PEZ

by Shawn Peterson

  Several years later, I received another e-mail, this time from a young man named Daniel Wright who lived in upstate New York. He had recently received a bag full of PEZ dispensers from his grandfather. His grandfather was moving, and the dispensers were in the pile of things to be discarded. He asked if he could have the dispensers, and his grandfather obliged. Using the Internet, Daniel was able to identify all of the dispensers except one. Attached to the e-mail was a photo of another political donkey!

  Daniel Wright with his grandfather Mr. Carl Shapiro holding the famed political donkey dispenser he discovered circa 2013.

  I shared the little information we had about the dispenser and explained he had possibly one of the rarest dispensers known to exist. We made arrangements for him to visit the PEZ offices; we could authenticate the dispenser, and he could share the story of how it was acquired. Soon after, he arrived in our office with his mother and grandfather. They shared the story of how they acquired the dispenser. His grandfather, Mr. Shapiro, recounted that many years ago, in the very early days of PEZ arriving State side, he was an accountant and worked for the firm that handled the PEZ account. He was friendly with Allina (executive vice-president of PEZ), and Allina would often give him dispensers to take home for his children. Daniel’s mother said as kids, they were delighted when Dad would come home with new PEZ for them. She remembered the donkey dispenser quite well. She said, “We didn’t think it looked like a donkey at all; with the long slender ears, it looked more like an Egyptian figure to us. We would flick the ends of those ears over and over again.” Which explained how the chip and missing piece of plastic in the front of the stem came to be. Voila! A second donkey had been discovered!

  All three known political donkeys, along with the political elephant dispenser. Left to right: the first found resides in the Austrian PEZ archives; the second found and third found.

  The dispenser was loaned to the PEZ Visitor Center and was on display for a number of months. During this time, several press releases were issued mentioning the find and potential interest in selling the rarity. Daniel negotiated a sale for the single dispenser with a private collector on the East Coast. The final sale price: $12,500!

  Around 2013, a third donkey dispenser was found, along with other unusual PEZ items, including a rare elephant dispenser (thought to represent the Republican Party). This was the nicest donkey example found so far, near mint condition without any paint wear. Those two items sold as a pair, reportedly for the sum of $20,000. They currently reside in a private collection on the West Coast. length of the display. Each roll of candy sold for ten cents each. A lever in the tray receptacle was depressed, and a single roll of candy would be deposited in the tray for the consumer. In the end, it would be the core line of products (PEZ dispensers and candy) that would continue to be the primary source of business, and Smoke-Pause would be retired in a few short years.

  This is the tooling die used to make the political donkey head.

  In 1965, one of the most successful product lines was launched: PEZ Pals. A creation of Advertising Manager Fred Blum and his counterpart in Austria, Werner Benzinger, the Pals served the needs for low-cost production and product variety. The concept would allow for one standardized head to be produced for multiple different dispensers. The heads could be accessorized using smaller, low-cost parts like hats, beards and moustaches. The only limit to the variety of dispenser combinations would be a child’s imagination. Structured characters were offered, but children were encouraged to mix and match the parts to come up with their own unique character. This helps explain why dispensers are missing parts or are found in configurations not originally intended.

  The marketing approach also piqued imagination. PEZ created a character called “PEZi Boy.” The various iterations of him wearing different hats, mustaches, etc. were explained as “disguises.” PEZi Boy was a detective and would solve mysteries while in disguise. These mysteries were published in comic format and were packaged with the dispenser and candy. After reading the comics, there was usually an offer for a special mail-order item you could get directly from PEZ (for a nominal fee or by mailing in a certain number of candy wrappers). The initial three dispensers in the PEZ Pal line were boy with baseball cap, Mexican (boy with a sombrero, two earrings and a goatee) and a sailor (boy with a beard and sailor cap). The character line would start to expand a few years later in 1970.

  A press release dated February 18, 1964, announcing the introduction of a new product called Smoke Pause.

