The History of the Florida Candy Factory
Our Salt Water Taffy was first introduced in 1895 and the Angel Mint® in 1919. Both are products of the Atlantic City Boardwalk. The business proprietor, Ron Krueger, relocated the manufacturing facilities of these two products along with his line of fudge, chocolates, and marmalades to Florida. It was in Florida where Jerry Rehm, a small business entrepreneur, was introduced to Krueger’s products. Although not a candy maker, Rehm liked the products so much that he bought the rights to the company tin 1984. As a business decision, Rehm decided to concentrate the company’s efforts and resources to perfecting the Atlantic City boardwalk style salt water taffy and the melt in your mouth Angel Mints®. Thus the fudge, chocolates and marmalade lines were discontinued.
To maintain the quality and integrity of the products, Krueger continued working with the company in various capacities until his retirement in 1999. During that time, other exceptionally experienced candy makers were added to the Florida Candy Factory family.
In 1993, Richard Mattiace, who previously worked for Richardson Candy founded in 1893, joined the Florida Candy Factory. His candy making expertise of almost 40 years assured our superior quality consistency exceeded our customer expectations.
In 1997, Scott Rehm, Jerry’s son, joined the Florida Candy Factory team. Upon arriving at the candy factory, Scott assumed Procurement, Personnel and Business Operations. In 2004, Scott succeeded his father as President of the company after his father’s passing.
After Scott’s retirement in 2020, Diego Ramirez and Vanina Morelli acquired the business. Like yesteryear, the Florida Candy Factory family still includes candy makers, machine operators, and mechanics as well as packaging experts and shipping specialists. Today, the company still firmly believes that a successful business results from the efforts of each and every employee. The business thrives because of the quality products produced by the exceptional individuals that make up the Florida Candy Factory team.
History of Angel Mint®
In 1919, in a small candy shop on the shores of Wildwood, New Jersey, Angel Mint® candy was created. The master candy maker gave free samples of his new creation to all the local townspeople. After hearing his customers describe the candy as heavenly and divinely inspired, the candy maker decided to name his creation Angel Mint®.
The Angel Mint® recipe calls for only the finest ingredients. To achieve the creamy, melt in your mouth texture, each small 30 pound batch was cooked in copper kettles over gas stoves with the goal of maximizing the moisture content. After cooking, each Angel Mint® was immediately cut and individually wrapped to lock in freshness. ( Learn how we make Angel Mint® candies. )
The Florida Candy Factory is proud of our rich Angel Mint® history and we take great pride in maintaining the authenticity of the original master candy maker’s divinely inspired creation. We believe what makes our old fashioned Angel Mint® so special is that it truly is manufactured today in the same high quality manner as intended by it’s creator on the New Jersey Boardwalk. Each hand made batch is cooked in small 30 pound increments over gas stoves and each receives the personal attention of one of our experienced candy makers. Further proof of our dedication to tradition, we cut and wrap the Angel Mint® in cellophane using original, 1919 erarefurbished K-H cut and wrap machines. Most importantly, our ingredients remain unchanged from the original recipe. Our ingredients are pure and natural, fat free, gluten free, soy free, and salt free.
The original Angel Mint® candy is manufactured and distributed by one of Clearwater, Florida’s past Small Business of the Year Awardees – the Florida Candy Factory, Inc. Today, the Angel Mint® is still considered heavenly delicious. This wonderful, one of a kind peppermint candy has been featured in several magazines and news shows (Good Day Tampa Bay with Charlie Belcher & Russell Rhodes as well ABC’s The LIST) for its refreshing flavor, high quality, and palliative therapy attributes.
Our Angel Mint® products are available nationally in Wawa convenience stores, Florida’s Whole Foods Markets, Florida’s Vision Ace Hardware stores, as well as over 1000 independent stores, and over 5000 hospital gift shops. As always, Angel Mint® is available directly from our website and can be shipped right to your front door.
The Origin of Florida Candy Factory’s Angels Salt Water Taffy
In the 1880’s, David Bradley was a taffy vendor on Atlantic City’s boardwalk, a popular tourist destination. To make the taffy, Bradley cooked it in large copper kettles over open fires and cooled it on a large marble table. He then pulled it into 5-6 foot lengths from a wall-mounted hook because this added air into the confection to make it soft and chewy. The taffy was then hand rolled into 1/4 inch rolls and scissor cut into 2 inch lengths. Once cut, the taffy pieces were wrapped in wax paper and closed with a twist on each end.
One popular legend states that in 1883 a storm flooded Bradley’s shop with Atlantic Ocean water. When Bradley returned to his shop, he discovered all his taffy was soaked in salty seawater. Reportedly, a customer entered the shop and asked for taffy. Bradley joked that all he had was salt water taffy – and the name salt water taffy was born.
Some believe the name salt water taffy means ocean salt water is used in the recipe. While salt water from the ocean is not an ingredient for salt water taffy, some recipes include salt and water.
By 1885, salt water taffy became the sensation of the boardwalk. Joseph Fralinger, who became the King of Salt Water Taffy, offered taffy in 25 flavors. With sales booming on the boardwalk, salt water taffy became an official Atlantic City souvenir.
Today, the Florida Candy Factory makes authentic salt water taffy. We use the original taffy recipe, cook our taffy in copper kettles, and then pull, cut and wrap our taffy using the original machinery, made in the early 1900’s.
Experience the good old days of the Atlantic City boardwalk today with our authentic soft and chewy salt water taffy.
Enjoy!