Our Story
I started Toe-Food Chocolates in 1984 by accident. Every year for Christmas, I send out holiday gifts to referring doctors and patients. I am a podiatrist (foot doctor) and that year I was searching for something more creative to send. After much thought and a few glasses of wine, I came upon the idea of a chocolate foot. Once the idea of a life size chocolate foot hit, I thought that other podiatrists would also be interested in such a unique gift, and the idea of starting a business was initiated.
I realized that I needed a unique name to complement the unusual product and after another glass of wine, the name Toe-Food was hatched.
For the first few years, the company sold to other podiatrists through direct mail and word of mouth. The business was run out of the house with the help of family and friends and became a profitable hobby. One of the first purchases was a company truck with personalized plates that read, what else, Toe Trux.
As the business continued to develop, more products were added, and the company enjoyed steady growth. I had the feeling that there was more to this than just a holiday business. Each year we would receive more calls from non medical people who heard of the products and were looking for something new and creative for their business. We received orders from shoe companies, pharmaceutical companies, new parents who were looking for a creative way to announce the birth of their child, and we even sold 3,000 foot suckers for the opening of Footloose on Broadway.
Realizing it was time to "put my best foot forward", I decided to take the big step and try to make the company more than just a hobby.
With the addition of key personnel such as Pat Brown, director of operations, new products, and some promotion, Toe-Food Chocolates became Toe-Food Chocolates & Candy and has continued to enjoy steady growth. As the word spread, and the unique products received some notoriety the media started to report on the good foot doctor who made chocolate feet. I was dubbed, the candy man.
We have been featured on the Food Network, Evening Magazine, and I even appeared on To Tell the Truth. I was the real Dr. Mark Wolpa. We have been written up in many major newspapers including the Wall Street Journal, and I have been interviewed on many a radio station discussing our unique products. I was even interviewed by People Magazine. I expected none of this when I started the company.
At one of the candy conventions that we exhibit at I realized that there was still room to grow. I wanted a new product that would have mass market appeal to add to the specialty chocolate items. After some thought and bouncing ideas off of my confident Bonkers Brown, my black lab, I came up with the idea of a gummy foot that would have special appeal to kids. Again I needed a special name for it and came up with, Stinky Feet.
It took over a year to put everything together. The new line of candy is called Toe-rific Candy and the first two items were Stinky Feet and Hot Foot. I wanted a mascot for the package and created, Tommy Toe-rific, the skateboard riding character with a foot shaped head.
In 2002, Stinky Feet caught the attention of NECCO , New England Confectionery Company. NECCO is over 100 years old and is famous for its wafers, and Sweethearts candies among others. They wanted to introduce a kids candy and were impressed with Stinky Feet. NECCO and Toe-Food Chocolates and Candy entered into a partnership and now NECCO manufactures and sells the Stinky Feet line. As part of this line, Freaky Stinky Feet was recently introduced for Halloween and additional new Stinky Feet products will be introduced yearly.
Toe-Food Chocolates and Candy continues to create new products every year. As a matter of fact, there are at least 15 other trademarked names that are awaiting introduction to the market place.
It is our hope that you will enjoy our delicious and unique products for your personal consumption as well as for your gift giving needs. There is no better compliment then a customer telling us that they heard about us from a friend. We hope that you will continue to spread the word about our company.
We thank you for your support and wish every day is toe-rific!.
Sincerely,
Mark Wolpa, DPM Founder and CEO