  A product shot of the new Smoke Pause display and optional header card, circa 1964.

  In 1967, PEZ Intermint S.a.r.l. (in France, S.a.r.l. is the U.S. equivalent of a limited liability company) was incorporated in Strasbourg, France, to cover distribution to the French market. PEZ is still sold in France and across Europe.

  The 1960s saw the introduction of two unusual concepts: psychedelic dispensers and candy flavors reflecting pop culture. In the late 1960s, psychedelic dispensers were introduced along with flower-flavored candy. Hippies were coming of age, and it was the time of “Peace, Love & PEZ.” The dispensers made for the time reflected the lifestyle shift in parts of society. You could now eat PEZ candy from a dispenser shaped like a hand holding an eyeball or a flower with an eyeball as the iris. Some of the flavors were a bit unusual as well: flower (for the psychedelics), chlorophyll and eucalyptus. None of these flavors saw sales strong enough to support long-term production, but they affirm the company’s ability to develop new products that reflect current trends and preferences.

  Today, these flower-flavored candy packs are exceedingly rare. There are a few known in private collections, and when examples are offered for sale, they have traded hands in the $300 to $400 range for a single candy pack. These dispensers also hold the distinction of being one of the few dispensers ever offered with a unique stem. All of the original psychedelic dispensers have either one or both sides that are completely smooth and void of the usual raised PEZ logo(s). The smooth sides contained a sticker with “groovy”-looking psychedelic designs, such as “Luv PEZ,” “Mod PEZ” or “Go Go PEZ.” In the late 1990s, PEZ would reissue the psychedelics as a limited-edition item offered through a mail-order program. The re-make dispensers were nearly identical except for two differences; they had the raised PEZ logo on both sides of the stem and they carried the copyright date of 1967. Original dispensers did not have the copyright mark.

  Advertising sheets announcing the new PEZ Pal line, circa 1965.

  Assembly line work producing the PEZ Pal dispensers in Austria, circa 1960s.

  Psychedelic hand and flower dispensers in the original packaging, circa 1968.

  An advertising sheet for the new psychedelic dispensers, circa 1968.

  An extremely rare Lions Club dispenser created for the 1962 international meeting in Nice, France.

  DISPENSER TIMELINE: 1960s

  1960 Arithmetic, Bozo the Clown, Casper the Ghost, Casper die-cut, Popeye B

  1961 Mickey Mouse (painted face, die-cut face, die-cut stem), Easter Bunny die-cut, Donald Duck, Donald Duck die-cut, Bozo the Clown die-cut, clown with collar, political donkey, political elephant

  1962 Astronaut A, Bunny B, Lions Club, Pinocchio A

  1963 Bullwinkle, Cocoa Marsh Spaceman, Pluto, fat-ear bunny

  1964 baseball glove and home plate set, baseball glove, football player 1965 boy with cap, candy shooter pistol, Lil Bad Wolf, Mexican PEZ Pal, Sailor PEZ Pal, Practical Pig A, Universal Monsters (Frankenstein, Wolfman, Creature from the Black Lagoon), Zorro, Santa B

  1966 Batman with cape, Brutus, Olive Oyl, Goofy

  1967 Baloo, Dopey, King Louie, Mowgli, Snow White, Green Hornet, monkey sailor

  1968 psychedelic hand and psychedelic flower 1969 Captain Hook, Peter Pan, Tinkerbell

  Chapter 3

  Connecticut, Here We Come!

  The 1970s ushered in a new era. Business continued to be successful, demand was high and for the first time ever, PEZ would find a perm
anent home and start manufacturing in the United States.

