Butterfinger BB’s

Forgotten Food & Drinks · 1989

Published

Butterfinger BB’s were round, bite-sized versions of the Butterfinger bar, combining a crisp peanut-flavoured centre with a chocolate coating. The United States trademark record lists first use in 1989, and the product later became closely associated with advertising featuring Bart Simpson.

Why It Mattered

The BB’s format recast an established chocolate bar as a portable, shareable snack. Its unusual shape and prominent 1990s advertising gave it an identity distinct from the standard Butterfinger bar and helped sustain nostalgia after its discontinuation.

The BB’s Format

- Each piece used the crisp peanut-flavoured Butterfinger centre in a small spherical form. - A chocolate coating enclosed the centre. - The bite-sized format was designed for portable, shareable eating rather than the shape of a conventional bar.

Branding and Advertising

- The United States trademark record lists 27 February 1989 as the mark’s first-use date. - Advertising featuring Bart Simpson became a defining part of the product’s 1990s identity. - The BB’s name connected the format directly to the wider Butterfinger range.

Discontinuation and Memory

- The range had been discontinued by 2006. - Later bite-sized Butterfinger products did not restore the original spherical BB’s format. - Packaging, advertisements and trademark documentation preserve the product’s history.

Associated With

Nestlé - manufacturer or brand

Defining Feature

Spherical pieces with a crisp peanut-flavoured centre and chocolate coating

Status

Preserved - by 2006; preserved through advertising, packaging and trademark records

Primary Records

- **USPTO TSDR — BUTTERFINGER BB’S serial 73808158** - **24/7 Wall St. — Popular Discontinued Snack Foods**

Image Sources

- Image 1 source not verified — editorial review required. - Image 2 source not verified — editorial review required. - Image 3 source not verified — editorial review required. - Image 4 source not verified — editorial review required. - Image 5 source not verified — editorial review required.

Rights Notice

Images are included for historical and archival reference. Rights holders may contact Forgotten Archive through the publishing account to request a credit correction or removal.

Gallery

Yellow bag of Nestlé Butterfinger BB's candies featuring Bart and Homer Simpson beside chocolate-coated pieces.
Source
Credit

Nestlé Butterfinger packaging with The Simpsons artwork; reproduced by Tasting Table

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

Butterfinger BB's put a familiar candy bar into bite-size pieces, with Bart and Homer helping carry the product's personality onto its packaging.

Orange Butterfinger multipack wrapper featuring Bart Simpson and advertising six full-size bars with a free comic inside.
Source
Credit

Nestlé Butterfinger packaging with The Simpsons artwork; preserved by CollectingCandy.com

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

This Butterfinger multipack offers a free Simpsons comic, showing how the brand's connection with Bart extended beyond television advertising into the product bought in shops.

The Simpsons cartoon scene with Bart studying beside Lisa and Maggie, with a Butterfinger BB's packet on the table.
Source
Credit

Butterfinger advertising still featuring The Simpsons; reproduced by CollectingCandy.com

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

Bart's Butterfinger BB's appear within a familiar Simpsons domestic scene, using the characters' relationships to give a snack promotion an immediately recognisable setting.

Store display of Butterfinger bars in Bart Simpson wrappers beneath a colourful promotional sign.
Source
Credit

Mike Mozart / JeepersMedia, via Flickr

Licence

CC BY 2.0

See the licence terms for attribution, reuse and any other conditions.

Caption

Mike Mozart photographed this Butterfinger promotion at Dollar Tree in March 2014, documenting Bart Simpson's continuing presence in the brand's shop displays.