PEZ

by Shawn Peterson

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Eduard Haas III, the man who created PEZ at the age of fifty-nine, circa 1956.

  Eduard Haas III, the visionary and entrepreneur who founded the beloved brand PEZ, passed away on October 13, 1986, at the age of eighty-nine. His son Eduard IV (Consul) was heir to the PEZ-Haas business. Consul was now the managing director and would lead the company for more than a decade. In 2010, Eduard III was inducted into the Candy Hall of Fame as the founder of PEZ Candy and honored as an industry pioneer. The Candy Hall of Fame is an annual awards ceremony that recognizes the achievements of industry leaders drawn from across the world. Induction into the Hall of Fame is the highest honor in the confectionery industry. It is bestowed on individuals who have dedicated their careers to the overall betterment of the candy category. Eduard III’s vision to create an alternative to smoking and his pioneering spirit ultimately placed him forever in candy history.

  The magazine for children was loosely based on the French Pif Gadget comics and enjoyed a run of over one thousand issues from 1975 to 2000. Copies of this comic always came with some type of toy or gadget. The August 1984 issue included the PIF PEZ dispenser, and artwork on the front cover depicted Der Bonbon-spender (the candy dispenser). Later YPS issues would also include PEZ dispensers but of other licensed characters. If you look at the dispenser closely, you can see the name PIF molded into the left ear of this bright yellow character.

  In 1986, Rob Reiner directed a coming-of-age movie titled Stand By Me, set in the 1950s, that followed four boys on their quest to find the body of a missing boy. One version of the movie poster showed the silhouetted images of the four boys walking near a mountainous landscape. The text in the center of the poster is a quote from the movie: “If I could only have one food to eat for the rest of my life? That’s easy. PEZ. Cherry flavor PEZ. No question about it.” The line was from Vern Tessio, played by actor Jerry O’Connell. The high-profile mention was written into the script without payment or compensation. The writers felt the product fit well with the era and would be something a kid would say, so permission was given to allow the use of the brand name—something unheard of today in the era of product placement. Companies typically pay huge sums of money to have their product or brand prominently featured in television and movies. PEZ has never paid for product placement and has done little in traditional advertising. Despite this counterintuitive method, PEZ enjoys one of the highest brand-name recognitions and continues to be a familiar part of childhood memories across the globe.

  In 1994, the Ninth American Cinematheque Award honor was presented to Rob Reiner for his contributions to the movie industry. The award “is presented to an extraordinary artist currently making a significant contribution to the art of the moving picture.” Previous winners include such artists as Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard and Steven Spielberg, to name a few. The award ceremony was held on September 9, 1994, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The program featured congratulatory ads from numerous film studios, actors and a full-page note from PEZ: “Dear Rob: Thanks for the STAND BY ME and standing by us with the lines in your fantastic movie, its theatre posters and newspaper advertisement,” followed by the quote from the movie. “From your friends at PEZ Candy.”

  PEZ has been inspiring and innovating since 1927.

  The following year, the movie was released on videotape. To support the release, PEZ created a special promotion that was exclusive to video rental stores (remember those?). The promo contained a boy dispenser, one roll of assorted fruit candy and mini movie poster featuring the now famous quote. These promotional items are now extremely difficult to find. Although the dispenser is fairly common, examples still sealed in the original packaging with candy and the mini poster seldom become available and have sold for hundreds of dollars each.

  As the decade came to a close, the man who invented the beloved brand passed. Two new Smurf dispensers were added, and the main Disney license included updates to Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto. PEZ received mention in two major motion pictures, but overall, it was a quiet time for the company. A major revision that included a design change to the stem added feet to all dispenser bases. That change marks the point when most collectors draw the distinction between vintage and modern dispensers. The overall release schedule saw only a handful of new releases, and nothing verifiable was released in 1985 or 1988.

  An award program from the Ninth Annual American Cinematheque Award ceremony honoring Rob Reiner, circa 1994.

  Stand By Me video store promotional item, circa 1995.

  DISPENSER TIMELINE: 1980s

  1980 Barney Bear, Cool Cat, Droopy Dog, Henry Hawk, Foghorn Leghorn, Tom, Jerry, Petunia Pig, Road Runner, Spike, Tyke, Wile E. Coyote, camel whistle, clown whistle, dog whistle, donkey whistle, duck whistle, lamb whistle, pig whistle, rhino whistle, rooster whistle

  1981 frog whistle, koala whistle, panda whistle, owl whistle, jack-o’-lantern, snowman B, Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman

  1982 space gun, Annie

  1983 Mickey Mouse revision

  1984 Donkey Kong Jr., Vučko wolf, PIF the dog

  1985 n/a

  1986 Smurf

  1987 Stand By Me promotion

  1988 n/a

  1989 Papa Smurf, Smurfette, revisions to Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, Goofy

  The year 1990 would start on a sad note and bring the end of an era: the managing director of PEZ-Haas, Eduard IV (Consul) Haas, son of the man who invented the brand, passed away on June 3, 1990. The visionary, the man who helped rebuild the company after the war and led it to new levels of fame and prosperity, was now gone. His strong business sense coupled with his passion and enthusiasm for the product his father created was key in the success PEZ enjoyed under his leadership.