  The PEZ Pal line was expanded to offer seven new characters in 1970 alone. Additional dispensers were developed that didn’t require licensing, thus making the business even more profitable. The series would be carried out throughout the decade with new additions added on occasion. The sheik was added in 1972; the ringmaster, engineer and bride and groom in 1975; and the sheriff in 1977. During this time, artwork on a couple of different candy boxes depicted a colonial judge or admiral, a character wearing a tri-cornered hat and a rolled powder wig and bow tie alongside several other known characters from the PEZ Pal line. For years, that’s all it seemed to be—an artistic depiction. Years later in the early 2000s, Silvia Biermayr, a well-known collector in Europe, found the only known parts for this character in an assortment of material she acquired from a former home worker. The dispenser was assembled and is the only known example of this character in the world.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Years ago in Europe, local residents living near the PEZ factories could make extra money by assembling the dispensers. They were able to pick up bags of parts, take them to their homes and assemble the parts into completed dispensers. They were paid for each dispenser they completely assembled and returned to the factory. Enterprising collectors ran ads in local newspapers trying to locate former home workers in an effort to locate vintage dispensers and parts. Some have been successful in finding long-forgotten variations.

  The admiral part of the PEZ Pal series and currently the only known example to exist, circa 1970s.

  Several years later, in 1978, the niece of the office manager was getting married. PEZ created a couple hundred special bride-and-groom sets to commemorate the event. Each dispenser was packaged in clear cellophane with a special paper insert that read “CLAUDIA and ROBERT October 6, 1978.” The dispensers were given away to guests who attended the wedding. The original dispensers with the special insert are quite elusive and have sold for more than $3,000.

  The European side of business had shifted gears as well. Throughout the 1960s, ’70s and beyond, the European divisions adapted to the American marketing style and replaced most of the PEZ product line with child-friendly candy flavors and three-dimensional character heads on the dispensers. Not only was this method successful in the United States, but consumers across Europe and Japan overwhelmingly showed interest as well, making what we regard as PEZ popular worldwide.

  In 1970, a promotional dispenser was created for Austrian banks. The Sparefroh dispenser was offered to children who put money in their bank account on World Saving Day (October 31). The little character with the red pointed hat and “coin” attached to its torso was used throughout Germany and Austria as the advertising character to promote this annual event. There are two variations of the original dispenser; both are extremely difficult to find. Complete examples in pristine condition have sold for more than $1,000 each. The Sparefroh would be introduced once again in 2010 for another European banking promotion.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Fun fact: The hair used for the bride dispenser was not the same hair that was used for the nurse in 1970. They are in fact different. While similar in style, the bride has her own unique hair that is only found on this dispenser.

  In 1971, the hippo dispenser was introduced. Up to this point, the top of a PEZ dispenser was only a head. This marked the first time an entire body was placed completely on top of a dispenser. It was done for the European bank Länderbank as a promotional item. The golden yellow hippo sat atop a green dispenser base. It was inscribed on one side of the stem with “HIPPO” and on the other “LANDERBANK,” both in raised capital letters. Today, these dispensers are highly sought after by collectors; pristine examples have sold for hundreds of dollars each.

  As sales throughout Europe and the rest of the world continued to grow, the facility in Linz, Austria, struggled to keep up with demand. On October 28, 1971, the PEZ factory in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia, opened for business; it continued to produce PEZ dispensers for over two decades. The firm Joze Kerencic in Ormoz, Yugoslavia, was chosen to manufacture the dispensers. The candy was to be manufactured with cooperation between Ed. Haas Linz and the Kolinska Company. Apart from providing product to the Yugoslavian market, Kolinska would supply PEZ-Unimint Ltd. in Munich and was responsible for an extensive export program to other parts of the world. Dispensers made in Ljubljana during this era can be found with the IMC 5 (Injection Mold Code) and two spelling variations: “Made in Yugoslavia” and “Made in Jugoslavia.”

  An original Sparefroh dispenser, circa 1970. These dispensers must still have the “coin” attached (as shown) to be considered complete.

  Left to right: Eduard Haas IV (Consul), Eduard Haas III, Horst Schafelner (export manager, PEZ-Haas), Yoshiharu Mano (general manager, Morinaga) and Tamotsu Matsuzaki (vice-president and representative director, Morinaga).

