Whatever Happened To Nestle BonBons?

The original ice cream BonBons were created by Carnation Co., which made the sweet treats popular with innuendo-filled commercials showing off the chocolate-covered shells (not to be confused with the similarly beloved chocolate bonbon). Nestle purchased Carnation Co. in 1985 with a $3 billion deal, meaning production of BonBons fell to Nestle — and it didn't disappoint. With a slight rebrand (from "Bon Bons" to "Nestle BonBons"), Nestle began running its own commercials, including a catchy jingle that teased, "the thing about a BonBon, it's almost always gone-gone." Besides the flavor, these wacky commercials are perhaps what former fans remember the most.

While you won't find Nestle's BonBons on supermarket shelves anymore, Nestle's newer model (Dibs) are available all over, even at movie theaters. There are also plenty of dupes manufactured by well-known brands, such as Trader Joe's' ice cream Bon Bons or Aldi's chocolate-covered gelato bites. As one fan on Facebook put it, "I wish that Nestle would bring these back, but until then, I will just have to stick with the Dibs."

Even if you don't know it off the top of your head, you probably encounter a Nestle product in one shape or another every single day of your life. The company is responsible for a multitude of popular products other than chocolates and candies, although let's face it — how could you pass up on a KitKat if you were offered one? That bottle of San Pellegrino you packed for lunch? A Nestle product. The cup of coffee you make on the Nespresso Essenza Mini (aka the quietest Nespresso machine)? You guessed it, Nestle-owned.

In the company's massive repertoire, there are plenty of products that didn't stand the test of time, no matter how beloved, such as Nestle's BonBons. These were hugely popular throughout the 1980s and '90s but were ultimately discontinued in the early 2000s and replaced with Nestle's Dibs, though we think it's about time the nostalgic frozen food deserves a comeback. Although similar in shape and concept (vanilla ice cream covered in chocolate), former fans on Reddit argue that Dibs "are not the same" as BonBons. These ice cream nuggets came in tubs of 20 but were often sold in smaller five-packs at movie theaters.