  His wife, Elisabeth “Sissi” Haas, had been in charge of the company since 1989. It would now be up to her to lead the company through the next decade. She would play an active role in the company until the late ’90s. On November 16, 1999, she appointed Manfred Födermayr as the managing director of PEZ-Haas. Sadly, soon after this appointment, on December 15, 1999, Elisabeth Haas passed away.

  Manfred Födermayr, chairman and president of PEZ AG.

  An aerial photo of the PEZ production facility in Jànossomorja, Hungary, circa 2010.

  A global map showing the locations of PEZ manufacturing facilities and headquarters.

  To this day, Mr. Födermayr continues to lead the global business as the CEO and president of PEZ AG. The two companies (PEZ USA and PEZ AG) continue to collaborate and share ideas. PEZ Candy, Inc., is headquartered in Orange, Connecticut, and is responsible for the entire U.S. and Canadian markets. PEZ AG, headquartered in Traun, Austria, is responsible for the rest of the world. Currently, PEZ AG enjoys strong market success throughout Europe, Australia and Japan. PEZ products are available in over eighty countries. To serve these markets, some 65 million dispensers and 4.2 billion candies are consumed every year. PEZ has approximately seven hundred employees worldwide. PEZ AG cites the top twenty countries in the world for PEZ sales as the United States, Germany, France, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Austria, the Netherlands, Hungary, Russia, Belgium, Serbia, Switzerland, Finland and Portugal.

  Chapter 5

  Here Come the PEZ!

  PEZ started 1990 with two new license deals: Peanuts and Garfield. They featured classic character assortments and gave collectors the opportunity to find some fun variations. Both Charlie Brown and Garfield could be found with various facial expressions. Each line included feature characters. Lucy, Woodstock and Snoopy completed the Peanuts line. Arlene and Nermal appeared in the Garfield line. The whistles (MMMs) were brought back for a brief time and included an Indian brave, monkey, penguin and tiger.

  As the ’90s progressed, dozens of new and revised dispensers were introduced—a vast contrast to the stark offering of the 1980s. In addition, PEZ began regularly experimenting again with translucent plastic (referred to as
“crystals”), neon colors and glow-in-the-dark plastic. This provided a whole new layer of fun and interest and offered a smart way to maximize the use of the tooling molds. Dispensers could be made in a variety of different colors to maximize the return on investment and offer a multitude of variations for collectors to find.

  In 1991, the Muppets were added to the dispenser family. The classic television show first appeared back in the mid-1970s and featured many high-profile veteran actors and performers as guest stars. Classic characters such as Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and Fozzy Bear would finally be immortalized as PEZ dispensers. The earliest version of Miss Piggy is generally the one with the most interest from collectors. The first version of her eyebrows contained separated, individual hairs. Later versions would quickly change to a thick, solid black line. The early version is difficult to find, and even if found, more times than not the head spring is broken.

  A special Silver Glow dispenser was created in 1991 in Europe to celebrate the opening of a new production facility in Hungary. The Silver Glow dispenser was a nod to the original “regular” dispenser and had a chrome finish. The blister packaging for the commemorative Silver Glow could be found in several language variations featuring “cool and fresh” retro-style graphics with two rolls of peppermint candy. Even though the dispenser had the look of chromed metal, this dispenser and all dispensers that have been made to date have always been made of plastic. I’ve heard the comment many times over the years from people who claim to have owned a metal PEZ dispenser. Unfortunately, there is no evidence or paperwork to suggest that PEZ ever made or considered making a metal dispenser.

  The early counterpart to the Silver Glow was the Golden Glow, a regular with a shiny gold finish. The plating did give the appearance of metal and tarnished like metal but was always made of plastic. Perhaps the confusion or memory of a metal dispenser was due to the metal pocket tins of the ’30s and ’40s that predate the PEZ dispenser. The pocket tins were just a metal container with a hinged lid.

  They were about the size of a credit card and were used to hold the candy but could not dispense. The pocket tins or the shiny gold finish of the Golden Glow regular are the only two plausible products that people may have associated with a metal dispenser.

  The word PEZ was created using the first, middle and last letter in the German word for peppermint: PfeffErminZ.

  In the early 1990s, the trucks received a makeover, and for the first time, the wheels would no longer move. The wheels were molded into the dispenser and were no longer designed to roll. Previous versions contained two wheels, joined by a fixed axle that snapped into a C-shaped receiver on the bottom side of the dispenser. This would allow the wheels to roll—not well, but they moved. The change to the new fixed version wheels was likely an increased safety measure to prevent the possibility of small parts from easily detaching. These are known by collectors as “D” series trucks. There are many various cab/trailer color combinations, as well as several different cab styles to collect.

