The candy shell was fine, the inside was not so good. The biggest disappointment was the Hot Tamales. I love those and there was a ton. They had lost their dark red color and the gooey insides were not so gooey if at all. Some shattered. I saved and ate the Skittles, a bit harder but still tasted great and didn’t make me sick. I saved the Jelly Bellys (sooo gooood) and the biggest bunch, the Runts. I have Banana, Orange, Lime, Green Apple, Blueberry or Blue Rasberry, Rasberry, Cherry… I am pretty sure. The bigger green one, the small lime shaped green one, the blue butt looking squished heart one and a red one like it, the pink heart, the banana (obviously) and the orange one. The flavors are all still 100% popping good teeth rotting sugar rushing whoosh. (It’s an industry term… HA HA).
I dont see what’s wrong with the banana, I love nail polish remover. It’s a good aperitif.
I love all the flavors. I just wish they’d make a bathc with ALL the flavors in it. Pineapple and Mango are good but Banana has to be the best. Put EVERY flavor in there and watch the sales go up!
I’ve tried the latest runt flavors mango and pineapple….pineapple is great, mango decent i just can’t stand the size of the mango!
the newest additions to runts which i found just the other day are Grape and Green Apple both which were in the Chewy Runts packs…only thing lacking with these is the size of the Grape (same annoying size as the mango…and where’d the fun Chewy Grape Shape go -with the triangular shape and grape clusters!?)
also…where the heck is my Cherry Flavor!!!!!!!
my personal pick for what the pack should contain:
Strawberry
Cherry
Orange
Bannana
Grape (chewy runt shaped)
Pineapple
Green Apple
This would add great color and tastes
Man, I loved lime so much. I like blue raspberry usually but when they replaced lime with it and the blue raspberry tasted like chalk, I was pretty disappointed. I never ate orange. Yuck! Haha.
banana runts are the best things ever! strawberry’s a close second, bonus points for being shaped like a heart <3
I like banana runts. They are the only ones I like, I’ll buy a whole box of runts and just eat the banana.
The banana is by far the best flavor EVER! The new mango and pineapple flavor is seriously disgusting. I’m so disappointed. I want the blue raspberry runts back!
Okay, I don’t know if my local shell gas station has some kind of crazy runts but i just bought some in a 2/1.00 package and they have:
nasty big red one (mango?)
orange
banana
pineapple
strawberry
GRAPE?
and a green one (my guess- sour apple)
anyone else get these???
mango is seriously disgusting. almost as bad as the old watermelon and blue ones…sick.
Sam - here’s the revised review of the new flavors.
Bananas have always been my favorite. I never really liked the lime but since they’ve been gone I miss them. I also liked the cherry and miss it too. I hardly remember the blue raspberry and don’t remember watermelon at all so can’t comment on those. I liked the pineapple but despised the mango. The new grape and green apple are acceptable but I would really like to see the return of the cherry and pineapple. It seems more difficult to find these anymore but since they are my favorite candy I keep an eye out for them.
I find it really interesting how polarizing the banana-flavored Runt is. Seems you either love it or hate it. I eat at least some of them for the sake of not being wasteful, but I would be extremely happy if they just sold them separately so that those that really love them could have their fill and the rest of us wouldn’t have to deal with them.
P.S. I LOVED Oompas—just how they were hard on the outside and chewy on the inside. Mmm! Good flavors, too.
I WISH THEY WOULD ONLY PUT THE PINK HEARTS IN THE BAGS. MY 3 YEAR OLD PUG REALLY LIKES THEM. SOMETIMES HE WIL EAT THE GRAPE
TRY TO HELP US OUT
LOVE THE RUNTS
Janice - they do sell just the pink hearts. Look sharp at Valentine’s Day, they come in a purple bag and have only the strawberry.
I found a quarter machine at the local mall that has everyone of the flavors in it. Strawberry, Banana, Orange, Lime, Cherry, Blue Raspberry, Watermelon, Pineapple, Mango, Green Apple and Grape are all in there although some flavors are only around the edges and thus harder to get. Is it possible some of this candy is really that old. I got a cherry the other day and since it is my 2nd favorite candy I was so excited, it still had a good taste and texture as well. I wish I could break open this machine and pick out all my old favorites.
dear runts execs,
i don’t want to be a bother but i think that
there should be more bannana runts in the runt
packeges.
because evry time i buy a
packege of runts theres only like 6 or 7 of the
bannana runts,and the bannana runts are my
favrote!!!
i LOVE…...........RUNTS!ecspesally BANNANA!!!!!!!!!
BRING THE LIME BAAAAAACK
i was at a bulk candy store the other day and was told by the manager that Wonka was eliminating Runts from their candy line-up—about a month supply left and they will be gone forever!!! is this true?
Banana Runts taste like garbage. My boss has a candy machine on his desk that’s full of Runts right now and he keeps a separate cup next to it for you to drop in the ones you don’t like. It is always brimming full of banana.
What happened to the pink runts?!?!?!
What happened to the cherry runts? Bring them back!
I am looking for a place I can just buy the Grape and Orange Runts. Does anyone know ? If you do would you please email me where I could find them at, my email is .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) , Thank You so much.
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