1. Space Food Sticks
Marketed as “nutritional energy snacks,” Space Food Sticks were inspired by NASA’s space program. They came in chewy flavors like chocolate, peanut butter, and caramel and were marketed as futuristic fuel for kids. The packaging made you feel like an astronaut just by opening one.
They were popular for a while, but by the late ’70s, they had mostly fizzled out. Health food trends moved in, and candy bars offered tastier options. Today, they’re remembered more as a novelty than a snack.
2. Seven Up Bar
The Seven Up Bar was a chocolate bar with seven different fillings inside each square. You never quite knew what flavor you’d get next—coconut, caramel, or mint could be waiting under the next bite. It was like seven candy bars in one.
For kids, it felt like an adventure with every square. But the odd combinations eventually lost their appeal. By the ’70s, it quietly disappeared from shelves.
3. Glass Soda Bottles with Deposits
In the ’70s, soda almost always came in thick glass bottles that you returned to the store for a small refund. Kids loved cashing in empty bottles for a little pocket change. The clinking of bottles in a grocery cart was a familiar sound.
By the ’80s, plastic bottles and cans had taken over, and return programs faded away. The glass bottles felt sturdier and colder in your hand, but they became a rarity. Today, finding one feels like stumbling onto buried treasure.
4. Tab Diet Soda
Tab was Coca-Cola’s first diet soda, and in the ’70s it was everywhere. The pink can stood out on grocery shelves, and it was especially marketed to women as the “slim” choice. Love it or hate it, the taste was unmistakable.
But when Diet Coke came along in the ’80s, Tab quickly lost its dominance. By the 2000s, it was barely hanging on before disappearing altogether. In the ’70s, though, it was as common as milk.
5. Hi-C in Metal Cans
Hi-C fruit drink was a go-to for families, but in the ’70s it came in big metal cans you had to puncture with a can opener. Every kitchen drawer had one of those triangular punch tools to crack them open. The first sip always had a little metallic taste.
Kids loved the sugary flavors like Orange and Grape, and parents loved how cheap it was. Once juice boxes and plastic jugs arrived, the metal cans faded away. But that clunk of a can opener on the top is unforgettable.
6. Generic “No-Name” Aisles
By the late ’70s, many supermarkets introduced entire aisles of plain white or yellow-labeled generic foods. “Beans,” “Cola,” and “Cookies” sat in stark lettering without colorful branding. They were cheaper and meant to stretch the family budget.
For a while, they were everywhere, but they never had the same appeal as brand names. By the ’80s, most stores phased them out or rebranded them. Still, those plain labels are a sharp memory of ’70s grocery shopping.
7. Punch-Top Vegetable and Juice Cans
Before pull-tabs and resealable containers, canned juices and vegetables required a special triangular opener. Parents and kids alike had to jab the tool into the top to get the liquid flowing. Sometimes two holes were needed so the juice would pour smoothly.
It was messy, sometimes dangerous, but completely normal in the ’70s. Once modern pull-tab lids arrived, the punch-top cans quickly disappeared. The can opener itself is now more of a relic than a kitchen tool.
8. Tang Drink Mix
Though it first gained fame in the ’60s with its connection to NASA, Tang was a staple in ’70s kitchens. The orange powder mixed into water to create a sweet, citrusy drink. Many kids thought it tasted like summer in a glass.
By the ’80s, Tang’s popularity slipped as families moved toward “healthier” juices. It never fully disappeared worldwide, but in U.S. grocery stores, it lost its place of honor. In the ’70s, though, it was nearly as common as milk.
9. Pizza Spins
Pizza Spins were wheel-shaped corn chips flavored to taste like pizza. The idea was that you could get the fun of pizza in a crunchy snack. Kids brought them to school in lunchboxes, and they were a hit at first.
But the flavor didn’t age well, and other snack brands quickly took over. They were discontinued in the late ’70s. Many still remember them as a fun experiment that didn’t last.
10. Libbyland Frozen Dinners for Kids
Libbyland marketed kid-sized TV dinners with cartoon mascots and fun packaging. Meals included hot dogs, spaghetti, or chicken nuggets, always with a sweet dessert on the side. They were designed to make kids feel like they had their very own TV dinner.
Parents eventually soured on the idea because of all the preservatives and high sodium. By the end of the ’70s, they had disappeared from freezers. But for kids of the era, opening one felt like unwrapping a present.
11. Kool-Aid Packets for a Dime
Few items screamed ’70s childhood like the paper packets of Kool-Aid powder that sold for just a dime. With a cup of sugar and a pitcher of water, you had a drink that could stretch all week. The smiling Kool-Aid Man became a cultural icon.
Supermarkets often displayed rows of brightly colored packets at kid-eye level. Choosing flavors felt like a major decision. Though Kool-Aid is still around, the price and presentation from the ’70s have long disappeared.
12. Glass Milk Bottles
Though milk cartons were on the rise, many stores in the early ’70s still stocked glass milk bottles, often delivered straight to homes. They felt colder and fresher than anything in cardboard. Kids remember the clinking sound when they were set on the doorstep.
By mid-decade, cartons and later plastic jugs had nearly wiped out bottles. Some dairies kept them going into the ’80s, but by then they were a rarity. The glass bottles are now more of a collector’s item than a grocery staple.
