Company: Mars
Year: 1989/90
I have to admit, I completely forgot about PB Max. Maybe because it wasn't around for very long. But once the words "PB Max" were uploaded to my brain again it all came back. The delicious taste of creamy peanut butter and oats on a square whole grain cookie, then the whole thing dipped in chocolate.....the annoying commercials reminding me that PB didn't stand for "Piggy Banks, or "Polka Band", or "Pink Baboon", or even "Portly Ballerina". It all came back. Oh how I miss you, Max. Is it ok if I call you Max? No? My apologies.
So why did the PB Max Go away? Rumor has it (According to former Mars executive Alfred Poe), that PB Max was discontinued due to the Mars family's distaste for peanut butter, even though in it's short run the candy bar racked up $50 million in sales.
Now there is one serious dislike for peanut butter. Maybe Peanut allergies ran in the family and they were just watching out for their own.
Or maybe they just wanted me to be standing in the candy aisle one day in the mid 90's, utterly confused, looking like a fool, trying to figure out what the hell happened to my beloved PM Max.
Or maybe it was neither of those things.
Yeah, probably not.
I too seriously LOVED PB Max!! How I miss that candy bar. I can't believe another candy bar company hasn't stolen this recipe and ran with it. Hell, maybe I'll start selling it. $50 Million in sales? I'm down with that!
ReplyDeleteThis is my favorite candy bar of all time!! They need to bring it back!. Too many companies look at bottom line and what is making money. P.B. max is a fan favorite plus they. Ever have it enough time to evolve. Bring it back!!!
DeleteIt's true. The Mars boys were raised in England where peanut butter is despised and it rubbed off them. That English upbringing is conversely the reason why the Mars company has for years tried to shove hazelnut concoctions on the public even though Americans generally hate hazelnut.
ReplyDeleteBest candy bar EVER! This stuff was so rich and decadent...just like Reese's but even more substantial. Even had a cat named "PB Max" after the delish candy bahh.
ReplyDeleteI think its demise had to do with the fact that it initially was promoted with two bars per package and then later reduced down to one bar per package for pretty much the same price as you were paying for the two bar package. Fifth avenue did the same thing but somehow managed to last, though now not nearly as popular. When people get used to paying a certain price for something, even though it is a promotional item, and then are asked to pay the same price for half as much, they begin to look for other products.
ReplyDeleteHave to say I compleatly forgot about PB Max until watching Disney Channel cartoon PJ Masks. It jogged my memory to Google it, and found this cool website.
ReplyDeleteThese were awesome. Who doesn't like peanut butter?
ReplyDelete******ATTENTION******* FELLOW PB MAX FANS: The good people at Iconic Candy: https://www.facebook.com/IconicCandy are going to RETURN the PB Max Bar exactly as it was but they need your help. Here are some of their questions: 1. Describe the whole grain cookie as best you are able, How thick was the cookie? 2. What was on top of the peanut butter before the chocolate, was it pieces of the cookie, oats from the cookie or peanuts? 3. Dimensions of the bar, was it actually square. 4. Does anyone have an original wrapper (we can measure the inside). 5. Any descriptive information, requests or advice would be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteOk I'll give it a shot. It was sort of Twix-esque cookie, about as thick as the Twix was/is. I can't quite remember what was on top of the peanut butter, possibly oats from the cookie. It definitely wasn't peanuts. All I remember was the peanut butter was real and rich, not like the sugared out Reese's (which I also like), that was the kicker was that it was real (creamy) peanut butter. It was square, but that's not totally important to why it was so good. Someone here on the webs has found an actual wrapper:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.collectingcandy.com/wordpress/?p=3635
The comments say there was no cookie just cookie pieces. Can someone confirm if there was actually a cookie base or whole grain cookie pieces throughout?
ReplyDeleteYes there was a cookie bottom it was square and indented that held the peanut butterkinda made me think of a short bread cookie
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ReplyDeleteI owe my lifelong sobriety to PBMax. When I was a young sailor on a weekend pass, a friend and I purchased two round-trip train tickets into Chicago for the Blues Festival. We had just enough money for the tickets and a couple bottles of Yukon Jack. Over that weekend, we enjoyed live music from blues greats, drank like a couple of idiots, and since we were broke, would have gone hungry. Except for the nice young ladies handing out free samples of something I had never heard of, PBMax candy bars. We lived on those and booze for two days.
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, I have stayed away from booze and PBMax ever since.
Looks pretty cool - but what did the PB stand for again? Purple Bananas?
ReplyDeleteI loved PB Max. It had a cookie base that was similar to a graham cracker, thick, creamy peanut butter, topped with cookie pieces, and then covered in chocolate.
ReplyDeletePB Max had a square shortbread-like oat cookie with indentations, a think layer of rich and REAL peanut butter, and then the oat cookie crumbles all covered in milk chocolate. I vividly recall how generous the amount of peanut butter was, and it was just like getting a spoonful of Jif. The realest peanut butter candy bar ever invented.
ReplyDeleteIT WAS LIKE A SHORTBREAD TYPE COOKIE, NOT TERRIBLY THICK, BUT WHAT MADE IT THE BEST WAS THE PEANUT BUTTER, IT WAS AS SWEET AS THE REESE'S WHICH I ACTUALLY PREFERRED, 20 YEARS LATER AND STILL DONT LIKE REESES MUCH. IVE BEGUN MAKING MY OWN PEANUT BUTTER BARS WHICH ALLOWS ME TO CONTROL THE AMOUNT OF SUGAR, BUT MAN, WHAT I WOULDNT GIVE FOR ANOTHER PB MAX....MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
ReplyDeleteThey need to bring back the old candy bars, pb max ,bar none,marathon,chocolite
DeletePlease imma need this to come back i was 9yrs old and i stilllll remember how much i loved them!!💝
ReplyDeletePlease imma need this to come back i was 9yrs old and i stilllll remember how much i loved them!!💝
ReplyDeleteNothing comes close
ReplyDeleteI ate them all the time. The single n the kingsize, i think -double. My go to as a child at the gas station. Dad thought it was a pb type snack so purchased approved over pb cups n others.
ReplyDeleteBest
ReplyDeleteCandy
Ever.
I've often wondered wth happened to this candy. Glad to finally have some closure *sniff*** Now I'm off to find a recipe for, or someone/place who has made a worthy replacement.
I worked with a guy who was portly and who's initials were PB. So I called him PB Max. Soon the whole shop started calling him that and he hated it. Still makes me laugh to this day.
ReplyDeleteMy memory may be faulty, but I remember the cookie flavor as being more graham-y that shortbread-y. It was similar to what's called a "digestive biscuit" in the UK. I don't remember anything being on top of the peanut butter (other than chocolate).
ReplyDeleteThe best candy bar ever!!!
ReplyDeleteThey could make a killing bringing back the snacks of our 80s childhood. We are adults with money now.
ReplyDelete