It's been almost 12 years, but Planters has finally given in to the pleas from fans. That's right, Planters Cheez Balls and Cheez Curls are back! Starting Sunday, July 1, you can buy the bright orange snacks again, but the catch is that they are only available on store shelves for a limited time.
Planters Cheez Balls are sold in 2.75 ounce canisters and Cheez Curls are sold in 4-ounce canisters starting at a suggested retail price of $1.99. To start, you'll only be able to get the snacks online at Amazon, Walmart.com, and the Planters website, but the company plans to roll out the cheesy goodness to brick and mortar retail stores nationwide soon.
Fans have been asking for the return of Cheez Balls and Cheez Curls since they were discontinued in 2006. They started Facebook groups and petitioned through online forums; the Kraft Heinz Company, who owns the iconic brand, heard those requests.
"We heard many impassioned pleas for us to bring Cheez Balls and Cheez Curls back over the years and we wanted to give our fans a chance to reunite with their most-missed cheesy snack," said Melanie Huet, Planters head of brand building, in a press release announcing the classic snack's return. "We made sure our Cheez Balls and Cheez Curls still have the same delicious taste, airy texture and fluorescent color you know and love, so our fans can enjoy a nostalgic trip down memory lane with every canister."
The company had Mr. Peanut tease the return of the addictive snack by hiding the first 59 available canisters across the internet for fans to find and satisfy their 12-year-old cravings, which of course kicked off wild speculation about whether or not Cheez Balls would be relaunched.
You love #CheezBalls. You really love Cheez Balls! So I kinda sorta hid a bunch of canisters on the internet on well-known sites for getting stuff. Can you find them? - Mr. ?? #SayCheezBalls pic.twitter.com/C8wf8P6weE
— Mr Peanut (@MrPeanut) June 13, 2018
The lucky winners found the canisters on popular auction and e-commerce sites within 24 hours, proving fans will do anything to try their favorite snack again.
@MrPeanut it's been a good day, thanks to you. Thank you! Time to dust these fingers. @KraftBrand @HeinzKetchup_US #saycheezballs pic.twitter.com/nNZgZa2ENh
— Mr. Duke ® (@MrScottHDuke) June 19, 2018
To reward fans who who went above and beyond to help bring Cheez Balls back, Mr. Peanut is giving them one of the first deliveries of their favorite '90s snack, including a lovely signed note from the top peanut himself.
The campaign to bring back Cheez Balls after such a long hiatus just goes to show that there's hope for other nostalgic snack foods.
