Have you ever had a Bonomo’s Turkish taffy? Do you want to know about Bonomo’s Turkish taffy? Then read our article to get more info about this candy bar…
Introduction to Bonomo’s Turkish taffy
Turkish taffy was a chewy candy bar that was invented by Victor Bonomo. His father had migrated to New York from Turkey. Here they formed the Bonomo Company that produced saltwater taffy and hard candies. Bonomo’s Turkish taffy consisted of a mixture of corn syrup and egg whites, which was cooked and baked. It had nothing to do with Turkey. There were many flavors of the taffy like vanilla, strawberry and chocolate. In 1940s, taffy was remade into bar sized candies, which had to be broken against a hard surface before eating. Since they melted slowly into the mouth, prudent customers were always happy. It was after World War II that the company really became popular. It made candy bars for a short time, but came back to exclusively making taffy. The Bonomo’s Turkish taffy was not taffy, but it was a type of nougat.
How was Bonomo’s Turkish taffy sold?
The candy was originally distributed in pans to the retailers who broke it into bite size pieces to sell at the local candy counters. As soon as the candy gained popularity, the company packaged it into long pieces and also added flavors like banana, strawberry and chocolate to get a better market share. The candy bars were wrapped in wax papers and there were images of several men in fezzes on wax papers who happily made candy.
Bonomo’s Turkish taffy Promotion
In the 1950s Turkish taffy was promoted vehemently. The company ran a popular ad campaign, especially during TV programs for children. The advertisement showed three puppets – Bo, No, Mo. When the company was very successful, it was employing hundreds of employees at their plant site. Surprisingly, the company made around 100 million taffy bars yearly.
Doscher’s French Chew produced today is the candy that resembles Bonomo’s Turkish taffy.
Company Ceased to Exist
By the 1950s, Bonomo’s Turkish taffy was very popular, but it was sold to Tootsie Roll Industries in 1972. Tootsie Industries introduced it to the market along with two new flavors of cherry and green apple. Sadly, after a few years, in 1980 Tootsie transferred the trademark and recipe to another company due to lack of sales. This company plans to reintroduce Turkish taffy.
At present, you can find Bonomo’s Turkish taffy samples via some charity auctions on eBay.
