The Nostalgic World of PEZ: A Journey Through Pop Culture and Candy

As we pop open a PEZ dispenser, memories of our childhood flood back. The colorful characters, the sweet treat inside, and the fun of collecting them all – it's an experience that continues to bring joy to people of all ages. But did you know that PEZ wasn't always designed for kids? In fact, the first dispensers were created for smokers by a man from Austria named Edward Haas III.

Haas was interested in helping smokers quit their habit, and he developed a design that looked like a cigarette lighter. Instead of containing cigarettes, however, these early PEZ dispensers held strong mints. The name "PEZ" comes from the German word for peppermint, with each letter representing a different sound: p (peppermint), e (einde), and z (zart). Today, PEZ is enjoyed by people all over the world, and it's clear that Haas' idea was a stroke of genius.

PEZ's popularity soared in the United States in the mid-1950s when the dispenser was changed to a collectible candy container. The first character to appear on top of a dispenser was Mickey Mouse, but since then, thousands of PEZ heads have become fan favorites. So, how do these characters come to life? Simply put, it's all about nostalgia. PEZ artists carefully sculpt new designs and create a model called a resin from that resin, which is then approved by Disney or Marvel representatives.

Once the character has been selected, it undergoes a lengthy process of production. The resin is painted, and the characters are moved to the molding process in factories overseas. It takes up to a year for a PEZ product to go from concept to production samples. Meanwhile, candy holders grab attention with their bright colors and fun designs.

But what really makes PEZ special is the sweet treat inside? More than 25 flavors come out of machines that can also make medicine – it's all thanks to pharmaceutical-style tablet presses. The candy begins as fine powdery sugar that swirls around in a giant cylinder called a granulator. Water is then sprayed into the mixture, which transforms back into a solid with just a small amount of coloring added.

The pressing process involves filling a hole with powder and applying immense pressure – approximately 3,000 pounds per square inch – to shape the tablet. It's an impressive feat that results in hundreds of thousands of tablets being produced every hour. After the tablets are formed, they're coated with a UPC code and placed into buckets for packaging.

As the candy travels through conveyors and reaches the wrapping stage, cameras ensure that each PEZ logo faces the same direction before being stacked together. Little suction cups carefully place the dispensers into their respective packages, ready to be shipped off to stores everywhere. And at the heart of it all is the beloved Santa Claus – a favorite among kids and adults alike.

