The Discontinued Butterfinger Spin-Off We Want Back

Fads in food have been around for quite a long time and are unlikely to stop anytime soon. While some people find many general trends can be overdone and infuriating, it's pretty clear that even in smaller sectors of the food world, there are constantly companies that want to chase trends to make a profit.

In the world of candy, this is especially the case. When one type of candy unveils a new idea, others are bound to copy it, whether it winds up being successful or not. In the 1990s and early 2000s, a candy trend that is often forgotten is bite-sized variations of your favorite candy bars that would fit in at a movie theater snack bar more than on a traditional candy counter.

Beyond Hershey's Bites and Reese's Bites being big hits, Butterfinger also threw their hat in the ring, creating the ultra-popular Butterfinger BB's in 1992. While this form of candy would eventually be discontinued by the late 2000s, many nostalgic Millennials and Gen Zers still dream of tasting Butterfinger BB's once more, and we here at The Takeout are no different.

For some background, Butterfinger BB's were small, chocolate-coated bites that grant its consumers the subtle yet noticeable crunch that Butterfinger fans know and love. The poppable candy redefined the typical formula of a standard Butterfinger, drawing in customers who weren't necessarily even fans of the original product and greatly preferred the smaller, more snackable variation.

However, as mentioned, Butterfinger BB's were discontinued in the late aughts for reasons that aren't totally clear. While some claim it was due to low sales, others have inferred that they went away for the same reason Reese's Bites went away — choking hazard concerns among parents. Either way, Butterfinger has attempted to find a new wave to hop on to in order to increase success beyond their signature candy bar in the years since Butterfinger BB was discontinued. 

This includes ventures like the short-lived Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cup – a pretty direct imitator of Reese's signature peanut butter cup — in 2013, and Butterfinger Bites, which was a fun-sized version of the traditional candy bar rather than an updated form of Butterfinger BB's as many had hoped.

So now, five years after Butterfinger was sold by Nestlé and underwent a controversial recipe change, the brand is in need of some good publicity and a strong alternative product. Considering that Reese's Bites have made their grand return in the form of Reese's Cluster Bites, there's no reason for Butterfinger not to hop back on the bandwagon and re-release Butterfinger BB's.