  In 1993, the Flintstones license was acquired; Fred, Barney, Pebbles and Dino became PEZ dispensers for the first time. Despite these classic characters often being associated with the ’60s or ’70s, these dispensers weren’t offered until quite some time later and always have feet. The set contained four dispensers, each generally considered to be a single variation, except Pebbles. The vast majority of Pebbles dispensers have orange hair that comes to a pointed peak between her eyes; these are the common version and can be found with relative ease. There is an unusual hair variation that can be found where her front hair is rounded off and doesn’t form the typical V shape. It’s not known if the hair variation was an early design that was quickly revised or perhaps was a brief anomaly in the molding process that prevented plastic from fully filling the cavity of the tooling mold. Whatever the case, this variation seldom turns up, and when it does, examples have sold for over $100.

  The year 1993 was also when PEZ revived the 1970s and ’80s company mascot Peter PEZ. The iconic clown dispenser was released with nearly an identical head to the 1979 version but with a distinguishing change to the appearance of the PEZ name on the front of his hat. And, of course, this version had feet. In 2003, he would make his final appearance with a revised new look.

  In 1994, the boy and girl PEZ Pals were offered in the Valentine’s Day assortment. This would mark the last time PEZ Pals were offered in a retail assortment. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (abbreviated TMNT by collectors) were also released in 1994. The Ninja Turtles offered collectors the largest number of variations that could be collected to date. Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello and Leonardo were each offered with a smiling expression, an angry expression and on a number of different stem colors. If you tried to collect all the variations of head/stem colors, you could easily acquire over sixty different dispensers.

  In the middle of the ’90s, PEZ went back to its roots and relaunched the peppermint dispensers. The remake dispensers were offered in six different colors: red, white, blue, yellow, purple and silver. The thumb grip caps were modified to distinguish between original dispensers, and peppermint candy was again offered as part of the assortment for the first time in decades. The relaunch created a lot of interest from new consumers and those who remembered peppermint PEZ from their childhood. The relaunch was a success but didn’t translate well into a long-term program.

  The gum and mint category at retail had gotten extremely competitive, and retailers now expected to be paid for the prime placement locations in checkout lanes. The new added cost of selling this program coupled with the fact that the candy cost more to produce caused the program to be retired a few years later.

  A European peppermint candy display with metal pocket tins of sugar-free candy, circa 2014.

  People often ask, “Why would peppermint candy cost more to produce?” The answer is in the strength of the peppermint flavor. PEZ makes candy in six-hundred-pound batches. Each batch yields approximately 400,000 individual candy tablets. Every time there is a flavor change, the equipment must be broken down and cleaned to make ready for the next flavor. There is always a purge process when changing flavors; with each new flavor, a portion of the initial next run is discarded to eliminate any cross-flavoring from the previous mix.

  The peppermint flavor was so strong that it would take a full purge of an additional mix to fully eliminate. When you are mixing six hundred pounds at a time, that is a lot of waste. This would increase the cost to manufacture peppermint, doubling from that of any other flavor. Coupled with the fact that children generally prefer fruit flavors over peppermint, it no longer made good business sense to continue.

  The year 1996 saw the introduction of the Valentine hearts. These four new designs would be the first in a long line of Valentine variations that would continue to be released for the next twenty-plus years. Various heart/ stem color combinations along with dozens of printed sayings such as “Happy Valentine’s Day,” “Be Mine,” “XOXO” and “Sweet,” to name a few, continue to be updated and refreshed on a regular basis.

  This one dispenser is probably the line with the most variations. Trying to collect all of the color combinations, pad printings and sayings, one could easily acquire well over one hundred different dispensers. It’s important to note that this dispenser was introduced with no feet; it is the exception that often causes confusion. Dispensers made in 1987 and later all have the addition of feet, with the exception of Valentine hearts. This exception means that it is often mistaken as a vintage dispenser when, in fact, it’s not.

  Bubbleman made his debut via a direct mail–order program that was offered in 1996. There is nothing especially interesting about that fact, but the story behind the dispenser is. Bubbleman first appeared a couple years earlier in collector circles. Only a few examples were known, and the asking price if you wanted one badly enough was around $1,200. The story as it was told at the time said the character was developed to dispense gum; that is why it looks like a piece of
chewing gum (hence the name). PEZ was working on a program to expand the product line, and gum seemed like a natural progression.

  The difficulty with dispensing gum from a traditional-type dispenser lies in the product itself. Uncoated gum would be difficult, if not impossible; the pieces would stick together and could not be dispensed. Coated gum requires panning, a method used to create a hard coat shell around the gum. The problem with panning is it does not allow for exact replication. The shape could be approximated, but the inconsistency wouldn’t allow for the precision size and fit required to work in a PEZ dispenser. For these reasons, the project didn’t move forward, but the dispenser had already been developed.

  The early samples had managed to get into collectors’ hands, and the exorbitant asking price led to the manufacture of additional dispensers in an effort to lower the price on the collector market and make them available to anyone who wanted one. Scott McWhinnie (president/CEO at the time) didn’t think it was fair for a few people to profit so highly from the dispenser, so he created a business to offer them to the general market. The mail-order program was launched in 1996 and featured eight different offers. Offer #7 included Bubbleman, a set of Muppets, a boy and girl and a yellow regular. Those with $11.95 (plus $3.95 shipping) and the patience to wait six to eight weeks for delivery could now own their very own Bubbleman dispenser.