Whether you're a seasoned collector or just discovering the joy of PEZ for the first time, there's no denying that these colorful characters and tasty treats have captured the hearts of people around the world. So next time you pop open a PEZ dispenser, remember the fascinating story behind this beloved candy.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enpop in a pez candy and experience a part of pop culture nostalgic characters from movies tv and comics continue to spit out these tiny candies and bring back memories when people think of pez i want them to think about fun think about their childhood and think about what made their childhood fun nowadays pez rolls out more than 100 million dispensers around the world every year did you know the very first pez dispensers weren't for kids at all believe it or not a man from austria originally designed it for smokers the concept came into being because of edward haas iii he really was interested in helping smokers stop smoking so he developed something that looked like a cigarette lighter strangely what pez looks like today instead of candy strong mints were inside the container which is how pez gets its name he used peppermint and in german peppermints is peppermints so there's a first letter is a p the middle letter is an e and the last letter is a z very simple acronym pez's popularity began to soar in the u.s when the lighter was changed to a collectible candy dispenser in the mid 1950s can you guess what character was first to go on top we think it was mickey was the first dispenser since then thousands of pes heads have become fan favorites ever wonder how they choose the characters very simply we're nostalgic so to pick things i got i've got to say it's what's fun today what seems to be very popular pez artists carefully sculpt the new designs and create a model called a resin from that resin uh we'll then have approvals made we'll go to disney we'll go to marvel and we'll say how's that character fit in this particular case it's elvis from there they paint the resin and the characters move to the molding process in factories overseas the the period that it really takes for a pez product to be produced from concept to first production samples could be as much as a year while the candy holders grab a lot of attention you can't forget about the sweet treats inside get this more than 25 flavors come out of a machine that can also make medicine this machine is a pharmaceutical style tablet press it's the same type of machine that would make aspirins and vitamins tablets the candy begins as fine powdery sugar that swirls around inside a giant cylinder called a granulator then we spray cord serpent water in a very fine mist and that makes it form back into a granular a small amount of coloring goes into each 600 pound batch once it's ready the giant batch raises up and prepares for pressing time the hole is filled with powder the top punch then comes down on the top puts about 3 000 pounds of pressure in it and then the bottom punch comes up and the tablet is released listen to this pez churns out half a million tasty tablets every hour after the tablets are formed they go into buckets that have a upc coat on it they go directly to the wrapping stage the candy travels from giant hoppers to conveyors then they get in line for a paper wrapper this machine does 360 rolls per minute each roll contains 12 tablets soon they meet other roles for packaging check this out a small camera makes sure each pez logo faces the same direction before stacking together the ones in the wrong direction go to a turning post which puts them in the correct direction next little suction cups carefully place the candy rolls into packages they add the dispensers by hand before heading out to stores everywhere want to guess which pez head remains the most popular our number one dispenser still to this day is santa claus whether a jolly elf superhero or the king of rock and roll this is one candy kids and adults love to spit out before popping them in their own mouthspop in a pez candy and experience a part of pop culture nostalgic characters from movies tv and comics continue to spit out these tiny candies and bring back memories when people think of pez i want them to think about fun think about their childhood and think about what made their childhood fun nowadays pez rolls out more than 100 million dispensers around the world every year did you know the very first pez dispensers weren't for kids at all believe it or not a man from austria originally designed it for smokers the concept came into being because of edward haas iii he really was interested in helping smokers stop smoking so he developed something that looked like a cigarette lighter strangely what pez looks like today instead of candy strong mints were inside the container which is how pez gets its name he used peppermint and in german peppermints is peppermints so there's a first letter is a p the middle letter is an e and the last letter is a z very simple acronym pez's popularity began to soar in the u.s when the lighter was changed to a collectible candy dispenser in the mid 1950s can you guess what character was first to go on top we think it was mickey was the first dispenser since then thousands of pes heads have become fan favorites ever wonder how they choose the characters very simply we're nostalgic so to pick things i got i've got to say it's what's fun today what seems to be very popular pez artists carefully sculpt the new designs and create a model called a resin from that resin uh we'll then have approvals made we'll go to disney we'll go to marvel and we'll say how's that character fit in this particular case it's elvis from there they paint the resin and the characters move to the molding process in factories overseas the the period that it really takes for a pez product to be produced from concept to first production samples could be as much as a year while the candy holders grab a lot of attention you can't forget about the sweet treats inside get this more than 25 flavors come out of a machine that can also make medicine this machine is a pharmaceutical style tablet press it's the same type of machine that would make aspirins and vitamins tablets the candy begins as fine powdery sugar that swirls around inside a giant cylinder called a granulator then we spray cord serpent water in a very fine mist and that makes it form back into a granular a small amount of coloring goes into each 600 pound batch once it's ready the giant batch raises up and prepares for pressing time the hole is filled with powder the top punch then comes down on the top puts about 3 000 pounds of pressure in it and then the bottom punch comes up and the tablet is released listen to this pez churns out half a million tasty tablets every hour after the tablets are formed they go into buckets that have a upc coat on it they go directly to the wrapping stage the candy travels from giant hoppers to conveyors then they get in line for a paper wrapper this machine does 360 rolls per minute each roll contains 12 tablets soon they meet other roles for packaging check this out a small camera makes sure each pez logo faces the same direction before stacking together the ones in the wrong direction go to a turning post which puts them in the correct direction next little suction cups carefully place the candy rolls into packages they add the dispensers by hand before heading out to stores everywhere want to guess which pez head remains the most popular our number one dispenser still to this day is santa claus whether a jolly elf superhero or the king of rock and roll this is one candy kids and adults love to spit out before popping them in their own mouths\n"