The Tasty Buzz Candy Company produced a single product, TastyBuzz, which became the first successful energy food (excluding drinks). Due to my prior notoriety with Floater Corporation’s legal battle with Microsoft, the computer industry media promoted TastyBuzz, leading to a small but dedicated following. Here’s an image from Computer World Magazine.
TastyBuzz was the first energy food but faced many challenges. At the time, variety and convenience stores weren’t interested in caffeinated products and only purchased from distributors, who didn’t handle such items. There was no “caffeinated-food” category, and manufacturers had to pay slotting allowances (legal bribes) to get products on prime shelf spots, which I couldn’t afford.
A distributor eventually picked up TastyBuzz, but without marketing funds, it didn’t sell well—except near truck stops. Truck drivers embraced TastyBuzz. This led to a deal with TravelCenters of America (TA) for distribution across the U.S. and Canada.
Development
I wanted a way to consume caffeine and researched its effects. With a biology background, I learned caffeine is unregulated since it’s found in chocolate but is toxic in pure form. Ensuring even caffeine distribution in TastyBuzz was crucial to avoid “powder pockets.”
The biggest challenge was masking caffeine’s bitter taste. I realized from past experience with bad coffee that adding enough sugar makes it palatable. I chose Salt Water Taffy as a sweet base that could mix well with caffeine. A local candy company let me make 30 lb batches, and I calculated how much caffeine could be safely included per piece, ensuring five pieces equaled one strong cup of coffee without risking toxicity.
We tested flavors and settled on Chocolate, Vanilla, and Mocha (with ground espresso). They tasted great, unlike competitors’ attempts at energy foods, which were awful. TastyBuzz was the only product to solve the flavor problem.
Manufacturing
Initially, TastyBuzz was made by that same small candy company in thirty-pound batches. As demand increased, I made a deal with a large company named Squirrel Brand. Squirrel had manufactured several famous candies. There was even a band named after one, The Squirrel Nut Zippers. TastyBuzz was made in their factory in 600 lb batches. Notice in the photo that caffeine is being added from a carefully measured brown bag. One of us had to be present for every batch for two reasons. 1. Because the caffeine had to be poured in evenly. 2. Because a factory worker insisted it was Ok to sniff caffeine.
Packaging
I could have used existing Salt Water Taffy wrappers but wanted the wrappers to have the same TasyBuzz look as the packaging. Designing wrappers was also tricky. Wrappers are printed on rolls of waxed paper. When wrapping taffy, a machine pulls out a few inches of the wrapper. It puts a piece of taffy in the middle then twists the ends. The paper must have a precise amount of wax on it or it will tear. The graphics had to line up just right so that they were not in the part of the wrapper that was twisted. Notice that Salt Water Taffy wrappers are all plain. I believe that TastyBuzz is the only product ever to be made with this type of machinery that had detailed, custom wrappers.
A big issue was the safety of the machinery itself. To avoid OSHA rules, the company was using machinery built before 1940. Experimenting with wrappers required agility and timing. One misstep could result in the loss of an arm, or worse.
TastyBuzz was one of the first food products sold on the Internet. The candy, marketed to programmers, came in a one-pound bright yellow box adorned with binary and hexadecimal codes. Hidden in the codes was a message for a free case of TastyBuzz.
Selling one-pound boxes made sense through mail order, but Truck Drivers were more likely to buy in smaller quantities. Many food products sold at TA (Truck Stops of America) were packaged in plastic bags and stored on peg racks.
I designed the bags with the same motif as the boxes. It featured our mascot “Buzz Holio” (a homage to Beavis and Butt-Head).
It was believed that individual pieces of TastyBuzz would become a popular impulse item. I was offered space on the checkout counter if I could come up with packaging that required a minimum amount of space.
The End
The TastBuzz Candy Company was sold to a pair of brothers that essentially were unprepared for the complexity of the business. Well, that is the stated reason. The truth is that these individuals had misrepresented themselves and were involved in shady dealings. Their plans for TastyBuzz involved hurting the few people that helped me make TastyBuzz a reality.
Sadly, also at this time, I was gaining access to two new niche markets, college bookstores, and casinos.
TastyBuzz was positioned to explode and might have still existed today. TastyBuzz paved the way for today’s Energy Food market, valued at billions of dollars.
