Is Seven Up (Candy Bar) Discontinued? What Happened?

1930–1979 Food/CPG • United States

Fate: Pearson’s discontinued the Seven Up bar in 1979. The two reasons cited were high manufacturing costs and a trademark dispute with the company behind 7UP soda. It was never brought back.

Seven Up was a candy bar with a format different from most chocolate bars of its era. It was divided into seven small sections, each one holding a different filling under a milk-chocolate shell. Eating a single bar meant tasting seven different flavors.

The bar launched in the 1930s, originally made by Trudeau Candy Company, a St. Paul, Minnesota confectionery. The early Trudeau fillings included caramel, vanilla cream, maple walnut, Brazil nut caramel, apple butter jelly, chocolate pudding, and coconut cream. In 1951, Pearson’s Candy Company acquired Trudeau and took over the Seven Up bar along with the rest of the lineup.

Under Pearson’s, the fillings evolved. The lineup that most people who remember the bar associate with it included coconut, butterscotch caramel, buttercream, fudge, Brazil nut, cherry cream, and orange jelly. Other fillings that rotated through over the years included nougat, mint, and maple.

The bar sold for several more decades under Pearson’s, but by the late 1970s two problems had built up. One was the cost of making a bar with seven separate filled chambers, which was more expensive to produce than a simpler candy. The other was a trademark conflict with the company behind 7UP soda, which had been using that name since the 1920s and had legal standing on it.

By the late 1970s, the company had changed ownership multiple times. Coupled with shifting costs, changing tastes, and a crowded confectionery aisle, the Seven Up bar was discontinued. Pearson’s ended production in 1979, and the bar never returned to national shelves. Today, it lives on in candy-history blogs, wrapper archives, and collector forums as one of the most missed novelty bars of the mid-20th century.

Timeline

  1. 1930s

    • Trudeau Candy Company in St. Paul, Minnesota introduces the Seven Up bar, a milk-chocolate bar divided into seven sections each with a different filling.
  2. 1951

    • Pearson’s Candy Company acquires Trudeau Candy. The Seven Up bar becomes part of the Pearson’s lineup. The fillings evolve over time.
  3. 1970s

    • Company ownership changes hands, and economic circumstances push the Seven Up bar out of favor.
  4. 1979

    • Pearson’s discontinues the Seven Up bar, citing high manufacturing costs and a trademark conflict with the 7UP soda brand. It is never relaunched.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Seven Up candy bar?

The Seven Up bar was a chocolate bar divided into seven small sections. Each section had a different filling under a milk‑chocolate shell.

Who made the Seven Up bar?

It was first made in the 1930s by the Trudeau Candy Company in St. Paul, Minnesota. Pearson's Candy Company bought Trudeau in 1951 and continued making the bar.

What were the original fillings?

Early fillings included caramel, vanilla cream, maple walnut, Brazil nut caramel, apple butter jelly, chocolate pudding, and coconut cream.

Wait, no soda?

Nope. But there was a conflict with the popular lemon‑lime drink regarding the shared name.

What fillings do most people remember?

Under Pearson's, the lineup most people recall included coconut, butterscotch caramel, buttercream, fudge, Brazil nut, cherry cream, and orange jelly. Other flavors rotated in over the years.

Why was the bar unique?

Most candy bars had one or two fillings. Seven Up offered seven different flavors in one bar, which made it feel like a sampler.

Why was the Seven Up bar discontinued?

Two main reasons: it was expensive to make a bar with seven separate filled chambers, and there was a trademark conflict with the 7UP soda brand, which had legal rights to the name.

When did production end?

Pearson's discontinued the Seven Up bar in 1979.

Has the Seven Up bar ever come back?

No. It has never been relaunched.

Why do people still talk about it?

It was unusual, memorable, and fun to eat. People who grew up with it often list it as one of the candy bars they wish would return.

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