Whatever Happened To Dunkaroos?

Discontinued foods have become something of a myth in the foodie world. Many of us have felt the loss of favorite childhood snacks and comfort foods, which are now sadly forever gone with time. From discontinued Costco favorites to nostalgic foods like canned soups and our favorite cereals, foods unfortunately come and go.

The popular 1990's snack Dunkaroos unfortunately suffered this fate. Around 2012, the product was suddenly discontinued with little fanfare or announcement. There's a lot of speculation surrounding its disappearance to this day, but the decision appears to have been fairly straightforward. In 2020, Brad Hiranaga, General Mills's chief brand officer for North America, told The New York Times that at the time of Dunkaroos' discontinuation, the company was trying to shift its focus as a company to snacks that promote better nutrition and health. This resulted in bringing products like Nature Valley to the forefront and putting sugary snacks like Dunkaroos in the background, ultimately resulting in axing it from the company's snack portfolio. But that's not where the Dunkaroos story ends — unlike many discontinued snack favorites, this story does have a happy ending.

In 2020, it was announced that Dunkaroos would be making a triumphant return to stores, both online and in person. Initially, the product returned to stores in only one flavor: vanilla cookies and vanilla frosting with rainbow sprinkles. This was the most requested flavor from fans of the snack, who were ecstatic to see the product finally return to shelves.

The story doesn't end there though. A year later, Dunkaroos brought back its chocolate cookies and vanilla frosting variant. General Mills even expanded the product with several collaborations, including Dunkaroos Go-Gurt with Yoplait, and even launched its own Dunkaroos cookie mixes and frosting cans under the Betty Crocker brand.

Today, the product is back in full swing. Those with a sweet tooth or a nostalgia for 1990's snacks can find Dunkaroos at stores like Walmart. For those who don't want to venture to the store for their snack fix, fret not —they're now also available online at sites like Amazon.