Sisu (candy) facts for kids
Sisu is a famous Finnish candy brand. It is known for its strong, unique taste. Today, the company Leaf International makes Sisu candies.
The Sisu candy first came out in 1928. A company in Turku, Finland, called Seres, created it. A chemist named Johan Ponkamo started working on the candy a year before. He wanted to make a candy like the Swedish Läkerol.
Ponkamo used an old recipe to help him. He worked hard to mix gum arabic and liquorice together. It took many tries to get the special Sisu flavor just right. The exact recipe for this flavor is still a secret!
Sisu quickly became very popular. People loved its name and its unique taste. Soon after it launched, Sisu won a gold medal. This was at a big food fair in Liège, Belgium. A picture of this medal has been on the Sisu candy box ever since.
Contents
What's in a Name? The Sisu Logo
The word "Sisu" is very important in Finland. It means having great strength, determination, and courage. No one knows for sure who thought of the name "Sisu" for the candy. It was probably a team effort at the Seres factory. The word "Sisu" was very popular in the 1920s.
The look of the Sisu candy box and its logo were designed by Arnold Tilgmann. He was 25 years old at the time. The Sisu logo has looked the same since the 1920s. The name "Sisu" is written in an old style of letters called Fraktur. Sometimes, people who don't know this style might mistake it for "Gifu."
How Sisu Was Advertised
Sisu became a favorite candy in Finland during the 1930s. It became popular with very little advertising. People often suggested it for singers, speakers, and smokers. It was known as a good breath freshener and even helped with coughs.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Sisu ads appeared in local newspapers. Sometimes, they were in bigger national papers like Suomen Kuvalehti. The same pictures were used in ads for many years.
A new way of advertising started in the mid-1970s. Sisu began to be advertised on television. A famous TV ad had the slogan "In the beginning, there was a swamp, a hoe and Jussi." This ad was made by the Lintas company. It was an instant hit with Finnish people. It was even shown again in the 1980s.
In the late 1980s, Sisu was owned by Rettig Group. At this time, Sisu ads often featured ice hockey. When Leaf took over, they also continued with the ice hockey theme. Sisu's ice hockey ads were very popular when Finland won the world championship in 1995. Sisu ice hockey cards were also sold in Finland from 1993 to 1996.
For Sisu's 70th birthday in 1998, the famous mountaineer Veikka Gustafsson was in the ads. Gustafsson was one of the first people to climb a very tall mountain in the Antarctic. This mountain was even named Mount Sisu!
Since 2002, Sisu advertising has been linked to rock music festivals. This started when the Sisu Horna candy was launched. In 2007, Sisu began to support the power metal band Sturm und Drang. This band was formed in 2004 in Vaasa. Its members were young musicians from Finland.
Different Sisu Flavors
In the 1970s, a Sisu candy made with sorbitol was introduced. This candy was meant to be sugar-free. However, laws changed, and candy with sorbitol could not be called "sugarless." So, Sisu came up with a new word: "Sokton."
In the early 1970s, a sugar-free Sisu and a Sisu made with xylitol were also released. The xylitol version was developed with the help of the University of Turku's dentistry department.
The first new Sisu flavor from Leaf was Salmiakki-Sisu. It came out in 1994. This quickly became the most popular salty liquorice candy in Finland. The original sugared Sisu stopped being made in 1998.
In the 2000s, many new Sisu flavors have been created. One popular one is Sisu Horna. It has a different recipe and comes in small paper bags. Sisu Horna is sweetened with sugar. In 2008, for Sisu's 80th birthday, a new liquorice-flavored Sisu called Sisu Sysi was introduced.
Who Makes Sisu?
The Seres factory started in Hämeenkatu in Turku in 1928. Then, in 1938, production moved to Rauhankatu. The Kaukopaasi and Ponkamo families owned the Seres factory until the 1970s. Then, they sold it to Rettig Group, a company known for tobacco.
A new factory opened in Aura in 1973. Sisu was made there until 2013. The owners of Sisu have changed several times. Rettig Group sold its candy business to Huhtamäki in 1992. So, Sisu became part of Leaf, which was owned by Huhtamäki.
In 1999, Sisu became owned by the Dutch company CSM. Today, Leaf and Sisu are owned by international investors CVC Capital Partners and Nord Capital. The production of Sisu moved to Italy in 2013.
See also
