A History of Fruit Roll-Ups

Fruit Roll-Ups were first introduced to test markets in 1982. Since then, they've taken the snack food market by storm. But where does the concept of fruit rolls come from? And how has marketing around Fruit Roll-Ups changed over time? Join me as I take a look back at the history of Fruit Roll-Ups and the rise of Fruit Snacks.
Sources:
“Fruit Leather,” The Daily Mail, Nov 9, 1891
“Apricot Fruit Delight,” Independent, Apr 16, 1970
“Astronauts Pack Lunar Fruit Bars,” Nancy Taylor, The Miami Herald, Jul 21, 1971
“Spacemen to Eat as Never Before,” The News, Jul 26, 1971
“Panel Gives Sweet Touch Test to Children’s Food and Drink,” Harold V. Schumacher, The Atlanta Constitution, Aug 11, 1983
“Fruit Snacks’ Health Value Fuels Dispute,” Mary Dolan, Pensacola News Journal, May 3, 1991
“Unwrapping Fruit Snacks,” Susan Edelman, The Record, Jun 23, 1994
“Cute? Sure, but Do Fruit Snacks Taste Good?” Molly Lopez, The Charlotte Observer, Apr 22, 1998
General Mills Annual Reports, 1982-1999
“‘Fruit’ Roll-Ups Case Allowed to Proceed,” Jonathan Stempel, Reuters, May 12, 2012
“General Mills Settles Claim Over Fruit Roll-Ups Label,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, Apr 16, 2013
“A Natural Move for Fruit Flavored Snacks,” Kevin Hunt, General Mills Press Release, Aug 12, 2015
“General Mills to Reformulate Fruit Snacks,” Monica Watrous, Food Business News, Aug 25, 2015
“‘Moon of the Faith:’ A History of the Apricot and Its Many Pleasures,” Joel Denker, The Salt, NPR, Jun 14, 2016
“The Surprising, Secret Origins of Fruit Roll-Ups,” Gabriella Gershenson, Thrillist, October 16, 2017
“Fruit Roll Maker Goes All Natural,” Allison Fox, Newsday, Jul 25, 2018
“The Strawberry Pop-Tart Case is Just One of More than 400 Lawsuit He Has Filed,” Becky Sullivan, NPR, Oct 30, 2021
“Our Story,” Joray, 2022

[@calebdanielherman4913]

I ate half a box of fruit roll ups while watching this video.

[@craigusselman546]

Eating the product adds a dimension to these videos, Its good.

[@Drew6534]

same lol

[@user-ki1lc6xb9f]

Relatable

[@aidanmcatamney6710]

Only reason why I’m here

[@68thtripp]

Meee tooo

[@brittneynicolemcloud]

Watching because I'm eating one right now 😆

[@lorenzoarviso9535]

Same 😂😂😂😂

[@LeilaJamison]

Same

[@joannakrawiecki3056]

🙋‍♀️

[@fuzzyizmit]

I remember the grape Fruit Roll Ups, as they were my favorite flavor. I was really young (like ~3) and I still miss them.

[@Irish_Georgia_Girl]

You & me both! Grape is my favorite flavor of just about anything! And watermelon!

[@PurplePinkRed]

What an awesome video! I'm Australian, so it was cool to hear the American history behind it 😊

[@thevintagecompany]

Thank you! 😊

[@jfeast5469]

When I was in middle school it seemed like you absolutely couldn't be cool unless you had some of these in your lunch bag.

[@Irish_Georgia_Girl]

Did you all have them in Australia?

[@stilltlrforlife]

I dont care how much real fruit are in them...the are delicious and I live them still, and I sometimes gorge myself on them..lol..no joke

[@andrewburnett8743]

This video did not disappoint!

[@blueblousedesigns]

I like the Tropical Tye Dye Fruit Roll ups

[@fatenafandi4952]

what a great informative video. love the way you presenting this. please continue making these kind of videos in the future

[@thevintagecompany]

Thank you so much, Faten! 😊

[@killaclownz911]

Keep making videos, don't stop :) very informative , thank you!

[@Spind0k]

omg u deserve way more views and subs !!!!!

[@amymartinez9083]

Thanks im actually using this video for a snack analysis project! This really helps!

[@Irish_Georgia_Girl]

Great video! And your voice is soothing.

[@zyxw2000]

When I was growing up, fruit leather was pure fruit, rolled thin. I have no idea where to find them now. The current product is mostly sugar.

[@ghostface5559]

5:30
An obscure and odd fact of the united states is the ingredient list operates under quantity present descending, so it has more rasberries in it than anything else but in total net volume probably not a lot.

[@khoowhy]

this channel is amazing

[@fruitrollsupfruitleather1563]

Interesting presentation❤️🙏🇳🇵

[@thevintagecompany]

Thank you! 😊

[@scifydi6446]

Does anyone remember the gummy root beer barrels and they would taste like different sodas?

[@OGK4]

I’m high eating fruit by the foot watching this 😂

[@kimmykimko]

Strawberry fruit roll-ups were great, but then they came out with the tye-dye ones (with tatoos) that tasted amazing too.

[@stezton]

I loved the Fruit Swirl Bars. I'd separate the cream part and eat it first. 😊

[@komocode]

remember string things? I REMEMBER

[@Irish_Georgia_Girl]

Those are something I don't remember!

[@christensummers9641]

Did anyone actually think fruit roll ups were anything but a sugary snack? lol I mean, doesn’t stop them from being delicious, but they in no way even resemble anything healthy or natural lol.

[@DGoat88]

There no longer real fruit in fruit roll ups all sugar and corn syrup.

[@christensummers9641]

Delicious sugar and corn syrup though. Most super processed American foods are gross, but fruit roll ups have always been delicious lol

[@Irish_Georgia_Girl]

I don't understand why they got rid of the flavors like apricot, apple cinnamon, & grape!!! And have dumb ones like Tye-Dye! And then they shrank them down to tiny size. 😢