Laffy Taffy
Laffy Taffy is an American brand of taffy candies produced by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The candies are small (about Template:Convert), individually wrapped taffy rectangles available in a variety of colors and fruit flavors,<ref name=PSB/> including banana, strawberry, green apple, grape, watermelon, blue raspberry, and cherry. Discontinued flavors include caramel apple, coconut, strawberries & cream, apple crisp, chocolate mousse, pumpkin donut, pineapple, guava, orange sorbet, lemon raspberry, fruit punch, mango, strawberry banana, peppermint, and hot cocoa.
The name "Laffy Taffy" refers to both the texture of the taffy and its embodiment of silliness: short, question and answer style jokes are printed on the outside of each wrapper, such as "What do you call a cow with no legs? – Ground beef."<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some jokes are pun-based, such as "What is Labor Day? – That's when moms have their babies." Others are based on silly word play, such as "What's an owl's favorite subject? – Owlgebra."<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The jokes are a mix of ones sent in by fans and popular puns identified through research.<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2022, Laffy Taffy held a joke writing contest in which they received 6,500 submissions. They selected the top 101 jokes to add to their joke depository. <ref name=":2" />
History
The brand was first produced in the 1970s by Kathryn Beich Candies of Bloomington, Illinois as "Beich's [Name of Flavor] Caramels", though these were not in fact caramels but fruit-flavored taffy squares.<ref name=":1" /> The Beich's later changed the name of the product to "Beich's Laffy Taffy", which occurred some years prior to the acquisition of the distribution rights and the eventual purchase of the product line by Nestlé in 1984.<ref name=":0" /> Laffy Taffy was originally advertised as having a "long-lasting" flavor. Though it used to come in thick, square-shaped pieces, it is now sold in thinner, rectangular pieces. In 2003, the Willy Wonka brand introduced a variety called "Flavor Flippers", with each piece of taffy having an outer layer of one flavor and a soft center of a different flavor.
In January 2018, Nestlé announced plans to sell its U.S. confectionery brands, including Laffy Taffy, to Italian chocolatier Ferrero SpA, maker of Nutella, for $2.8 billion.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ferrero folded the acquired brands into the operations of the Ferrara Candy Company in 2019, and increased investment in marketing and production over the subsequent years.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Ingredients
Ingredients vary by flavor. The following ingredients are shown on the Laffy Taffy website:<ref name=PSB>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The following are less than 2%:
- Malic acid
- Egg Albumen
- Sodium Alganate
- Calcium Acetate
- Monogylcerides
- Natural Flavor
- Various coloring depending on product - Blue 1, Red 3, Yellow 5 etc.
Amounts of the following depend on the flavor, color, and size of each individual piece:
- Sugar
- Palm oil
- Diglycerides
- Soy Lecithin
- Hydrogenated Cottonseed oil
- Egg<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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References
External links
Template:Ferrara Candy Template:Willy Wonka Candy Company products