10 Foods Discontinued In 2024

Discontinued food products are an unfortunate fact of life. Most of us have been there at some point — we discover a snack or meal we truly love only to have it prematurely bumped from shelves. Sometimes, snack food products are discontinued for good reasons, such as a flaw in the recipe or a brush with FDA food safety regulations. Sometimes restaurants and food companies just want to switch things up and revamp a menu, leading to a few unavoidable losses to free up shelf space or keep manufacturing costs low.

With so many amazing restaurants and snack products entering the space constantly, food companies need to do everything possible to make their products fresh and enticing to customers. Novelty is a big factor, and 2024 saw a few notable casualties in this highly competitive food environment. From snacks taken off shelves for surprising or unexpected reasons to full menu overhauls, 2024 served up plenty of change. These 10 foods discontinued in 2024 will not be making a comeback any time soon.

Trader Joe's is known for having a loyal customer base that loves its unique seasonal items and its ever-rotating product list. While frequent changes mean there are some discontinued Trader Joe's products we're probably never getting back, sometimes an unexpected curveball takes an item off the shelves long before its time. If you're a fan of Trader Joe's Patio potato chips, you might want to prepare yourself for some bad news.

In March 2024, a devasting fire completely destroyed the Covered Bridge potato chips factory in New Brunswick, Canada, where Patio potato chips are made. Given the extensive damage to the plant, Trader Joe's was not been able to return the snacks to shelves by the summer and it's still up in the air whether these delicious, multi-flavored chips will ever make a return. While there is some hope that the factory will get back on its feet at some point, Patio potato chips were officially off the menu in 2024.

In February 2024, the popular fast food chain Panera Bread announced a massive menu overhaul that would add four new sandwiches, four new salads, and a bacon mac and cheese to its existing roster. The overhaul, which launched in April 2024, is the biggest menu switch-up since the franchise opened in 1987 and also includes tweaks to 12 continuing Panera Bread recipes.

Unfortunately, to make way for its new line of products, Panera Bread had to say goodbye to some menu staples. One item that took the hit was the Signature Take chicken sandwich, which contained a seared chicken breast, crispy salad, and garlic aioli, all served on a brioche roll. Other sandwiches that have disappeared from the menu include the Black Forest ham and Gouda melt, the roasted turkey and avocado BLT, and the toasted steak and white cheddar.

Panera Bread cited the reason behind the transformation was to build upon and enhance the franchise's classic dishes, streamlining the whole menu experience. Customers craving a Panera Bread chicken sandwich can try a chicken bacon Rancher from the new range.

In August 2023, Wendy's launched the Loaded Nacho Cheeseburger as one of its limited-time-only seasonal offers. This juicy beef feast cleverly combined two fast food classics — the meaty bite of a burger with cheesy nacho crunch all heaped into a fiery jalapeno bun. You could also swap the beef patty for breaded chicken, and the burgers — part of Wendy's Made to Crave line — were promoted alongside chunky queso fries. 

An instant hit with some customers, many Wendy's fans hoped that nacho burgers would stick around for a while. One Wendy's customer wrote on Reddit that it was "one of the best fast food burgers [they] had ever had," while another lamented that the burger was "absolutely delicious and [had] so much flavor." 

Wendy's is known for its frequent menu changes, but in March 2024, the burger chain pulled the Loaded Nacho Cheeseburger from restaurants. This isn't the only popular limited-time item to be axed by Wendy's in 2024. The franchise regularly updates its seasonal Frosty menu, replacing the Vanilla Frosty with an Orange Dreamsicle Frosty in March and removing it not long after. Fans of the classic Vanilla Frosty can expect it to pop up again on future seasonal menus, and starting in July 2024, customers could order a Vanilla Frosty Cream Cold Brew instead.

Festive season 2024 won't be the same for some Trader Joe's fans as the store has removed Minty Mallows from its product list. Minty Mallows were a Trader Joe's holiday favorite — packs of puffy marshmallow bites covered in rich dark chocolate and infused with a light peppermint flavor. They were perfect to enjoy alongside a creamy hot chocolate or as a post-Christmas dinner snack. The marshmallow treat's departure was announced in December 2023, confirming that they wouldn't return for the following Christmas season.

While it's not always clear why Trader Joe's discontinues some of its most popular products, the store has a strong focus on constantly exploring new food items and keeping things fresh, which could explain why things disappear from the shelves quite regularly. However, shoppers can still find regular marshmallows and S'mores marshmallow ice cream on the company's shelves.

In December 2023, bakery and coffee chain Dunkin Donuts announced that it would no longer serve coconut milk as one of its dairy-free alternatives. This means the Coconut Refreshers line, a selection of fruity iced tea drinks made with coconut milk, was officially discontinued in 2024. Dunkin Donuts introduced coconut milk and products — like Refreshers and a Coconutmilk Iced Latte — in 2021 as a response to the growing demand for dairy-free options. However, removing coconut milk from stores suggests that this vegan milk couldn't outcompete the likes of almond milk and oat milk, which Dunkin Donuts continues to sell.

