posted October 24, 2006 03:49 PM               

quote:

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Retrofuture Products LLC has re-launched Space Food Sticks™, the classic astro-snack first developed for early space missions. Retrofuture President Eric Lefcowitz says, "We're confident fans of the original will love the taste and we're happy a whole new generation of Sticks fans will get an opportunity to find out about this unique treat."

The inimitable chewy snack - available in chocolate and peanut butter - was originally developed in the late 1960s for NASA. Back then nobody knew what an energy bar was so Pillsbury came up with the whimsical name Space Food Sticks and a legend was born. A fixture in lunch boxes during the peak years of the space race, Space Food Sticks were considered manna of the Gods - in this case, the Gods were named Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin - and junior astronauts everywhere took them to their hearts.

"We seemed to have tapped into a happy generational memory," Lefcowitz says of the website he founded in 2001. "People have fond memories of their favorite foods from when they were young and Space Food Sticks really defines a place and time in their lives."

During the development process, Lefcowitz received thousands of emails from fans of the original products encouraging him to keep going. He feels without that support the Sticks would have been lost in space forever. "The re-launching of Space Food Sticks(TM) is truly an Internet phenomenon," he says, citing Google stats from his website http://Retrofuture.com as a leading indicator that the interest was there.

Why are people so excited about a snack that hasn't been around for nearly three decades?

"Several reasons," answers Lefcowitz. "First of all, the taste and texture of Space Food Sticks is unique. There is nothing quite like it. Also, people are searching for something future-oriented, upbeat and optimistic, not only for themselves but for their kids."

Parents buying the new Sticks for their children will be pleased by the bite-sized "portion control" pieces containing only 21 calories. "Space Food Sticks were a cutting-edge product for their time," says Lefcowitz, "and we wanted to continue that tradition by offering a product that allows people to indulge without over-consuming."

Space Food Sticks not only taste great but offer the perfect between-meal snack with extra protein and a balanced formula of carbohydrates, proteins and fat.

Retrofuture Products is exploring several avenues to sell the products including museums, theme parks and nostalgia candy stores. Space is also on the agenda. In 1973, the Sticks secured a spot on the menu of Skylab 3. Could they do it again? Lefcowitz hopes so, pointing to increasingly active endeavors in the field of private space travel.

"Maybe they could be served as an onboard snack," he says. "That would be so cool."

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posted October 25, 2006 04:38 PM               

I thought the taste was yeechy... I have the ORIGINAL (albeit empty) box of the one and only box I ever talked my parents into buying me.

I liked the "space food in a tube" that was available about the same time, much better.

Gene

posted October 26, 2006 12:13 PM               

But hey, look what's back: http://www.fizzies.com/index.html

posted October 26, 2006 07:08 PM               

These are WAY KEWL!

How's THAT for keeping up?

We had a couple of small mom and pop stores near and on the way to Jr. High School... and stopping at the one one the way home for lunch and on the way back to school was a MUST for me... man, being a paperboy paid for alot of my thrills back then!

I would get a WHOLE packet of Fizzies... 25-cents! And then you break one up and put pieces of it in your mouth... I invented pop rocks candy, before "they" did!

This is probably why I got at least a FEW of my cavities!

Fizzies... where do I sign up for these?

Gene

posted October 26, 2006 09:53 PM               

Another commercial for Space Food Sticks is here, oddly enough not playing up the space angle at all (but probably trying to appeal to parents instead):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WSwEeRf1Tg