Kozy Shack Pudding Tycoon Dead at 67

Vincent Gruppuso, the pudding cup king of Long Island, passed away recently, leaving his multimillion dollar Kozy Shack Enterprises behind. The 67 year old dessert tycoon had spent his life turning his tiny, one-man operation into a multinational operation employing 400 employees at three plants in Hicksville, California and Ireland. Last year the company sold over 115 million cups of pudding and pastries. Cause of death? Diabetes.

The Brooklyn-born Grupposo started out in the ‘60s as a bread delivery man with a side business delivering creamy rice pudding from a Cozy Shack delicatessen on Seneca Avenue. When demand for the pudding outstripped the bread, he bought the recipe, put the K in Kozy, and went into business for himself as a manufacturer. By the end of his life, his company was netting $140 million a year; not to shabby for the son of a construction worker.

Are you a Kozy Shack Konnoisseur? And what's the verdict on their flan?

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By John Del Signore in Food on January 11, 2008 9:32 AM

Comments [rss]

babyhitler

i like the rice pudding but I get crazy diarrhea runs after i eat more than 2 cups.

greenjeans

Their rice pudding is excellent...I once made a batch out from a Joy of Cooking recipe, and can't say it was any better than the Kozy Shack.

Jen Chung

I have some "Kozy Shack European Style Rice Pudding" in my fridge now. The "History" section on the Kozy Shack website is really charming. It opened a plant in Ireland (!) and it's still a family-owned business! That's so great.

brooklynbee

I ate a lot of Kozy Shack rice pudding after I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed at once.

ptwnbkr

hope they continue to make the stuff.... it is a common find when dumpster diving! freegans love it!

Banana

ironic that he died of diabetes, but his products are fantastic! they don't have any weirdo chemical ingredients and preservatives.

Papercutninja

Holy crap! I literally just bought a 6 pack of Kozy Shack Tapioca this weekend. It was the first time in years that i'd had pudding.

His life is one of those American stories. Came from modest, workaday means to become a multimillionaire.

famdoc

What a great story: the guy was a bread truck driver, enjoyed the rice pudding made by one of his customers, sold it to other stops on his route and eventually bought the recipe and now has three factories, including one in Ireland. He died a multi-millionaire and a happy man.