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Mars, Inc
Note: Some exact dates remain unclear as companies rarely announce official discontinuation dates, and some varieties had multiple releases or regional availability.
Discontinued: 1992
Before rainbows, Skittles launched a long-lost sour version.
This green-packaged variety arrived in 1989 with attitude. Puckering mouths years before “extreme” candy became trendy. It was way ahead of its time during a period when Skittles was still finding its identity.
This sour candy was discontinued just two years before “Taste the Rainbow” launched.
Discontinued: Before 2006
One day, someone in a boardroom convinced a candy executive that fruit-flavored candy should freshen breath.
The audacity is almost admirable. Pop-top containers made them feel legit, but the concept was confusing. Taking a rainbow fruit brand and asking it to compete with Altoids?
Bold experiment. Predictable failure.
Discontinued: 2010
“Inflate the Rainbow.” Rarely has a slogan so perfectly captured both ambition and inevitable doom.
The flip-top containers looked chic. The flavor worked. Reviews praised its lasting taste and perfect bubble-blowing capability.
But here’s the thing, people already had their gum preferences locked in. Even great execution couldn’t overcome market reality. The commercial, featuring a kid being carried away by his bubble, was memorable but didn’t convert into sales.
Discontinued: Unknown
Lightning rarely strikes twice, but Skittles tried anyway.
Round two of the mint experiment featured sleek green foil packaging and color-coded candies: white, green, aqua, turquoise, and light green. Someone understood that visual consistency matters when you’re asking people to accept Skittles as legitimate breath fresheners.
The fact that we don’t know when it disappeared says everything about this terrible product.
Discontinued: 2010
By 2006, Skittles diagnosed a problem with their gum. It wasn’t extreme enough.
So they redesigned it with black packaging and “hard-hitting flavor for candy lovers looking for oomph.” Peak 2000s energy. This was a time when adding “X-treme” to anything meant serious business.
Both gum varieties were discontinued simultaneously in 2010. Proving the entire concept was bogus.
Discontinued: Shortly after 2010
Kids loved the fizzle in their mouths they got from Pop Rocks. Naturally, Skittles wanted in.
Dark blue packaging promised sizzling sensory experiences. The candy did fizz as advertised, but came with trade-offs. Consumers reported it had a medicinal aftertaste and unexpected saltiness.
Let’s just say these Skittles fizzled away fast.
Discontinued: Unknown
In 2011, someone took “mix things up” way too literally.
Individual candies featuring multiple blended flavors? The concept was ambitious. The marketing was surreal. Who could forget that fever-dream commercial with a lime costume chasing a strawberry?
The consumer verdict? They didn’t want their rainbow blended, thank you very much.
Discontinued: 2014
Imagine candy where nothing is as it seems. Blue that tastes like strawberry, pink that tastes like apple.
Originally “Skittles Confused” in the UK (more honest branding), Riddles turned eating into a guessing game. The problem? Most people didn’t want their candy consumption to require mental engagement.
Discontinued: 2013 (Returned: 2021)
The greatest Skittles controversy of the 2010s.
When lime got replaced by green apple in 2013, fans were enraged. They threw a fit typically reserved for toddlers. Lime was a founding flavor, present since 1979.
The release of “Long Lost Lime” in 2017-2018 only intensified the longing. When permanent return was announced in 2021, the collective relief was audible.
It was a rare instance where consumer advocacy worked.
Discontinued: 2015 (Revived: 2019)
“The other side of the rainbow.” This was Skittles for grown-ups.
Forbidden Fruit, Blood Orange, Dark Berry, Midnight Lime. Unique flavors in premium-looking packaging that felt more like artisan chocolate than mainstream candy.
When it was discontinued in 2015, it came back again in 2019.
Discontinued: 2017
Finally, a Skittles variety that delivered what its name promised.
Dark green packaging to make you think about orchards. Every flavor made you think about orchards: Red Apple, Peach, Cherry, Orange, Lime. Someone did their agricultural homework.
Despite logical theming and lime inclusion (appreciated by displaced fans), Red Apple was too tart for traditional Skittles lovers.
Discontinued: Unknown (before 2023)
Perhaps the most universally despised Skittles variety ever created.
Social media reviews used words like “repulsive,” “garbage,” and “gross.” The concept promised sweet-spicy flavors but delivered medicinal, cough-drop flavors that satisfied no one.
The quiet disappearance felt inevitable. It was as if Skittles hoped everyone would just forget Sweet Heat existed.
Discontinued: Unknown
Legendary precisely because of its rarity.
Caramel Ripple, Orange Vanilla Swirl, Strawberry, Vanilla, Chocolate. These were limited edition flavors that delivered authentic ice cream experiences in candy form.
But they were gone faster than they came.
Discontinued: Unknown
County fair culture in candy form.
Bubble Gum, Cotton Candy, Green Slushie, Candy Apple, Red Licorice—flavors that read like a midway menu. Skittles Carnival featured bright yellow packaging with ferris wheels that promised childhood memories.
Too bad these only exist in our memories currently.
Discontinued: Approximately 2023
Pandemic comfort eating met trendy textural innovation.
Original Skittles dipped in yogurt-like coating looked Instagram-ready and promised the candy experience of a lifetime. The concept memed beautifully.
Reality hit hard. People thought Skittles dips tasted more like chocolate than yogurt, solving problems that didn’t exist. Three years of modest performance proved it wasn’t ready to go on long term.
Discontinued: Unknown
Skittles’ most ambitious departure from fruit identity.
This mix promised chocolate treats in a familiar Skittles format. Delivered “dulled-down, chewier versions” that satisfied neither chocolate nor Skittles cravings.
The quiet discontinuation was a foregone conclusion.
Discontinued: Limited time only (2019)
Pure nostalgia marketing for Dollar General exclusive.
Fla-Vor-Ice and Otter Pops translated into shelf-stable candy: Strawberry, Orange, Grape, Lemon, Raspberry. Childhood summer memories without refrigeration required.
Limited availability created artificial scarcity that enhanced interest. Its planned obsolescence made it feel like a successful marketing event rather than a product failure.
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