Fruit Gushers
Fruit snack with liquid filling
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fruit Gushers (also simply Gushers) are a Betty Crocker-branded fruit snack introduced in 1991. They are described as soft and chewy with a fruity-juice center.
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Fruit Gushers (2017) | |
| Alternative names | Gushers |
|---|---|
| Type | Fruit snack |
| Created by | Karl Ulrich and Betty Crocker |
| Invented | 1991 |
| 90 kcal (380 kJ)[1] | |
History
Fruit Gushers (sometimes simply "Gushers") were introduced in 1991[1] as a Betty Crocker fruit snack.[2] Each box of Fruit Gushers was list priced at US$2.19 (equivalent to $5.18 in 2025) and contained six pouches of Gushers, each of which had nine individual pieces for 90 calories (380 kJ) per pouch.[1]
Composition
Strawberry-flavored Fruit Gushers are composed of sugar, dried corn syrup, corn syrup, modified corn starch, fructose, pear concentrate, and grape juice concentrate.[3][4] Targeted at children, they were acorn-shaped with a soft "licorice-like" exterior and a liquid inside, including "strawberries and pear puree concentrate", and came in two flavors: "Strawberry Splash" and "Gushin' Grape".[1]
In 2003, one serving of any Fruit Gushers variety was one 0.9-ounce (26 g) package with 90 calories, zero protein, one gram (0.035 oz) of fat, and 20 grams (0.71 oz) of carbohydrates.[5] In 2018, 90 calories worth of Strawberry Fruit Gushers weighed 28 grams (0.99 oz) and contained nine grams (0.32 oz) of sugar, one gram of fat, and cost $0.46 (equivalent to $0.59 in 2025).[3] Prior to 2025, the serving size was reduced to 0.8 ounces (23 g), 80 calories, and contained ten grams (0.35 oz) of sugar.[4]
Varieties
Betty Crocker released a new variety of Fruit Gushers in early 2020: "Galactic Fruit Gushers". These featured the flavors "Asteroid Apple", "Berry Star Cluster", and a mystery flavor labeled "Unidentified Flavored Object"; the latter was part of a contest where consumers could guess at the unknown flavor and win prizes "like sweatshirts, hats, blankets, PopSockets, and more". Galactic Fruit Gushers were sold through Walmart.com for $5.88 (equivalent to $7.32 in 2025).[6]
In June 2024, the brand announced that its most-popular flavor, watermelon (previously available from 1997–2013), was returning to store shelves to meet consumer demands; combined with sour-apple flavored Gushers, boxes of six sachets were to be sold for $6.49 (equivalent to $6.66 in 2025), while boxes of ten sachets would sell for $10.29 (equivalent to $10.56 in 2025).[7]
Reception
A 1991 Sun-Sentinel review said that the insides oozed rather than gushed, and found the confectionery surprisingly pleasant.[1] In 2013, Complex magazine ranked Fruit Gushers the second-best fruit snack of all time, coming in behind another Betty Crocker product, Shark Bites.[2]
In September 2023, police in St. Marys, Kansas reported misinformation of seizing fruit snacks and gummies, laced with tetrahydrocannabinol, being packaged as real commercial brands thereof—including Fruit Gushers.[8]
See also
- Fruit by the Foot – Fruit-based snack made by General Mills
- Fruit Roll-Ups – American fruit snacks that originated in the 1980s