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© History Oasis
Discontinued: 1952
General Mills launched Party Cake Mix in 1949 as one of Betty Crocker's first cake mixes. Bakers could make white, yellow, or spice cake by changing which eggs and spices they added. The flexibility didn't work. People wanted clear flavors on the box, not options. General Mills discontinued the boxed cake mix after three years and replaced it with separate yellow and white cake mixes.
Discontinued: Mid-1970s
Betty Crocker released Answer Cake in 1954 with everything in one box: cake mix, frosting, and a disposable pan. The company sold it to small families who wanted simple desserts. It vanished after twenty years. But a similar item called Stir 'n Frost mix was released in 1976. Answer Cake was the original all-in-one convenience cake, decades before mug cakes existed.
Discontinued: 1998
Sodalicious Fruit Snacks launched in 1991 as Betty Crocker's first product outside baking. The gummies looked like soda bottles and mugs, flavored like root beer, orange, and cherry cola, coated with popping sugar. The line partnered with 7 UP in 1992 for new flavors. Fruity versions disappeared by 1995, soda flavors by 1998.
Discontinued: Late 1950s
Honey Spice Cake Mix appeared between 1947 and 1953, before Betty Crocker had its red spoon logo. The company used it as the base for their "Mystery Fruitcake" recipe, where bakers added their own fruits and nuts. The flavor matched traditional Jewish honey cake served at Rosh Hashanah.
Discontinued: 1962
Betty Crocker introduced Chocolate Malt Cake Mix in 1956 to capture postwar soda fountain culture. The mix contained real malted milk powder for that toasted malt flavor from malted milkshakes. A chocolate malt frosting mix was sold with it. TV and print ads ran until 1962, when General Mills quietly dropped the product.
Discontinued: Early 1970s
Betty Crocker partnered with Sunkist in 1969 to revive the 1940s orange cake. Unlike vanilla cake with orange frosting, this mix baked orange color and flavor throughout. The partnership brought citrus to home baking but lasted only a few years.
Discontinued: 2016
Shark Bites Fruit Snacks arrived in 1988 under the Fruit Corners brand before moving to Betty Crocker. The shark-shaped gummies included special opaque white pieces for Great White sharks. Those white pieces had a chalky texture and distinct flavor that became legendary. In 2016, General Mills removed artificial colors and flavors from all products. Shark Bites got completely reformulated. The white sharks vanished, flavors changed, and the texture went from opaque to translucent. The snack still exists, but fans say it's unrecognizable. The reformulation killed the original 1988 product.
Discontinued: 2012
Snackin' Cake Mix launched in 1972 and simplified cake baking dramatically. Bakers mixed, baked, and served in one pan using only water—no eggs, no oil, and no frills. Prep time was two minutes. Betty Crocker marketed it as "so rich and moist, you don't need frosting." That message backfired. Without fresh eggs, people felt the cake wasn't really homemade. Betty Crocker also made more money selling frosting separately.
Discontinued: 1981
General Mills introduced Light Style Cake Mix in 1979 during the fitness boom. It had thirty percent fewer calories than regular cake. Research showed that half of Americans were cutting sugar and desserts. But they kept buying regular cake anyway. What people said they wanted and what they actually bought were different things. Let's just say Light Style was a disaster and was pulled after two years.
Discontinued: 1992
Betty Crocker released MicroRave Cake Mixes in 1988 to ride the microwave wave. Each box had a mix, a microwavable pan, and a squeeze-tube frosting for four-minute cakes. The cakes came out rubbery and tough. A Betty Crocker spokesperson admitted consumers "didn't like the baked quality even though it was convenient." Microwaves in the 1980s couldn't match ovens.
Discontinued: Approximately 2021-2022
Cherry Chip Cake Mix disappeared from stores around 2021 or 2022. General Mills never announced it. Retailers deleted it from their websites and inventory. Betty Crocker's website still has a Cherry Chip page, but no way to buy it.
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