DeMet's Candy Company

History

George DeMet opened a candy store and soda fountain in Chicago in 1898. Around 1916–1922 he introduced what would become his signature product: Turtles, a cluster of pecans arranged like legs around a caramel-and-chocolate body. The whimsical name came from the finished candy's resemblance to a turtle. Turtles became enormously popular as a Midwest gift and holiday candy. The original DeMet family company changed hands through the 20th century. Nestlé acquired the brand in 1988; Brynwood Partners purchased it from Nestlé in 2007 along with a large Toronto production facility. The brand is currently owned by Yıldız Holding of Turkey.

Products

• Turtles (chocolate, caramel, and pecan clusters)

Candy Pages

• Turtles 1916 · still produced · Chocolate Cluster

  Pecan halves arranged in a cluster like a turtle's legs, bound together with soft caramel and enrobed in milk chocolate — a shape that inspired the candy's name.

Notable Firsts

• Turtles — one of the first cluster-style boxed chocolates to achieve national distribution

What Happened

Original company acquired by Nestlé 1988; Turtles brand now owned by Yıldız Holding

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeMet%27s_Candy_Company
• https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/demets/