Toffifay was introduced to the United States in 1977. Using ingredients not typically found in US candy bars at the time, it was an unusual kind of confection to make the standard candy isle. Beyond being a distinctive treat, they also had a clever series of television commercials and a packaging that stood out, and that fascinated me as a kid. Today, I’m going to share some of the earliest packaging used for Toffifay in the States, as well as showing a few other pieces.
Originally sold in Europe as Toffifee, Toffifay was first sold in the United States with this attractive wrapper:
Due to inflation and sugar prices of the late 70’s, Toffifay would undergo several price changes during those early years, and those were reflected in the wrappers. Here are two others:
The only notable difference in those two early wrappers is the red price spot. Due to constant price-fluctuations, it would finally became easier to simply not list a price at all:
Before I show any more wrappers, I’d like to detour a bit, and talk about the candy and the inner tray that held it.
The candy, for those that have never had a Toffifay, is very European – with a core of a hazelnut – something I’d never had before this treat. The look of the candy was great too, with a spot of dark chocolate on the top that, if you were like me, you could pop off with your teeth and eat separately. So the candy itself was distinctive, and remains a favorite of mine.
The tray that held the candy was a thing of beauty, and it really set it apart. I first discovered Toffifay about the same time that Star Wars hit theaters, and the gold plastic Toffifay trays made for very cool pieces in custom builds of all sorts of scenarios for my action figures. I’m pleased to report that Toffifay are still housed in the very same kind of craft-worthy inner trays. Here’s a few shots of one I picked up last month:
Does that tray remind anyone else of the Rebel shield generator from Empire Strikes Back…or is that just me?
The 1980’s saw a slight redesign for Toffifay wrappers, and one that has held on largely through to today. Note the absence of the distinctive connected-type logo and the weight being dropped from 1.16 oz for the four pack, to .92 oz.:
Here’s another from that era, but presented in a lower-priced 3-pack, likely created to hit that magical 25-cent price:
That’s all I have for vintage Toffifay packaging today. I’d love to track down some of the European “Toffifee” 4-pack wrappers and some of the USA wrappers from the 1990’s, to see if there were any major design changes along the way.
Looking at today’s wrapper, it’s not too far removed from the design introduced in the 1980’s, although the logo, like most logos now, has a bit more curvature and movement to it:
That’s the four-pack, and here is a scan of the cardboard wrap for a 15 pack. For me this is a truly dangerous treat, as I can easily devour a whole 15-count package in one sitting.
I also picked up a 15-pack in the UK last November – Note the European spelling, as well as other more subtle differences:
That’s everything for our look at Toffifay today. I’m actually not sure what I’m writing about tomorrow, but I’ll make sure it’s something fun.
One more thing. Here’s a classic 1978 Toffifay commercial, featuring a jingle that has stayed with me for over thirty years:
I remember when they were introduced. They were super fun to eat. Popping them out of that plastic try, then popping off the center button to eat first, then peel off the outer caramel wrapper, getting closer to the nut inside…
Had to post a comment as much like you I have fond recollections of this candy. The packaging on the inside and the commercials. To this day I’ll still pick up Toffifay.
Funny how I grew up here in Germany with Toffifee but I don’t think I ever tried it. You can buy Toffifee in every grocery store…even at Aldi and such. Never paid much attention or thought about Toffifee and never thought someone would consider it as very European. We also have lots of different seasonal packagings for Toffifee around Christmas or Easter. And also 48-packs with two leayers of 24 pieces each. But I’ve never seen a 3 or 4-piece packaging…
Love this candy, too!! I recently found some at a KC, MO area Aldi store that is the European version, the Toffifee named instead of the Toffifay. How random!
Still my favorite. I found them at a Tractor Supply today. Yum.
Toffifay now has a white alluminum package. The candy is still my favorite.
Thanks so much for this article! It took me forever to find out the name of this candy!
Yesterday was my bday and along with a card from my wife she also gave me a box of 12 toffifey’s in white packaging. Love them and even ate them as a kid at movie theaters here in the states. I’ll have my wife pick some up from Germany later this month when she flies out there.
That evil/catchy jingle just popped into my head this morning for no reason.
And it struck me – whadda they mean “too good for kids”? What does that even mean?
(So I googled, and found this.) But seriously, why too-good-for-kids? Huh?