The Old-School Laffy Taffy That Desperately Needs A Comeback

One of the most hands-down beloved candies of the 1990s and 2000s was Laffy Taffy. Originally produced by Beich's Candy Company before Nestlé purchased it for its Willy Wonka Candy Company line in 1984, it featured jokes you could read on every wrapper, a texture that somehow hovered between gooey and tooth-shattering, and provided complete satisfaction for your childhood sugar cravings. The Laffy Taffy flavor favored by many was watermelon, which came complete with tiny black candy seeds.

People absolutely loved this "stretchy and tangy" taffy, which featured a wild little monster on the packaging. The candy seeds added more texture and gave the candy a unique appearance. Even today, one Reddit user recalled, "There was just something about the crunch and flavor of the seeds that set this one apart for me," while another declared, "For one of these Laffy Taffy! I burn, I pine, I perish!" That burning nostalgia is probably so strong because this taffy was discontinued in the mid-2000s.

In 2018, Nestlé sold Laffy Taffy to the Italian chocolatier Ferrero SpA (which makes Nutella), which continues to produce watermelon-flavored Laffy Taffy — but without any seeds — through its American manufacturing outlet, Ferrara Candy. Any instances of the original, "seeded" version that were found after that were probably old stock slowly filtering through various businesses. As to why they vanished, the reason is an odd one.

The 1990s were certainly an era of gross-out candy, including Toxic Waste, Baby Bottle Pop, and Warheads. But the original watermelon Laffy Taffy repulsed some consumers for a totally different reason. As Ferrara noted in a 2015 post on X,  the "seeds" often broke in the taffy and left behind bits of black residue, which were mistaken for dirt or a production defect. Thought most candy fans understood that eating the seeded taffy wasn't going to kill you — unless, of course, you eat literally thousands of pieces —the confusion was enough to sign the seeds' death warrant. 

When Laffy Taffy fans realized that their childhood favorite was pulled from circulation, the outrage was and remains surprisingly strong.  In 2019, a petition on Change.org appeared, demanding the immediate return of the seeded taffy. It has gained over 4,000 signatures, which is pretty impressive. However, Ferrara has shown no sign of reviving the mythical sweet.

But you're really craving some original-style watermelon Laffy Taffy, you do still have a few options. Some Etsy confectioners make clones of the original watermelon seed taffy, though they tend to carry a premium price. If the seeds weren't a big deal to you, watermelon Laffy Taffy is still available at many candy stores in seedless form. You can also find the candy seeds in some stores, in case they're the only part you're missing. Beyond that, the original watermelon Laffy Taffy is most likely a discontinued candy we are never getting back.