Biggest Food/Beverage Flops

1.

Heinz Green and Blue Ketchup-

By: VigilAntics     11 votes

Finally, in the 1970's, American Kitchen Foods, Inc. came to the rescue (or at least tried) with the release of "I Hate Peas!" Since kids love French fries so much, the company decided that disguising peas Not a chance. Children all over America saw through the ruse. in a fry-shaped form was a sure-fire way to trick tots into getting their vitamins.

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2.

Coca-Cola Co.'s (The New Coke)

By: VigilAntics     10 votes

Perhaps the biggest food flop of all time was Coca-Cola Co.'s (KO: Research, Estimates) decision in 1985 to replace its original secret carbonated formula with New Coke, made with a new formula. It flopped. Coke quickly admitted its mistake and launched Classic Coke, which was the old Coke.

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3.

Garlic Cake made by Gunderson & Rosario

By: VigilAntics     6 votes

While changing the flavor can be a faulty move, sometimes the problem is simply a packaging faux pas, like the Garlic Cake made by Gunderson & Rosario back in 1989.

The product was supposed to be served as an hors d'oeuvre with breads and meats, but somehow the company forgot to mention that on the label. So consumers were left wondering what garlic cake really was and what the consequences of eating it might be.

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4.

Pepsi A.M.

By: VigilAntics     8 votes

Creating a super-caffeinated soda worked well for the makers of Red Bull, but not for the folks at Pepsi. With 25 percent more caffeine than a cup of Joe, PepsiCo introduced the cola-flavored product in 1989, only to discover that most people just couldn't bring themselves to drink soda with their cornflakes. For those who wanted a Pepsi in the morning, regular Pepsi did just fine, thankyouverymuch.
Pepsi A.M., like the coffee-flavored Pepsi Kona before it, was scrapped after just a few months.

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5.

Heublein's Wine & Dine

By: VigilAntics     5 votes

In the mid-1970's, Heublein introduced Wine & Dine, an upscale, easy-to-make dinner that included a small bottle of vino. How refined. How decadent. How confusing.
Consumers knew Heublein for their liquor and wines, so how were they supposed to know the wine included in Wine & Dine was an ingredient for the pasta sauce?
Hasty consumers who didn't read the directions closely ended up pouring the contents of the bottle into a nice glass and getting a less-than-pleasant mouthful of salted wine.

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6.

Heinz Funky Fries

By: VigilAntics     10 votes

Heinz's Funky Fries, the chocolate, cinnamon, sour cream and blue-colored frozen fries, turned into a product blooper for the company.

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7.

Coffee-flavored JELL-O®

By: VigilAntics     9 votes

Its release was ostensibly based on the logic that, since lots of people like to drink coffee with dessert, they'd be game for combining the two after-dinner treats.
Not the case. The company soon realized if anyone wants dessert coffee, they're going to have a cup of it. In fact, if anyone wants coffee at all, they're going to have a cup of it. Not surprisingly, this realization came about the time they yanked the product off the shelves

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8.

Wheaties Dunk-A-Balls Cereal

By: VigilAntics     7 votes

General Mills introduced this product back in 1994 under the Wheaties name. The basketball shaped, sweetened corn and wheat puffs cereal that kids can play with before eating was advertised as "available for a limited time only." However, moms have never wanted to encourage kids to play with their food and the offering wasn't the slam dunk that General Mills had hoped for.

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9.

Reddi-Bacon

By: VigilAntics     8 votes

The solution: foil-wrapped Reddi-Bacon you could pop into your toaster for piping-hot pork in minutes. It seemed perfect for the busy 1970's household, and what's more, the stuff actually tasted pretty good. Too bad the absorbent pad intended to soak up the dripping grease tended to leak, creating not only a fire hazard, but also a messy (if not totally ruined) toaster

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10.

Gerber's Singles (Gerber entrees for adults)

By: VigilAntics     9 votes

Gerber's Singles, a variety of fruits, vegetable and other entrees for adult consumers launched in 1974 by the maker of baby food. Consumers had a tough time relating to adult food products sold in baby food jars.

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11.

Crystal Pepsi

By: VigilAntics     9 votes

Crystal Pepsi was marketed as a caffeine-free "clear alternative" to normal colas, equating clearness with purity and health. Its marketing tagline was "You've never seen a taste like this". However, the taste was not significantly different from other colas; unlike other colorless soft drinks, which usually have a lemon-lime flavor, Crystal Pepsi tasted much like original Pepsi.

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12.

Uncle Ben's Calcium Plus Rice

By: VigilAntics     7 votes

"Calcium-fortified food products were not as big back then as they are today," Raymond said. "The rice did not resonate with the average consumer because buyers of Uncle Ben's rice are not daily consumers of the product and therefore will not likely depend on it for their nutrition needs.

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