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Do you remember Opal Fruits? OK, I know you can still get Opal Fruits today (I refuse to call them Starburst – this is an 80′s site you see!) but the reason I ask this question is if you remember them being called Opal Fruits you may also recall the subject of this post – Pacers mints.
Pacers were the same size, shape and consistency as an Opal Fruit, and sold in similar sized packages, but instead of being fruity flavours they were mints. They were Spearmint flavoured and very tasty too! Since they were chewy they were far too easy to eat quickly, meaning they never lasted quite as long as your average Polo mint. They also suffered from the problem of getting stuck on your back teeth. This was not usually stuck in the toffee pulling your fillings out sense, but you would get a little blob of Pacer stuck to one of your back teeth, which then required some determined tongue olympics to flick it back off.
Originally Pacers were completely white in colour, but they underwent a transformation to have some green stripes added to them. I don’t think the stripes were anything other than colouring, but it made them more identifiable when they were advertised on TV than a fairly non-descript white square.
I forget which company manufactured Pacers, and I wasn’t able to find out when they stopped making them, but I believe it may have been the early 1990′s. I have also been unable to track down any pictures of Pacers unfortunately, so as with my post on Jacob’s Trio, you’ll have to make do with my artists impression instead!
October 15th, 2007 at 12:11 am
I used to love pacers! My grandad would get me a pack of pacers as a treat and I would eat the lot, combined with a glass of coke….nice and healthy!!!
They were spearmint flavoured I think and very chewy indeed. Once, I gave one to my grandad and it got totally stuck in his false teeth, not a pretty sight.
I don’t remember them after the mid 80s which is a real shame.
January 2nd, 2008 at 9:30 am
Pacer mints…happy days. My brother and sister would have opal fruits but I always opted for pacer mints. I definitely remember them being spearmint and very chewy…always a firm favourite.
January 2nd, 2008 at 10:40 am
We now have two votes for Pacers being spearmint flavoured rather than peppermint, so I think my memory failed me this time! I’ll adjust the post accordingly! Thanks Sam and Cuppa!
February 11th, 2008 at 11:22 am
I so remember Pacers, but I think some of my friends think I am imagining things! I’m so pleased you guys also remember them. Yes, I believe they were spearmint – like sweet, edible chwing gum!
)
April 11th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Why do so many people not remember pacers?
What’s wrong with these freaks?!
Pacers were ace!
July 18th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Do you remember when Peter Duncan from Blue Peter used to wear that green and white suit? I could almost taste that suit thanks to Pacers
July 28th, 2008 at 11:45 am
[...] Opal Fruits! Made to make your mouth water! I used to love Opal Fruits (and their minty cousins Pacers), those lovely little chewy fruity sweets were so tasty that a packet never used to last very long. [...]
August 8th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Pacers were brilliant – I don’t know why they ever got rid of them to be honest. And you could definitely eat the whole packet in one sitting, unlike other mints.
August 27th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
I agree, bring them back I say!!
October 13th, 2008 at 11:16 am
[...] back on shop shelves. Â Personally, I would suggest there are far better sweets to bring back, Pacers being one, and Galaxy Counters another. Â Anyway, I always preferred [...]
January 16th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Hello to every one that loves opal fruits.I know its sound funny but my first name is called opal,so when i was at school i use to be tease alot.
January 31st, 2009 at 9:33 am
[...] are many foods from the 1980s which are sadly no longer available, from Pacers and Galaxy Counters to the Creamola Foam drink I wrote about [...]
February 7th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Pacers were mainly spearmint, but the green stripes were peppermint. Check the adsa on youtube.
April 16th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Where can I buy Pacer Sweets From
April 16th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Unfortunately you can’t. They stopped making them ages ago.
August 29th, 2009 at 9:02 am
[...] Pacers [...]
September 21st, 2009 at 9:05 pm
yeah i’m sure it was mid-eighties they stopped making them cause i remember crying when my nana told me, i just didn’t understand why the factory didn’t want to make my favourite sweets anymore!
December 8th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Google Image Search is your friend: http://media.photobucket.com/image/pacers%20mint/huggie74/pacers.jpg
December 8th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Neat, nice to see that my drawing wasn’t that far off.
I don’t remember the packet itself being so boring looking though.
January 30th, 2010 at 12:04 am
Please Please BRING THEM BACK!!!!… As a kid of 7-9 they were worth stealing from the garage at the top of the St. Asaph to Denbigh road. OOps slight confession. Good job it’s not there any more!! HEHE!. Maybe if they did make them again then the world would just pillage them?? Food for thought.
April 28th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
Pacers tv add. Two-mint freshness
http://www.retrotvads.com/2009/26/08/pacers-mints/
August 3rd, 2010 at 6:59 pm
Thank you so much you’ve saved my sanity! Was being to believe I’d imagined them as no-one from my childhood remembered them. I could only get them in Donegal (North of the Republic of Ireland) when we went there on holidays and I still can taste the minty flavour whenever I recall them….best sweet ever. Polo mints, pah!
August 3rd, 2010 at 7:01 pm
Also Caburys brought Wispa back because of an internet campaign here in Ireland, might be worth a shot.
August 4th, 2010 at 11:10 am
Might be worth a try I agree. They were very nice weren’t they?
April 21st, 2011 at 2:06 am
I used to love Pacers, They were 100% Peppermint.
May 15th, 2011 at 12:00 pm
I am 48 and I ate them as a 8 year old right up till they stoped making them!!
I still dream about them and did again last night 16th may 2011 which was why I googled Pacers….and found this conversation..They were definatly spearmint because I hate peppermint, always did.
Why can’t we pacer lovers get the sweet making company to make them again? My only fear is that they wouldnt taste the same like black jacks..
Oh If only
May 28th, 2011 at 6:42 pm
i looooooved Pacers, i always ate the entire packet too quickly and they made me feel a bit sick, but i HAD to eat them all – it was unthinkable to leave any in the packet!
nom nom nom
May 29th, 2011 at 7:54 am
I dream about them too i’m 34.. Someone should start a campain to bring them back.. Wiki says that they were made by Mars.
May 28th, 2012 at 5:21 pm
Pacers were the best. They were spearmint. Stopped mid 80′s. Taverners chewy Spearmints are very similar. I have 6 teeth drop out when I was 5 because of my addiction to Pacers.
June 1st, 2012 at 7:48 pm
im trying to find texan bars and pacers for my mums birthday just to bring back those childhood memories, however cant seem to find them anywhere.:( can anyone help?
June 1st, 2012 at 7:53 pm
Very unlikely you’ll find any I think Daniel. Texan were re-released briefly a few years back (sadly I only found out way after they had disappeared again) and Pacers have never resurfaced, which is a great shame.
July 12th, 2012 at 11:14 pm
Pacers was one ov my all time favourite”s, and thay disappeared about 87-88 why i dont know but please bring them back……
August 3rd, 2012 at 12:40 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc5HcRN_2n4