Sample Box of Rich’s Tryphosa

Introduced in 1896, footnote Rich's Tryphosa was a direct competitor to the likes of Jell-O and Bromangelon. It came in a variety of flavors, including wild cherry, pineapple, mint, and vanilla, and was named after the biblical Tryphosa, whose name "stands for daintiness, purity and excellence." footnote Purity would be given a heavy emphasis; this was inspired by the passing of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act, which aimed to put a stop to the adulteration, mislabeling, and unsanitary preparation of food products. From the El Paso Herald: footnote

"The secret of the superiority of Rich's Tryphosa is found in its absolute purity. Only the purest of fruit juices are used in its flavoring, and its beautiful clearness makes it wonderfully attractive in appearance [...] The product is so pure and so uniform in quality that mistakes are practically impossible." 

(In fact, Tryphosa was 90% sugar, included natural and artificial flavors, footnote and was colored with coal tar dye, footnote a synthetic pigment derived as a by-product of coal processing. Coal tar dyes were partially banned for food use starting in the 1950s.)

In the early 1920s, Tryphosa was rebranded as Presto! Jell, which pushed them closer in line with competitors like Enzo Jel, Advo Jell, Jell-X-Cell, Jiffy-Jell, and so on. But perhaps the rebrand didn't take, or the company had shifted priorities amidst their current financial struggles; newspaper advertisements for Presto! Jell disappeared only a few years after it was introduced.