PEZ Candy
Pez Candy is an Austrian creation that has gained wide appeal in the United States. Introduced in 1927, the tiny candies debuted in Vienna as peppermint sweets. The name is an abbreviation for Pfefferminz, the German word for peppermint. Now shaped like small rectangular bricks, the original candies were round lozenges. For decades, the lozenges and bricks were packaged in a foil wrapper. Now they are packaged in a tin similar to Altoids.
These candies are popular because of their dispensers, which are known as "regulars." They are shaped similar to cigarette lighters and dispense one candy at a time. The design was intended to encourage adults to eat the candy mints as an alternative to smoking. In 1955, the manufacturer began placing character heads on the dispensers and marketing the candy to children.
Santa Clause, Mickey Mouse, and Donald Duck were among the first character heads to appear on Pez dispensers. To date, more than 1,500 character dispensers have been created. Some dispensers are topped by original characters while others feature characters from pop culture. Regulars did not have characters. They were rectangular in shape with a simple flip top. Until 2006, the company had a rule against featuring real people as characters. That year, the company released dispensers bearing likenesses of characters from the TV show Orange County Choppers.
Today, many still collect the ubiquitous dispensers. We have Pez in assorted fruit rolls. Browse our selection, and stock up on candies for your own collection of dispensers. Candy rolls also make a great gift for yourself or other avid collectors in your life.