It's the end of an era: after appearing in Kiwi kids' lunchboxes for more than three decades, the humble cracker-and-cheese combo, Le Snak, is no longer.
In an email to Newshub, a spokesperson for PepsiCo - the owner of New Zealand-based manufacturer Bluebird - confirmed that Le Snak is le done due to a decrease in demand.
"We recently made the decision to discontinue the Le Snak brand in New Zealand. Over time we've seen demand for the product decline as consumer's taste preferences have changed," the spokesperson told Newshub.
"We ceased production in May so there would be very limited stock available at this point in time."
The news seemingly first became public knowledge when an individual shared the devastating development to the New Zealand subreddit earlier this week. It appeared the individual had contacted the manufacturer in regards to the snack, to which the customer service team responded: "Unfortunately Le Snak has been discontinued and [is] no longer available."
"PSA (and PANIC!) - Le Snaks have been discontinued," the person captioned a screenshot of the email.
The announcement did indeed prompt widespread panic, with many Redditors rushing to the comments to express their sorrow at the loss of the lunchbox staple.
"I have le shoque and la oûtrãgę," one commented, with a second adding: "Le sigh."
"Le sadness," a third agreed. A fourth chipped in: "Oui are les miserables."
"Back in primary this was like luxury. Only the rich kids had them," another noted.
However, not everyone is "le sad" to see them go, with one declaring: "That cheese is rank. Tastes like melted plastic. Honestly good riddance, overpriced garbage… wasteful packaging, loaded with sugar and crap."
"Who wants to start a riot with me?" another joked.
Others lamented the loss of other childhood favourites, including Fruit Corners, Dunk-a-Roos and blackcurrant Mini Wheats.
"Reading this made me more upset than I'd like to admit," one commented, with another adding: "I no longer recognise the world we are living in."
The cheese-and-cracker snack packs, unique to the Australasian market, were introduced in 1988. Marketed as a cheap and convenient snack, the product proved popular with students and on-the-go workers who needed a quick pick-me-up. Each pack contained two compartments - one with round wholemeal 'crisp-bread' crackers for dunking, and another with a gooey, soft cheddar cheese spread.
A quick Google search for the snack at the time of writing didn't prove successful, with Le Snak already marked 'unavailable' on Countdown's website - it also appears to be scarce at New World. However, the value 12-packs are still available at selected Pak'nSaves.
Needless to say, if you spot a Le Snak at your local supermarket, it's time to say 'au revoir' with one last hurrah.