  At this same time, the desire to grow led to a very successful business partnership and the expansion of PEZ into the Japanese market. In May 1971, PEZ International contacted the Morinaga Company. This Japanese enterprise, founded in 1899, owned eight factories and seventy-two distribution branches throughout Japan. The comprehensive list of items it offered included such items as chocolates, biscuits, caramels, sweets, candy, ice cream, coffee and some canned goods. PEZ seemed to be a perfect fit to add to its extensive line of products. In fact, PEZ was the only foreign product accepted into its assortment after the October 1971 liberalization of confectionery imports into Japan. A trade agreement was signed in 1972 between the Morinaga Company and PEZ-Haas. This was the deal that would introduce PEZ to Japan. In the spring of 1972, PEZ was introduced to areas of Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.

  Japan, a country regarded as advertiser friendly, allowed all media to be utilized to the fullest for PEZ publicity. The Dentsu Advertising Agency partnered, and publicity began. In March 1972, two hundred of the leading wholesalers in Japan were introduced to PEZ during the PEZ reception at the Prince Hotel in Tokyo. Television spots were put into place, and retailers were supplied with point-of-purchase material such as hats, paper flags, beach balls and colorful printed plastic bags to give away in support of this new novelty.

  The area covered by the publicity campaign was inhabited by approximately fifty million people, ten million of whom are children under the age of twelve. On the basis of PEZ sales during the first four months of introduction, it was found that every third child had received a PEZ dispenser and every child had received 1.3 candy refills. At nearly three hundred point-of-sale locations, Japanese consumers were introduced to the PEZ Girls at various stores and supermarkets.

  The PEZ Girls were stylish young women who wore the familiar bright blue-and-yellow outfits emblazoned with the PEZ Candy logo. The girls would demonstrate the new dispensers, provide free samples and promotional items and host in-store competitions to see who could properly fill a PEZ dispenser the quickest. In the last several years, Japan has spawned a strong collector market, and conventions specifically for PEZ dispensers called “PEZ-a go-go” have been held in various parts of the country. To this day, PEZ continues to enjoy a strong presence with Japanese retailers and consumers alike.

  A shopkeeper preparing for a promotional event in Kurokawa, Japan, on August 18, 1972.

  Introducing PEZ to the Japanese consumer during an in-store promotional event, circa 1972.

  Japanese children receiving promotional items during an event in Kurokawa, Japan, circa 1972.

  Children learning to load a PEZ dispenser during an in-store promotion, circa 1972.

  A Japanese advertising sheet featuring paper costumes for your dispenser, circa early 1970s.

  Japanese consumers learning about the new PEZ dispenser line in Kurokawa, Japan, circa 1972.

  In 1972, PEZ created a special dispenser exclusively for the summer Olympic Games that were held in Munich, Germany. The Alpine Man dispenser was a mustached PEZ Pal character that wore a bristled green Alpine hat. There
are two variations known to exist: one with a green hat and an extremely rare brown hat version. Both versions are almost impossible to find. Previous sales in collector circles have seen prices for a single example sell in the $3,000 range for the green hat and considerably more for the brown hat.

  By this time, PEZ had nearly twenty successful years of doing business in the United States, all the while importing the dispensers and candy from its manufacturing facilities in Europe. It was time to consider expanding operations and building a manufacturing headquarters stateside.

  The man largely responsible for coordinating the expansion of PEZ manufacturing into Connecticut was Roger W. Boyd. Boyd was the Union Trust Company’s vice-president for economic development and traveled throughout Europe with the New England Reverse Trade Mission. He was chairman of the Economic Development Commission of the town of Orange, Connecticut, where he and his family lived. Boyd made regular trips to Europe, meeting with various businesses and discussing opportunities to expand their operations to locations in Connecticut. The following redacted summary is from a document Boyd provided during a meeting on July 20, 2010. The original document is just over two full pages in length and was typewritten by Boyd himself. (The final part of the documents was omitted as it mainly talked about the financing details and monetary conversion rates.)