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Pez Candy Evolution
By: www.gatreasures.com
staff -- November 7th 2005
Introduction
 The Pez candy dispensers we all love to collect started from an idea an
ingenious Austrian entrepreneur had back in 1927.
The Haas Candy Company was already making foodstuff products when
its owner, Eduard Haas III, who had a personal dislike for smoking,
thought adults who might want to have an alternative to smoking would be
delighted in chewing a refreshing mint candy as a substitute. Peppermint
oil was quite expensive in those days, and to have it available in a
nice candy tablet form was a novelty at the time and became very
popular. In fact the
trademark name “PEZ” was derived by Mr. Haas as an abbreviation from
the German word for peppermint: pfefferminz. The sale of
the Pez peppermint candy was so successful that later other flavors were
added to create an entire line of candies. This
finally led, in 1948, to the idea of having a convenient pocket
dispenser for them. Since
the candy was primarily marketed for adults in
Europe
during the early years of Pez, some unique flavors were produced.
Anise (a strong black licorice flavor), chlorophyll, chocolate,
cinnamon, coffee, eucalyptus-menthol, flower, and salmiak (a very
pungent licorice) flavored Pez candy were once available.
In 1953 the company had the idea of increasing candy sales by
also targeting children and hence more fruity flavors such as cherry,
lemon, lime, orange, and strawberry appeared.
U.S.
PEZ Candy Market Opens
 Also in 1953, Haas opened a branch of the company in the
United States which initially imported and sold four flavors of candy (cherry,
Chlorophyll mint, lemon, and peppermint) and a plain head pocket
dispenser. Several years
thereafter to further increase the candy’s appeal to children, the
company decided to place familiar character heads on top of the
dispenser and make it look like a toy.
A Pez candy production plant was built in the U.S. in 1974, but, possibly due to American food production standards, some
of the ingredients used in making U.S. Pez candy were changed.
Thus, a difference in taste occurred between the same flavors
made here in the
United States
and those made in
Europe
. This was particularly true
of the U.S.
made wild cherry Pez candy, which some people felt tasted like cough
syrup. In 1985 the U.S.
cherry flavor was discontinued and replaced with grape.
No new Pez candy flavors appeared in the U.S.
until 1995 when peppermint Pez was re-introduced to the American market.
In 1999 cola flavored Pez was released to the world market,
except for the states. Then
in 2004 the cola flavor was finally made available here also.
In 2002 the new Pez Sourz flavors (sour blue raspberry, sour
green apple, sour watermelon, and sour pineapple) were released.
Some U.S. Pez candy flavors are also available in sugar free as
well as Kosher (prepared in accordance with Jewish dietary laws)
formulations. Rumor has it
that a new raspberry flavor will be introduced to the
U.S.
next year.
Other Candy
Accessories
 Along with different flavors of candy, the company developed a large
assortment of candy wrappers and packaging.
In
Europe
it became a common practice for Haas to advertise or sponsor other
companies and organizations using the Pez candy pack wrapper.
Also, especially in
Europe
, Pez candy was available in a vast array of presentations and could be
purchased without the dispenser from vending machines as well as in
stores as multi-packs in different package formats (carded, in different
sized tins, special holiday boxes, etc.). The
older Pez multi-candy packages also often came with premiums such as
stickers, rub-on tattoos, clickers or balloons. Currently,
there are many special Pez candy wrappers available that were made to
commemorate the various Pez conventions.
Also, some industrious collectors have creatively designed and
sell “fantasy” Pez wrappers. Thus
not only collecting Pez dispensers but also collecting Pez candy
packages can become engaging. There
are many collectors who sub-specialize by acquiring the numerous
different Pez candy flavor packs and the large assortment of attractive
wrappers and packages produced over the many years that Pez has been
sold. If you haven’t
already done so, consider adding a little spice to your Pez dispenser
collection with colorful and interesting Pez candy pack wrappers and
multi-candy packages.
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