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皮糖张的祖先原是山西人。明清初年，携家带口随难民一路北上，熬糖叫卖，糊口为生。他们做的糖，花样很多，活灵活现，难民们买些糖哄孩子，慢慢人们习惯把这一家人称“糖人张”。
后来，“糖人张”落户天津大直沽一带，打鼓卖糖。道光年间，先祖张少公在“粱家嘴”盖厂房，搞批发。一天，张家门口倒卧一个人，已奄奄一息，张少公急忙救起。此人叫张万年，乃广东潮州人，也是做糖果生意的，因吸大烟家庭败落，来北寻亲戚借钱，想重头再来，不想身患肺炎。为了答谢救命之恩，张万年将自己做“牛皮糖”的手艺传给张少公。清朝光绪年间，唐人张又改称为“皮糖张”，在粱家嘴一带(现红桥区)戳起了“皮糖张糖坊“的牌子。20世纪初，第二代传人张均综合了天津刘记和业记皮糖的特点，将皮糖技术推进了一大步。
80年代的改革开发给皮糖张带来了春天。第三代传人张学礼先生根据业家皮糖的柔软，刘家皮糖的硬脆，结合自己皮糖的香甜，精心熬制出具有传统特色，聚众家之精华口感为软、硬、韧、脆为特色的皮糖，“皮糖张”的字号也随之享誉全国。
1991年张学礼将这份手艺传给了第四代传人张琦。1996年在申请商标注册时，原想的“皮糖张”三个字注册，当时商标法规定：不能以姓氏及商品通用名称来注册，只好根据产品老少皆宜的特点，注册了“老少乐”为皮糖张的商标。皮糖张现有18种口味，用精选的芝麻、白沙糖和精致淀粉制成。工艺古朴，以明火熬制，纯手工制作。低糖又不骺嗓子，耐嚼又不粘牙。到21世纪，又推出了酥糖、巧克力、麻花等系列产品。产品不仅在全国各大市场销售，还远销日本、德国、俄罗斯等国。
Zhang’s Soft Chewy Candy
A famous local specialty
Zhang Shaogong, the founder of Zhang’s Soft Chewy Candy, was originally from Shanxi. At the end of Ming Dynasty and the beginning of Qing Dynasty, his family migrated to the north with refugees and made a living selling homemade candy during the long move. Their delicious candy came in many vivid shapes, so the refugees’ kids just had to have them. There’s nothing like a tasty piece of candy to bring some joy to a long, arduous migration, right? They became known for their candy, and people began to call the family “Sugar Figurine Zhang.”
After settling down in Tianjin, the family continued to sell their candy. During Emperor Daoguang’s Regime in the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Shaogong established a factory in Tianjin and sold the candy wholesale under the name Zhang’s Sugar Candy. One fortuitous day, a stranger fainted in front of Zhang’s house. Zhang took him home and called some doctors over to see what the hell was wrong with the guy. Well, that guy turned out to be Zhang Wannian, a skilled candy maker from Guangdong province. He had gone through some bad times and was addicted to opium. He spent all his money on the sweet relief it brought. Desperate, he came to Tianjin to seek the help of his friends and relatives, but somehow managed to contract pneumonia and pass out in just the right spot. He was very grateful for the help, and in order to pay back his debt, he taught Zhang Shaogong his super special method of making soft chewy candies. Awesome! During Emperor Guangxu’s Regime in the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Shaogong took full advantage of his new skill, and Zhang’s Sugar Candy was renamed Zhang’s Soft Chewy Candy. He set up a new workshop in Hongqiao District.
In the early 20th century, Zhang Jun, who had the family business passed on to him, brought many of the other styles of soft chewy candies in the city under the Zhang’s Candy umbrella and took the family business to a whole new level.
Zhang’s Soft Chewy Candy saw even more favorable conditions after the reforms of the 1980s. Zhang Xueli, the third generation Zhang, studied the soft chewy candies made by other workshops and started a chewy candy revolution: hard outside, soft inside. It wasn’t long before Zhang’s Soft Chewy Candy became a household name nationwide.
In 1991, Zhang Xueli handed down the special candy making skill to the fourth generation. In 1996, they tried to register the name Zhang’s Soft Chewy Candy but failed. The reason was that in China, a brand name cannot include a person’s surname. They settled on the name Lao Shao Le, which literally means something enjoyed by both young and old.
Today, there are 18 flavors of candy. Made of choice sesames, powdered sugar, and starch, their handmade candies are low in sugar, chewy, and neither too sweet nor too sticky. In recent years, they have started to produce some other snacks, such as crisp candy, chocolates, and fried dough twists. All their products sell very well in supermarkets nationwide, and are also successful abroad, especially in Japan, Germany, and Russia.
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