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On The Road Again
PEZ Visitor Center, Orange, Conn.
Dateline: Vienna, Austria, 1927 Innovator and confectioner Eduard Haas III (1897-1989), namesake of a grocer father and physician grandfather, develops an anti-smoking breath mint. He is inspired by his success in earning a patent as an adolescent for a light baking powder mix for Gugelhupf, a traditional cake apocryphally attributed to the Three Wise Men. Infusing a hard powder mixture with peppermint oil, Haas manufactures the small round tablets and sells them in tins (think Altoids). His confection becomes wildly popular throughout Europe and eventually around the globe. By Ray Balogh | The Municipal
He coins them “PEZ drops,” derived from the first, middle and last letters of “PfeffErminZ,” the German word for peppermint. In 1935 Haas constructed a new factory in Czechoslovakia to manufacture the candies, which by then had changed to their iconic brick shape, and in 1949 at the Vienna Trade Fair, he officially unveiled the first PEZ dispenser, which held 12 tablets, the same capacity as those sold today. In 1952 Haas moved to the United States to tap this nation’s prodigious consumer market. He initially set up operations in New York City, and the growing popularity of the mints prompted him to build a manufacturing facility in Orange, Conn., breaking ground in 1973. The adjoining 4,000-square-foot Visitor Center opened its doors in 2011 and is visited by thousands of PEZ devotees every year. A seemingly endless array of the dispensers are displayed in the center. Also exhibited are a PEZ motorcycle built by Orange County Choppers; the world’s largest PEZ dispenser, which stands 12 THE MUNICIPAL | DECEMBER 2021
two stories tall; an interactive PEZ trivia game; and observation windows into the production facility, which produces 12 million PEZ tablets (1 million dispenser packages) every day. All visits are self-guided, though visitors are not allowed in the manufacturing area. Regular admission is $5 for adults and $4 for seniors and children aged 3 to 12. Each paid admission merits a $2 credit for same-day purchases in the center’s gift shop. Visitors can also indulge in free samples of a variety of flavors. Over the decades, PEZ initiated adjustments and improvements to its marketing and its dispensers and added flavors to its repertoire of candies. The first character-shaped dispensers — Santa Claus and a robot — were introduced in 1955. Other character heads were added, and today PEZ boasts an inventory of more than 550 unique dispenser heads with thousands of variations. Marketing efforts included the creation of PEZ Boy, a fictional lad who solves mysteries while dressing up in various disguises,
PEZ candy started in 1927 as a round anti-smoking breath mint. Production is now predominated by fruit-flavored pastel bricks. (Photo by Tobik/Shutterstock.com)
including a policeman, knight and doctor. PEZ Comics were inserted into the packaging of PEZ Pals, which replicate PEZ Boy’s disguises. To cater to the adult market, the company hired alluring PEZ Girls, who wore PEZ uniforms and handed out free samples at crowded city intersections and major public events. Pin-up girls cooed from their ads, “Already PEZing?” The peppermint flavor was jettisoned in favor of sweeter alternatives, particularly fruit flavors, such as lemon, orange, cherry, strawberry and raspberry. Current flavors also include grape and banana. Lime made an appearance but has since been retired. PEZ market analysts have always been scrupulous in ferreting out taste predilections of the public, short-term fads and experimental forays. Some of the more interesting offerings at present are candy corn, vanilla cupcake, sugar
