The Tootsie Roll
—Jason

Listen here: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/hwts279--68357904

One of the most popular non-traditional chocolate tasting candies in the world was invented almost 130 years ago in the United States: the Tootsie Roll. Today’s tootsie rolls come in a variety of shapes and sizes to handle the sweet teeth of children and adults.

The origin of the Tootsie Roll dates to 1896, Leo Hirschfeld, an Austrian Jewish immigrant to the United States, began work at a small candy shop located in New York City owned by the Stern & Saalberg Firm. Hirschfeld began experimenting with the concept of creating a chocolate-flavored candy that would not melt in the heat. He named the candy after the nickname of his daughter, Clara "Tootsie" Hirschfeld. By 1907, the Tootsie Roll was ready for commercial sale. Within ten years, the Stern & Saalberg Firm expanded to encompass a five-story building in New York and changed its name to the Sweets Company of America. The company listed on the American Stock Exchange in 1919.

The invention of the Tootsie Roll did not permanently protect Hirschfeld’s position: around 1920, the Sweets Company of America forced Hirschfeld out. He did not let the loss of his job crush him and Hirschfeld started a new company, Mells Candy Corporation, also known as The Merry Mells Company. But fate seemed to really have a grudge against Hirschfeld, and owing to health and family issues, he committed suicide in 1922. Merry Mells failed in 1924.

Despite the creator’s death, Tootsie Rolls endured and became one of the most popular treats during the Great Depression (1929 - 1939). In 1931, a new type of Tootsie Roll hit the market: the Tootsie Pop — a hard-candy lollipop with Tootsie Roll filling. The low manufacturing cost and cheap prices made this the go to candy for cash-strapped customers.

Despite this increase in sales, the Sweets Company of America was in serious financial trouble. Its principal supplier of paper boxes, Joseph Rubin & Sons of Brooklyn, concerned about the possible loss of an important customer, became interested in acquiring control. Bernard D. Rubin, one of the sons working at the paper supply company, got hold of a list of shareholders and convinced enough of them to sell their shares. The Rubin family bought up over a 50% share of the stock, gaining control over the company. They and the existing shareholders agreed that Bernard should run the company, which turned out to be a very good decision. Mr. Rubin was able to not only restore profits steadily but, by the time of his death in 1948, his work had increased sales twelvefold. After Bernard, his brother William became president, holding the position for fourteen years. In 1962, William's daughter, Ellen Rubin Gordon, and her husband Melvin, took control; since the death of Melvin in January 2015, Ellen has been Chair and CEO of the company. Though it is still publically traded, the Rubin family maintains a controlling stock. 

A further boost to the popularity of Tootsie Rolls and Pops came due the American entry into World War II (1941 - 1945). The US Government and military wanted to ensure its service members received nutritionally balanced rations to help win the war. At the same time, they also put coffee, cigarettes, and of course candy within the ration boxes that fed American servicemen and servicewomen wherever they found themselves stationed. The fact that Tootsie Rolls and Tootsie Pops didn’t melt helped to edge out other candies.

Tootsie Roll advertisements in the late 1940s were not strictly limited to the name on the label: a comic strip character was created.  Captain Tootsie was created in 1943 by C. C. Beck, Pete Costanza and Bill Schreider (1950 onwards) to help sell the popular candy to kids on the home front.  It featured Captain Tootsie and his sidekick, a black-haired boy named Rollo. These were relatively very light-hearted comics and very “kid friendly.”

Tootsie Pops are also responsible for what might be one of the best-known ad campaigns of all time, asking how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? The original cartoon commercial, featuring a little boy asking the question of various animals until he reaches Mr. Owl, who impatiently bites into the sucker and answers “three,” was created by the Doner Company in 1969 and continued to air for decades. The commercial was just recently redone with new animation and voices to attract a new generation to the classic candy.

In addition to the traditional cocoa-flavored Tootsie Roll, several additional flavors have been introduced. Known as Tootsie Fruit Chews, these candies were introduced in the 1970s and include flavors such as cherry, orange, vanilla, lemon, and lime, with some specialty flavors available for various holidays. And it’s not only these soft taffy-style confections that are produced by Tootsie. Over its long history, they have created or purchased many other favorite candy brands, such as Dots, Junior Mints, Charms, Double Bubble, and Cella’s Chocolate Covered Cherries.

The original Tootsie Roll recipe has only been slightly changed since its creation over a century ago. This is, in part, because each day’s batch of Tootsie Rolls starts with what’s leftover from the day before. Every bite of a Tootsie Roll is a bit of history.