•
MEDIA KIT •
•
CONTENT •
Profile...........................................3
Flavors of Taffy..............................4
John Zeno Louizes Bio..................5
History of Taffy.............................6
Company History..........................7
Testimonials..................................8
PROFILE
Zeno’s World’s Most Famous Taffy™ boasts more flavors of taffy than any other
confectioner in North America.
Starting in 1948 Zeno’s offered 12 flavors of taffy, fifty years later Zeno’s offered 50;
today, the number is over 100!
The top-three best-selling flavors are Vanilla, Chocolate and Fruit Punch. In addition,
there are flavors that would be considered unusual for candy including Sangria, Maple
Bacon, Chili Pepper and Beer. Zeno’s has a flavor to satisfy just about any palate, even
those with uncommon appeal.
There’s no limit to the flavors for Zeno’s. John’s motto has always been, “If you can
think of it, we can make it.”
The taffy magic is done in Zeno’s test kitchen/confectionary in Daytona Beach where
new recipes are developed and perfected, and where the taffy happens at 400 pieces
a minute. Coincidentally, over 100,000 pounds, (seven million pieces!) of the World’s
Most Famous Taffy™ was shipped to customers all over the world in 2013, including
New Zealand, Japan and the U.S. soldiers, sailors and Marines in Afghanistan.
The kitchen also makes all the goodies and fudge that go into Zeno’s ice cream that
is churned on the premises.
Zeno’s retail shops are located on two boardwalk favorites in Florida — Zeno’s Boardwalk Sweet Shop in Daytona Beach and Johns Pass Boardwalk at Madeira Beach on
Florida’s west coast.
John Zeno Louizes is the third-generation owner, succeeding his father Zeno and
great-uncle, Thomas Nougaras, who brought his skills and craft from Coney Island,
New York, to Daytona Beach, Florida in 1948.
Customers may order their favorite flavors online at worldsmostfamoustaffy.com.
Zeno’s World’s Most Famous Taffy
1103 Main Street
Daytona Beach, FL 32118
888-751-3251
206 Johns Pass
Madeira Beach, FL 33708
727-623-9936
worldsmostfamoustaffy.com
3
THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS TAFFY
1. Apple Fritter
2. Apple Pie a la Mode
3. Apricot
4. At the Movies Popcorn
5. Baked Alaska Banana
6. Bananas Foster
7. Banana Peanut Butter
8. Banana Split
9. BBQ Potato Chip
10. Beer
11. Belgian Waffle
12. Birthday Cake
13. Black Licorice
14. Black Walnut
15. Blueberry
16. Blueberry Cobbler
17. Blueberry Muffin
18. Blue Raspberry
19. Bubble Gum
20. Butter Rum
21. Candy Apple
22. Candy Corn
23. Cappuccino Chip
24. Caramel Apple
25. Caramel Cheesecake
26. Caramel Corn
27. Caramel Mocha Cappuccino
28. Caramel Swirl
29. Cherry
30. Cherry Cola
31. Cherry Limeade
32. Chili Pepper
33. Chocolate
34. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
35. Chocolate Covered Cherry
36. Chocolate Peanut Butter
37. Cinnamon
38. Cinnamon Bun
39. Coconut
40. Cookies & Cream
41. Cotton Candy
42. Cran Apple
43. Cran Raspberry
44. Creamsicle
45. Cream Soda
46. Double Fudge Brownie
47. Egg Nog
48. Fruit Punch
49. German Chocolate Cake
50. Grape
51. Guava
52. Honey
53. Irish Cream
54. Key Lime
55. Lemon Lime
56. Lemon Meringue
57. Macadamia Nut
58. Mango
59. Maple
60. Maple Bacon
61. Margarita
62. Mint Chocolate Chip
63. Mojito
64. Neapolitan
65. Orange
66. Passion Fruit
67. Peach
68. Peanut Butter
69. Peanut Butter and Jelly
70. Pear
71. Peppermint
72. Pina Colada
73. Pineapple
74. Pineapple Upside Down Cake
75. Pink Grapefruit
76. Pink Lemonade
77. Pistachio
78. Pomegranate
79. Praline
80. Pumpkin Pie
81. Raspberry Lemonade
82. Red Licorice
83. Red Tide
84. Red Velvet Cake
85. Rootbeer Float
86. Sangria
87. Sex on the Beach
88. S’mores
89. Sour Apple
90. Spearmint
91. Strawberry
92. Strawberry Banana
93. Strawberry Cheesecake
94. Strawberry Daiquiri
95. Strawberry Lemonade
96. Sugar-Free Assortment
97. Swiss Cake Roll
98. Tangerine
99. Tiramisu
100.Vanilla
101.Watermelon
4
John Zeno Louizes,
• Owner/Chief Operating Officer •
John Zeno Louizes is the third-generation owner of Zeno’s World’s Most Famous Taffy™,
following in the footsteps of his father Zeno and his great-uncle Thomas Nougaras.
