Fruit Stripe, the striped gum known for its brief burst of flavor, has been discontinued after more than half a century, inspiring nostalgic tributes on social media.
“Best two seconds of flavor you've ever had,” one Reddit user wrote on Wednesday. “RIP to a legend.”
Rainbow-colored Fruit Stripe gum packs first appeared in U.S. stores in the late 1960s. Ferrara, a Chicago-based confectioner, said this week that he had stopped manufacturing the product.
“We considered many factors before making this decision, including consumer preferences and purchasing patterns, and overall brand trends,” the company said in a statement.
The five sticks of gum in the package were printed with wavy zebra stripes, and each stick had a different color and flavor: cherry, lemon, orange, peach and “Wet n' Wild Melon.” The flavor, more sour than fruity, was known to disappear in a matter of seconds, almost on contact.
Initial advertising used Fruit Stripe Gum Man, an anthropomorphic gum with limbs and a face. Advertisers later used a family of animals, including a zebra, a tiger, an elephant, and a mouse, in advertisements and posters, and in a line of retail products that included coloring books and stuffed toys.
Yipes the Zebra emerged as the dominant mascot, with each gum wrapper functioning as a temporary tattoo of Yipes. The tattoos depicted Yipes in active poses, such as riding a skateboard, playing baseball or eating grass.
Fruit Stripe also came in giant packs of 17 bars. On social media, consumers shared childhood memories of consuming all 17 sticks of gum in one sitting, in a vain attempt to make the taste of the gum last.
“The wildest three-second ride your taste buds have ever known,” one person posted on Reddit.
An account on X, the social media site, called Discontinued Foods!, described Fruit Stripe as “an icon in the field of gums,” and people filled a thread with jokes about how quickly the gum went from delicious to disappointing.
Several compared chewing Fruit Stripe to chasing a drug high.
Ferrara, which also makes Sweet Tarts, Nerds, Laffy Taffy and Fun Dip, said consumers may still be able to find Fruit Stripe in stores, but it's unclear how much inventory remains. The company did not respond to an interview request Thursday.
The websites of several large retailers, including Walmart and Amazon, listed Fruit Stripe as unavailable.
The gum could be found on eBay, where a seller was offering a dozen packs for $189 along with other Fruit Stripe paraphernalia, including T-shirts, coffee mugs and vintage posters featuring a smiling Yipes the zebra.
