If you are above a certain age, you remember Fruit Stripe as the gum that held so much promise: it was found in a fun colorful zebra mascot on the package, which contained brightly-hued, diagonally-striped sticks wrapped in paper that were also temporary tattoos.

Unwrapping a stick, you would take in the heady scent of one (or more) of its five fruity flavors: Wet n’ Wild Melon, Cherry, Lemon, Orange, or Peach. Popping one into your mouth, you enjoy the rush of sweet fruity goodness that lasted, oh, about as long as it took you to read this paragraph.

Sure, Fruit Stripe gum was a tad on the flavorless side, but it only served to teach children of the 1960s (and beyond) an important lesson: that life would be full of promise but ultimately disappointing.

Also disappointing is the news, reported Tuesday by The Takeout, that the fruity gum is no longer in production. Ferrara Candy Company, which had been manufacturing it, said in a statement that they “have made the difficult decision to sunset Fruit Stripe Gum, but consumers may still be able to find product at select retailers nationwide,” reads the statement from Ferrara. “The decision to sunset this product was not taken lightly, and we considered many factors before coming to this decision, including consumer preferences, and purchasing patterns.”

Fruit Stripe gum was introduced by the Beech-Nut company, primarily known for producing baby food, in 1969. Farley and Sathers Candy Company acquired the brand from the Hershey company in 2003, and subsequently merged with Ferrarra Pan to form the Ferrarra Candy Compnay in 2012.

After using a variety of mascots, including a sentient pack of gum as well as a tiger, elephant and moose, the company settled on one mascot: a sports-mad zebra named Yipes, whose image was used for the temporary tattoos found on the wrappers.

Ferrara will remain in business; in addition to the Nerds candy brand, its line of sweet treats includes Fun Dip, Gobstoppers, Jujyfruits, Fire Balls, Pixy Stix, Chuckles, Runts, Spree candies, Boston Baked Beans, and Bottle Caps.

Online reaction to the demise of the colorful gum has been, as you would expect, a chance for fans to mourn a childhood treat while also gently poking fun. In response to a post from Discontinued Foods blogger @Snack_Memories, Twitter user @LaurenC30 summed it up best, saying “a moment of silence for the moment of flavor.”