Under John’s direction, Zeno’s World’s Most Famous Taffy now boasts more flavors of
taffy than any company in the world. “Eventually we’ll have twice that many,” John
said. “It’s great to have so many different flavors, and we encourage customers to
sample whatever they want. They quickly realize our products are not like the hard,
mass-produced taffy they had when they were kids. Ours is softer and always fresh,
and our customers are amazed at how each flavor is spot-on.”
As business grew over the years at Zeno’s Boardwalk Sweet Shop located in Daytona
Beach, so did the need for a larger production facility. “Until we moved into our test
kitchen and confectionery (which is closed to the public), we were working out of a
very small kitchen. It was only 125 square feet with no room to move. I was putting
in 18-19 hour days just to keep up with the demand,” explained John. “We started
with a small hand-fed machine that produced about 110 pieces per minute. The machine we have today can make about four times that much in the same time frame,
and there is much more room to work.” Zeno’s newer facility is just shy of 5,000 square
feet, and there are plans to make a move very soon to a bigger location.
While much of Zeno’s business is done in their two shops (Daytona Beach and Madeira Beach), their candy is sold in candy stores all over the USA as John has set up a
manufacturer and distribution network. In addition, online sales are also growing rapidly. Customers enjoy the ability to order their favorite flavors online at www.worldsmostfamoustaffy.com. “We shipped at least 100,000 pounds of taffy last year, and
we’re on pace to beat that this year,” reports John. Zeno’s has customers all over the
world and has shipped taffy to far-flung places including New Zealand, Japan and
to our troops in Afghanistan.
In addition to the thousands of customers who visit his shop and order online, Zeno’s
also has as customers several of the country’s most notable restaurateurs, including a
chain owned by a well-known New York-based celebrity chef. The taffy is presented
to patrons as a sweet savory, a simple something to enjoy on the way home after an
evening out.
Thanks to an inspiration by John’s wife, Christina, Zeno’s Boardwalk Sweet Shop is
also famous for its 60-plus flavors of homemade ice cream and numerous other confections. “Christina told me we should be making our own ice cream, and we are
proud to offer such a high-quality product,” John explained. “She is heavily involved
in the business, because there are no pre-packaged ingredients in our products. She
makes all our goodies; the pieces of cheesecake, cookies and brownies that are
mixed into our ice cream and other delights. If the goodies aren’t baked in our kitchen, they don’t go into our products. That’s something you rarely find these days.”
The fourth generation is already beginning to make its presence known at the Daytona Beach store. John’s oldest son Zeno (named after his grandfather) is six years old,
and is already referring to it as “his store.” What’s happier than a kid in a candy store?
One who might one day own the store. John’s youngest son CJ is only two years of
age, and is already catching on fast.
5
The History of Salt Water Taffy,
The Happiest Candy of All
Take sugar, cornstarch, corn syrup, butter, water, salt, and flavor extract, bring it to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, set to cool, and start pulling
& folding, pulling & folding over and over again. The more it’s pulled,
the creamier the texture and more flavorful it becomes as it breathes
in the magic ingredient called air.
