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