The curious case of missing Pebbles Flintstone in FRUITY PEBBLES and COCOA PEBBLES?

Fads come and go in the food business. One thing I still see after all these years is Popeye spinach in a can by Allen Canning Company. Popeyes spinach in a can has been around since 1965. I still am not brave enough to try it. Then there are Flintstones Chewable Vitamins introduced in 1968 by Miles Laboratories (now Bayer AG) and taste sweet like candy.

In 1971, Post created PEBBLES cereal. In that same year Hanna-Barbera’s “The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show” made its debut. The show featured Sally Struthers as Pebbles. She was Fred Flintstone’s little girl before she became Archie Bunker’s little girl. Throughout my youth, FRUITY PEBBLES and COCOA PEBBLES always featured both Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble as the spokestoons on the cereal boxes and in TV commercials. But where are Pebbles? Why call a cereal PEEBLES and not have Peebles on it? You can read “An Insider’s History of Post’s Pebbles Cereal” by Scott Shaw in RetroFan #21 from TwoMorrows Publishing. Preview the issue and pre-order your copy here!

Launched in 1971 after Post secured licensing rights from Hanna-Barbera, PEBBLES cereal was the first brand ever created around a TV show character. One of the most revered cartoons of all time, “The Flintstones” aired on prime-time television from 1960 to 1966, and the characters have returned in countless specials and films. The cereal was named for Fred and Wilma Flintstone’s daughter Pebbles.

From the first bowl of PEBBLES cereal was poured in 1971 to today, the brand has captured hearts and minds, growing in the process to become the No. 1 selling kids cereal brand with more than 1.4 billion bowls eaten annually.

Current Flavors

Product	Dates of production	Notes
Fruity Pebbles	1971–present	Fruit-flavored crisp rice cereal bits. Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles Cereal were reintroductions of a low share of the market Post children’s cereal brand called Sugar Rice Krinkles. Fruity Pebbles contain 9 grams of sugar per serving.
Cocoa Pebbles	1971–present	Chocolate-flavored crisp rice cereal bits. Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles Cereal were reintroductions of a low share of the market Post children’s cereal brand called Sugar Rice Krinkles. Cocoa Pebbles contain 10 grams of sugar per serving.
Marshmallow Fruity Pebbles	2015–present	Fruity Pebbles with sea creature-themed marshmallow bits
Magic Fruity Pebbles	The 2020s	This is a limited edition cereal that is all pink colored. They are called magic, because when you put them in milk, the milk turns blue, not pink like might be thought.
Birthday Cake Pebbles	2021–present	For Pebbles’ 50th birthday, they released birthday cake-flavored Pebbles. The box is labeled as a collector’s edition and has a shiny coating that has reflective fireworks. On the back of the box is a big cake with a search-and-find activity.

Discontinued Flavors

Product	Dates of production	Notes
Dino Pebbles	1991–1993	Sweetened crisp rice cereal bits with Marshmallows. It was promoted by The Flintstones character Dino.
Bedrock Blizzard	1998–2002	For the 1998 holiday season, the Fruity and Cocoa flavors were altered and renamed “Bedrock Blizzard.” The limited-edition cereal had two different flavors: the Fruity flavor had red and green frosting; the Cocoa flavor had white “snow sprinkles.” This cereal was replaced by Winter Fruity Pebbles in 2002.
Cinna-Crunch Pebbles	1998–2001	In 1998, Cinna-Crunch Pebbles were introduced. Unlike the other Pebbles which were crisp rice, Cinna-Crunch Pebbles were described as “sweetened oat, corn and wheat cereal baked with a touch of real cinnamon.” The box claimed that the cereal had the “Best Cinnamon Sweet Taste In Bedrock” and a “Cinnamon Sweet Taste That Goes Crunch!”. Cinna-Crunch Pebbles was introduced as a Limited-Edition cereal and was only available for a limited time. They were discontinued in 2001.
Winter Fruity Pebbles	2002–2005	A winter-themed version of Fruity Pebbles. This replaced Bedrock Blizzard in 2002.
Marshmallow Mania Pebbles	2005–2007	Debuting in 2005, Marshmallow Mania Pebbles were a combination of Vanilla graham-flavored pebbles and marshmallows.
Half Sugar Fruity Pebbles	2005–2007	Reduced-sugar version of Fruity Pebbles. As of 2007, it is out of production
IceBerry Pebbles	2006	In 2006, IceBerry Pebbles was released for a limited time. The pieces were green, red, yellow, and orange. They were described on the box as “sweetened rice cereal with artificial strawberry flavor.”
Ice Cream Pebbles	2015	Rainbow Sherbet flavored crisp rice cereal bits. It was launched in the Summer of 2015 and contains 9 grams of sugar per serving.
Bamm-Bamm Berry Pebbles	2007–2009	In 2007, Bamm-Bamm Berry Pebbles were introduced, featuring only berry flavors. This was a limited edition, discontinued in 2009.
Dino S’mores Pebbles	2008–2009	In 2008, the Dino S’mores were introduced. These had an object such as a bone, a marshmallow and a chocolate nugget. This was a limited edition, discontinued in 2009.
Cupcake Pebbles	2010–2011	In 2011, Pebbles Boulders were introduced, a limited edition-only cereal, featuring two new flavors called “Stone Age Caramel Apple” and “Chocolate Peanut Butter”.
Marshmallow Pebbles	2010–2014	In 2010, a new flavor of pebbles was released called Marshmallow Pebbles. The cereal contains rectangular vanilla-graham flavored-shaped pebbles and marshmallows. In 2012, the formula for Marshmallow Pebbles changed to the typically shaped Pebbles cereal pieces; the flavor is a sweetened rice cereal rather than vanilla/graham. A new variety that arrived in 2012 features Wilma Flintstone on the box (as part of a “Meet the Flintstones” promotional campaign) and features sweetened orange, red, and white rice cereal pieces with white marshmallows that match the rock necklace that Wilma wears.
Fruity Pebbles Extreme	2013–2014	In 2013, Fruity Pebbles Extreme was introduced a modified version of Fruity Pebbles with enhanced flavor and color. It was discontinued in mid-2014.
Sugar Cookies Pebbles	2013, 2014	Sugar Cookies Pebbles was a limited edition flavor that was introduced for the Christmas season in 2013 and again in 2014. It featured Christmas colors.
Summer Berry Pebbles	2014	Summer Berry Pebbles was a mixed berry flavor. Featuring an Independence day theme, the cereal was colored red, white, and blue. It was only available for a limited time.
Candy Corn Pebbles	2014	Candy Corn Pebbles was a limited edition flavor that was introduced for the Halloween season in 2014. It was candy corn flavored (as its name suggests) and was colored white, yellow and orange similar to candy corn.
Poppin’ Pebbles	2014–2016	Poppin’ Pebbles were a carbonated version of Fruity Pebbles with an added “bursting berry” flavor. It was sold for a short time between 2014 and 2016.
Cinnamon Pebbles	2016–2018	Cinnamon-flavored rice cereal.
Peanut Butter and Cocoa Pebbles	2018–2020	Cocoa pebbles with lighter brown colored Peanut Butter flavored Pebbles.