Demet's Candy

DeMet's Candy Company is a confectionery business based in Connecticut and associated most closely with Turtles, a chocolate candy combining caramel, nuts, and chocolate. The business traces its origins to 1898, when George DeMet operated a candy store and soda fountain business in Chicago. Its connection with Turtles dates to 1918, when the candy was created and subsequently developed into a long-running branded confectionery line. The company and its brands passed through a series of corporate changes during the twentieth century. Nestlé acquired the DeMet's business in 1988, bringing Turtles into the portfolio of a major international food company. Under Nestlé ownership, production and brand management became part of a larger confectionery organization, while Turtles remained the principal identity associated with DeMet's. In 2007, the DeMet's brand was separated from Nestlé. Signature Snacks acquired the DeMet's brand from Nestlé, while Brynwood Partners purchased the Turtles brand and a large Turtles production facility in Toronto from Nestlé USA. Brynwood subsequently consolidated several confectionery assets and revived the DeMet's Candy Company name as the corporate vehicle for the portfolio. The combined business included Turtles and other confectionery products such as Stixx, Flipz chocolate-covered pretzels, and Treasures. The portfolio expanded beyond chocolate confectionery in 2010 when DeMet's acquired the TrueNorth nut-snack brand from Frito-Lay. TrueNorth was later sold to B&G Foods in 2013, showing that the company’s ownership and brand scope continued to change through selective acquisitions and divestitures rather than through a single, fixed product portfolio. Also in 2013, Brynwood Partners sold DeMet's to Yıldız Holding, the Turkish food group whose international portfolio has included numerous confectionery businesses. DeMet's therefore became part of a larger privately held global food structure while retaining its identity as a confectionery company. Publicly available reference material identifies Connecticut as the company’s base and Turtles as its defining offering. Detailed current information about manufacturing sites, present distribution, management, revenue, and the full contemporary product range is limited.

DeMet's Candy Company originated in 1898 as a candy store and soda fountain business established by George DeMet in Chicago. The early business operated in the traditional American confectionery and refreshment market, before developing its most important legacy product. In 1918, the company created Turtles, a candy built around a cluster of nuts and caramel covered in chocolate. The product’s irregular shape was associated with a turtle, and the name became the central consumer identity later linked with DeMet's. Over the decades, DeMet's and the Turtles business went through multiple mergers and acquisitions. In 1988, Nestlé acquired DeMet's, adding the business and its confectionery brands to the portfolio of one of the world’s largest food companies. Turtles continued to be treated as a significant branded confectionery line, and its production later became associated with a major facility in Toronto, Canada. The business was reorganized outside Nestlé in 2007. Signature Snacks acquired the DeMet's brand from Nestlé, while Brynwood Partners separately acquired the Turtles brand and the 280,000-square-foot Turtles manufacturing facility in Toronto from Nestlé USA. Brynwood then brought together several confectionery acquisitions, including Turtles, Stixx, Flipz chocolate-covered pretzels, and Treasures, and revived the dormant DeMet's Candy Company name as the operating identity for the consolidated portfolio. This structure linked the historic DeMet's name with a broader collection of chocolate and snack brands rather than limiting it to the original Turtles product. In 2010, DeMet's broadened its activities further by purchasing the TrueNorth nut-snack brand from Frito-Lay. The acquisition added a non-confectionery snack business to the company’s holdings, but the asset was not retained permanently. DeMet's sold TrueNorth to B&G Foods in 2013. The same year brought another major ownership transition: Brynwood Partners sold DeMet's Candy Company to Yıldız Holding. The transaction placed the company within a larger international food and confectionery group. Public reference material identifies DeMet's as based in Connecticut, United States, and describes it as a wholly owned subsidiary of Yıldız Holding. The company’s historical importance rests primarily on the longevity of Turtles and on the succession of ownership changes that carried the brand from a Chicago candy business into the portfolios of Nestlé, Brynwood Partners, and Yıldız Holding. Information available in the cited reference material does not establish a complete current product catalog, detailed retail footprint, present manufacturing arrangements, revenue figures, or a verified list of current officers. Accordingly, the historical record is clearer than the company’s contemporary operating detail.