Since the mid 1800s, the taffy pull has been an American tradition in
countless households, church outings, barn raisings, county and state
fairs and other such happy occasions. Though much less common today, the taffy pull still draws kids into the kitchen to experience how
simple ingredients and a little patience becomes a delectable treat.
The difference between taffy and salt water taffy seems to be largely
a difference in locale as to ingredients.
Legend credits that in the late1880s, an Atlantic City, New Jersey candy shop that had been flooded by a storm sold its waterlogged candy
stock billed as Salt Water Taffy; hence, a name that somehow stuck to
the product and not the other way around. As the times would have it,
and as resorts, entertainment pavilions and amusement parks sprouted up along the seaside around the country, Salt Water Taffy became
the edible souvenir of the day and has remained so ever since. From
The Willows in Salem Harbor, Massachusetts to the Boardwalk in Atlantic
City, New Jersey and Coney Island, New York to Half Moon Bay in California and on the shores of the Great Salt Lake in Utah, confectionery
Salt Water Taffy was being made from coast to coast. It is highly unlikely you’ll find “salt water taffy” being made in Denver, Colorado; you
might find taffy, but not the salt water kind, of which there is no difference. Like real estate, it’s location, location, location.
In the northeast, taffy was a seasonal confection. Limited to late spring
through fall, it was largely a matter of the prevailing temperature, as it
would become too cold to pull taffy to a creamy smooth texture. The
process happily coincided with the market, as the seaside attractions
drew no business in winter, but throngs would come throughout the
summer.
Today, several of the early confectioners who made salt water taffy
continue in operation, and a few have remained in family hands after
several generations of operation.
6
The History of
Established in 1948, Zeno’s Boardwalk Sweet Shop is now in
its third generation of family ownership, management, and
operations. John Zeno Louizes has grown the family enterprise from the single storefront/kitchen at Daytona Beach, to
a second Zeno’s Boardwalk Sweet Shop on the west coast of
Florida at John’s Pass Boardwalk in Madeira Beach. John also
opened a separate test kitchen/confectionary in Daytona
Beach (not open to the public) where new recipes are developed and perfected, and where the taffy magic happens at
400 pieces a minute.
Zeno’s is a Daytona Beach institution, and pre-dates the
speedway by a decade. The Louizes’ are one of the first families of Daytona Beach and a great part of a culture of fun,
relaxation and excitement. Just catch the look on any kid
walking into the shop; it’s one Kodak moment after another.
Zeno’s story is significant on many levels; their products and their
continued growth, the dedication to their craft and the spirit to
constantly innovate is the very essence of the American Dream.
In a day and age of corporate uniformity and pre-packaged
sameness, Zeno’s is a singular heirloom that will be passed to
future generations.
Taffy is not their only product. Zeno’s also makes a wide assortment of chocolate and other confections. Meticulous as
ever, John recalled that it took over 100 attempts to perfect
the recipe for their vanilla fudge. Not to be overshadowed,
Zeno’s homemade ice cream and fresh-baked waffle cones
are enormously popular; take one look at their Facebook
page and you’ll see the “likes” are abundant and universal.
7
What customers are saying:
Sweet and simple review, just like this little spot
on the Daytona Boardwalk. Great selection of
fresh salt water taffy, there are so many flavors to
try. Great tasting ice cream and sweets. Service
with a smile. I’d have to say I like this shop!
I am a bit of a taffy snob. I have tried just about
every kind out there, but Zeno’s is far and away
the best. I haven’t found anything that matches
the taste, texture and variety of Zeno’s taffy.
The number of flavors they have is incredible!
It’s amazing to walk into their store and see a
whole wall filled with different kinds of taffy.
I can’t wrap my head around it. How do you
make taffy taste like a PBJ sandwich? I actually felt like I was eating the whole sandwich. The
cotton candy is delicious as well. Really though,
get some of that PBJ flavor.
They have so many flavors that I can’t believe how
each one tastes exactly like its name.
I came in to get some salt water taffy. I have
had it in New Jersey and Maryland and this by
far the best I ever had. Great staff as well :)
8