The Beloved Vintage Candy Bar From 1965 That Lost Its Battle To Cadbury

You'll find the same basic selection of candy bars no matter where you shop these days. There are the usual Hershey Bars, Reese's, and Kit Kat, and the lineup hasn't changed too much within the past several decades (aside from the occasional new launch). But lost to history is a whole confectionary graveyard of once popular candy bars that have been forgotten altogether. This chocolatey cemetery includes the once wildly popular Caravelle candy bar, which would have been a common sight in its heyday in the '60s and '70s.

A milk chocolate bar studded with crisped rice and layers of soft caramel, the Caravelle was a smash hit and a best seller for its parent company, Peter Paul Candy Company. The company, which traded hands multiple times over its lengthy history, was otherwise known for its famed Mounds and Almond Joy, which are still beloved today.

Sadly, the beloved Caravelle bar was not long for the candy aisle. The layered decadent treat was pulled from shelves and discontinued entirely by the late 1970s or '80s, around the time Cadbury took over the Peter Paul Candy Company. What the Caravelle bar lacked in longevity, though, it made up for in popularity, burning bright for its short time on shelves and even snagging the title of best new candy in 1967 (and makes our list of '60s candy we wish we could have tried).

Mergers, acquisitions, and discontinuations — business moves fast in the grocery world, and the candy business is no exception. It seems wrong that something as bureaucratic as a corporate merger could wipe out a widely beloved chocolate bar — but that's exactly what happened when Cadbury Schweppes scooped up the Peter Paul Candy company.

Though this acquisition was surely a win for then-Cadbury Schweppes (the chocolate and soda companies have since split ways but were once merged), the Caravelle bar was a casualty of the move — much to the heartbreak of loyal fans who to this day can still be found online, mourning the loss of this niche candy. And in case you were wondering what happened to the OG makers of the bar, in the 1980s, the even-larger Hershey took over the Peter Paul Candy Company. The company's other still-in-production treats, like Mounds and Almond Joy, were absorbed into the massive Hershey portfolio, which includes all sorts of favorites like Reese's, Twizzlers, and Kit Kat.

These days, if you're craving a taste of the retired bar, the next best thing you can still get your hands on is a Nestle's 100 Grand Bar — a less popular but still available option that draws comparisons to the Caravelle. However, true fans have not forgotten the OG. If a candy maker is reading this, we're hungry for reimaginings of nostalgic treats, and this beloved bar sounds ripe for a remake.