• 2013

  TrueNorth is divested

  [1]DeMet's Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  DeMet's sells TrueNorth to B&G Foods.

• 2013

  Yıldız Holding becomes owner

  [1]DeMet's Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Brynwood Partners sells DeMet's Candy Company to Yıldız Holding.

• 2010

  TrueNorth joins the portfolio

  [1]DeMet's Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  DeMet's acquires the TrueNorth nut-snack brand from Frito-Lay.

• 2007

  The DeMet's and Turtles assets leave Nestlé

  [1]DeMet's Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Signature Snacks acquires the DeMet's brand, while Brynwood Partners acquires Turtles and its Toronto production facility from Nestlé USA.

• 1988

  Nestlé acquires DeMet's

  [1]DeMet's Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Nestlé purchases DeMet's and adds the company and its confectionery interests to its corporate portfolio.

• 1918

  Turtles is created

  [1]DeMet's Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The company develops Turtles, a chocolate confection combining caramel and nuts, which becomes its signature brand.

• 1898

  George DeMet establishes the original candy business

  [1]DeMet's Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  George DeMet begins a candy store and soda fountain business in Chicago, establishing the origins of the later DeMet's confectionery company.

A heritage confectionery company centered on indulgent chocolate products, particularly the Turtles chocolate-and-nut candy, with historical experience managing adjacent snack and confectionery brands.

• Chocolate confectionery · 1918

  Turtles

  Turtles is DeMet's defining confectionery brand. The product originated in 1918 and is built around nuts and caramel coated in chocolate. Its distinctive clustered form gave rise to the turtle name and helped make it a durable branded candy line. Turtles was the subject of a separate asset transaction when Brynwood Partners acquired the brand and its Toronto manufacturing facility from Nestlé USA in 2007.

• Chocolate-covered pretzels

  Flipz

  Flipz was among the confectionery brands included in the portfolio consolidated under the revived DeMet's Candy Company structure after Brynwood Partners assembled several acquisitions. The line combines the salty format of pretzels with a chocolate coating and represents DeMet's historical expansion beyond traditional boxed or molded chocolate candies.

• Confectionery

  Stixx

  Stixx was identified as one of the confectionery assets brought into the DeMet's portfolio during Brynwood Partners' consolidation of candy brands after 2007. The available reference material does not provide sufficient detail about its specific recipes, packaging, distribution, or present ownership.

• Confectionery

  Treasures

  Treasures was another confectionery brand associated with the portfolio assembled under DeMet's after the company name was revived. Public reference material confirms its inclusion but does not establish a detailed product description or current commercial status.

• Nut snacks

  TrueNorth

  TrueNorth was a nut-snack brand acquired by DeMet's from Frito-Lay in 2010. The brand expanded DeMet's beyond chocolate and confectionery into packaged snack foods. It was later sold to B&G Foods in 2013 and is therefore a historical rather than confirmed current part of the DeMet's portfolio.

• 2013

  Sale to Yıldız HoldingM&A

  Background

  After several years of portfolio consolidation under Brynwood Partners, DeMet's underwent another ownership transition.

  Action taken

  Brynwood Partners sold DeMet's Candy Company to Yıldız Holding.

  Aftermath

  DeMet's became part of Yıldız Holding's broader food and confectionery group.

  Source

• 2010

  Acquisition of TrueNorthM&A

  Background

  DeMet's sought to broaden its portfolio from confectionery into packaged nut snacks.

  Action taken

  The company acquired TrueNorth from Frito-Lay.

  Aftermath

  TrueNorth was later sold to B&G Foods in 2013.

  Source

• 2007

  Separate acquisition of DeMet's and Turtles assetsM&A

  Background

  Nestlé divested the DeMet's brand and the Turtles business as part of a broader separation of confectionery assets.

  Action taken

  Signature Snacks acquired the DeMet's brand, while Brynwood Partners acquired Turtles and the associated Toronto production facility.

  Aftermath

  Brynwood consolidated Turtles with other confectionery brands and revived the DeMet's Candy Company name.

  Source

1. 1DeMet's Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2DeMet's Candy Company official websitedemetscandy.com