When popular foods get discontinued, reactions vary. Some forget they even existed, while others try to grab as much as they can, in some cases trying to sell it for a pretty penny.
In the case of Hershey Canada’s Cherry Blossom chocolates, at least one person is asking as much as $48,000 for the iconic yellow boxes, which disappeared from store shelves this year.
The company confirmed to Global News in January that the products would no longer be available in Canada, but did not give an exact date.
Nine months later, the last box has left the factory and the product is now appearing on eBay Canada, with prices ranging from $8 to $48,000.
Global News contacted the eBay user selling the product for the high price, identified as jocst-_0, who confirmed the listing was real and was selling 24 boxes for that amount, as it was the maximum eBay would allow.
They also said they’ve had several views and people reached out to ask about the product, but did not say if they’ve had any offers.
A search for Cherry Blossom chocolate turns up multiple listings, with many sold from Canada but some from the U.S.
“You have the added component of nostalgia here that, for some people, the Cherry Blossoms are memories of holidays or childhood or grandparents giving them a treat or those sorts of things, so there’s more of a pull there,” said Mike von Massow, a University of Guelph food economist.
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Von Massow said he thinks the increase in interest in the product will eventually “pass,” but added that with the scarcity of the product, people are “trying to take advantage of the fact.”
He added that people selling for the lower amounts likely will be able to offload their product, but higher-cost offerings may not end up selling.
The product was originally produced by the Lowney Company of Canada, which changed hands several times before Hershey took over in the 1980s.
Reports indicate it has been produced in various cities over the years, including Smith Falls, Ont., and Montreal.
The product itself is a combination of maraschino cherry, roasted peanuts and chocolate coating.
When news came out in January that the product would soon be discontinued, people headed out to stores to stock up before the product disappeared forever.
Several listings on eBay for Cherry Blossom chocolates that were discontinued by Hershey in early 2025.
eBay
“Drove 180km today to get these for my mom,” X user Darryl Gerrard said on Jan. 18, posting a photo of a carton of the chocolates and noting there were 24 boxes.
Another person, whose username on X is @SchwartzTime, said on Jan. 21 that she had mixed results in finding the product.
“I bought a case of 24 at Bulk Barn in Ottawa today. Lucky find,” she wrote. “I drove to Aylmer, Quebec on the weekend but the stores there were sold out.”
Not all the posts were positive, though, with some replying to a Made in Canada post about the discontinuation that they didn’t find the chocolates tasty.
“I had my one and only in about 1975. Never again,” radio broadcaster Alan Cross said.
Some even suggested getting rid of other chocolates.
“Was never a fan of…but they have been around forever,” X user @darrylw71 said. “Can we get rid of this chocolate orange thing next?”
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