Coconut milk prices rose sharply in 2023, possibly contributing to the brand's decision to remove the product from menus. Similar to the reason kudos snack bars were discontinued after low-calorie diet foods fell out of favor in the '00s, it's also possible that coconut milk's popularity was due to a general increase in dairy-free diets rather than a specific demand for coconut milk-based products.

The start of 2024 brought more bad news for Taco Bell fans. Like fellow franchises Panera Bread and Cracker Barrel — which discontinued some of its popular menu items in 2024 — Taco Bell's menu underwent some notable adjustments. These changes included dropping several well-known items to make way for a host of new products on it's Craving's Value Menu. Filled with rice, black beans, guacamole, three types of cheese, and low-fat sour cream, the Fiesta Veggie Burrito was a fan-favorite with vegetarian diners and a nice, light option for anyone who fancied a night off from meat.

Taco Bell stated that the switch-up aimed to include more substantial items on its budget menu. Diners can try the Cheesy Double Beef Burrito, the customizable Double Stacked Taco, and the Loaded Beef Nachos among the new meal options. Two chicken options, the Chicken Enchilada Burrito, and the 3-Cheese Chicken Flatbread, replace the Chipotle Ranch Grilled Chicken Burrito, which has also been axed.

Girl Scout Cookie season 2024 had one notable absence — the Girl Scout organization has discontinued its Raspberry Rally Cookie flavor to prioritize classic varieties instead. Raspberry Rally Girl Scout Cookies were announced in August 2022 and went on sale in January 2023. These chocolate-covered snacks had the same basic design as the iconic Girl Scout Thin Mints but with a bright pink color and a sweet raspberry flavor instead. The cookies were only available to buy online as part of the group's initiative to develop girls' entrepreneurial skills in e-commerce spaces.

Raspberry Rally cookies were an instant hit, selling out rapidly after release. Despite this outstanding success, the cookies were not renewed for 2024, and so far, there has been no word of a re-release. However, the Girl Scouts continue to produce a whole host of classic flavors, with popular items including a gluten-free chocolate chip caramel cookie and Do-si-do peanut butter sandwich cookies.

Costco is known for its incredible deals on wholesale brands and its short and sweet food court menu that's unbelievable value for money – how is it that Costco hotdogs are still only $1.50 with a 20-ounce drink? Still, loyal Costco fans faced disappointment in 2024 when the store replaced its famous food court churros with an oversized chocolate chip cookie. This is the second change to the dessert menu that Costco has made since 2021, when they replaced the regular $1 churro with a twisted churro. The twisted churro received a lukewarm reception on social media, however, with one Reddit user posting that the "far superior and much cheaper old churro [...] tasted awesome."

The new Costco cookie is a bit of a step up in price, costing $2.49. However, it's hard to argue with the value for money, as the cookies are a whopping 7-inch size and are served warm with a gooey, melt-in-the-middle chocolate texture. Heavier than the churro, it might feel more like a properly indulgent dessert than a quick, sweet treat.

Along with replacing some of its most iconic sandwiches as part of a 2024 menu overhaul, Panera Bread has also axed its Mediterranean Bowl and Baja Bowl to clear the way for four new salads. The classic Mediterranean Bowl was made with cilantro, lime, brown rice, Kalamata olives, hummus, feta, and mixed greens with a lemon tahini dressing. Meanwhile, the Baja Bowl contained brown rice and quinoa and was loaded with black beans, corn, and avocado. 

Before you get too alarmed, though, never fear. The new salad range is fairly similar to the original Bowl selection — if you love hearty grain-based salads, you'll probably find something on the menu that you can still enjoy. New Mediterranean Chicken with Greens and Grains is made with red rice and faro and contains hummus, feta, grilled chicken, and a Greek dressing. Other options in the new range include the Southwest Chicken Ranch Salad and the Ranch Cobb Salad, which is a tasty mix of crisp greens, tomatoes and red onions, feta cheese, smoky bacon bites, and hard-boiled eggs all smothered in ranch. 

Carl's Jr. was an early adopter of plant-based meat alternatives. In 2019, the burger chain struck up a partnership with Beyond Meat — a company that manufactures hyper-realistic plant-based meats made from pea and rice proteins — and included the Beyond Famous Star Burger on its restaurant menu. Customers could also swap out meat for a Beyond substitute on Carl's Jr. sandwiches.

In April 2024, however, Carl's Jr. scaled back its Beyond line, retiring the Beyond Famous Star Burger and announcing that Beyond products would no longer be available at most locations. Spokespeople for the franchise stated that the change was in line with customer preferences and purchasing habits, suggesting that the Beyond burgers weren't big sellers. This decision by the chain also reflects a larger downturn in plant-based meat sales, which fell nationwide between 2022 and 2023. While the change is a blow to vegan and vegetarian fans of the brand, meat eaters can still enjoy the classic Famous Star Burger and the Big Angus Famous Star at Carl's Jr.