PEZ (brand)
PEZ is an Austrian confectionery brand.
The beginnings of PEZ
In 1927 the Upper Austrian Eduard Haas III invented . the PEZ candy. His idea was to offer smokers a healthy alternative to the cigarette. For this purpose he created peppermint candies made from pressed sugar and peppermint oil. The name of the brand is derived from this: PEZ was created from the first, middle and last letters of the word " P feff e rmin z ".
PEZ candies were initially sold in small tin cans, but in 1949 the PEZ box was developed, a plastic dispenser with a snap dispensing mechanism, at the time in the form of a lighter for the target group. In the course of the 1950s, Eduard Haas recognized the potential of the product in children: He then developed fruity flavors and put the heads of cartoon characters on the PEZ dispensers. The Disney -Figuren Mickey and Donald made it 1,962 to start with. Disney and PEZ have remained important partners since then.
The PEZ machines are also known. The first was set up in 1956 at Vienna's Westbahnhof . 36,000 machines throughout Austria and Germany followed. It was only with the introduction of the euro that they disappeared from the cityscape and subsequently became popular collector's items.
The dispenser boxes as cult objects
A large number of different dispensers have been developed since its introduction: The donor base has always remained the same, the heads have changed according to current trends. Over the years, PEZ has become a popular brand among collectors. The donors are also traded at auctions.
Since 1927 PEZ has been advertised by “PEZ Girls”. In particular, the pictures by Gerhard Brause , who was responsible for the graphic appearance of PEZ from the 1950s to the 1970s, are still popular today. In the early years, PEZ was advertised by language with the slogan “Smoking prohibited, PEZen allowed”.
PEZ is now available in over 80 countries around the world. In addition to Europe, the USA (market entry 1953, own branch in Orange, Connecticut ) and Japan (market entry 1972) are the most important markets. 850 employees are employed worldwide, 70 million dispensers and 5 billion PEZ candies are produced annually. PEZ is based in Traun , Upper Austria. The candies are made in Hungary and the USA, the PEZ boxes in Hungary and China. Around half of all PEZ candies are consumed in the United States.
In 2007 PEZ bought the traditional Viennese candy brand Egger . In addition to Austrian classics such as sports gum , Hustinetten or marshmallow dough, Egger also produces a number of other cough and organic sweets, which will continue to be sold under the Egger brand. With the purchase of Egger, PEZ has greatly expanded its production know-how. In addition to the classic PEZ candies and dispensers, the product range now also includes fruit gum candies, mostly in organic quality. PEZ also has various seasonal products, gift items as well as licensed and unlicensed glucose and fizzy candies in its range.
Legend has it that the passion of Pierre Omidyar's wife , who collected PEZ dispensers, led to the founding of eBay .
Fruit gums in PEZ form
In August 2011 PEZ added another product to its range: PEZ Soft. Both the candies and the dispensers differed significantly from the known products. Instead of sweets, this product line featured soft fruit gums. Instead of the well-known PEZ dispensers, there were so-called "action dispensers" with which the fruit gums could be catapulted out. The fruit gums were available in two flavors (on the one hand tropic and on the other hand more classic fruits: strawberry, raspberry, cherry, orange, apple), they were lactose- and gluten-free and were made without artificial colors and flavors. In 2015 PEZ soft was taken off the market again.
PEZ soft dispenser and fruit jelly.
PEZ Soft Dispenser of the Neon Edition, 2013.
PEZ Mint sugar-free
PEZ has also been available as a sugar-free mint candy since autumn 2012. The sweets are available together with silver dispensers in the original form of the PEZ box or in silver boxes with retro prints.
PEZ Mint nostalgia dispenser, packed
PEZ Mint nostalgia dispenser with sweets
PEZ Mint jars
Ingredients and nutritional values
According to the manufacturer, PEZ are gluten-free and contain no animal ingredients or raw materials of animal origin. 100 g PEZ contain the following nutrients: 94.6 g carbohydrates (including 94.6 g sugar), 1.6 g fat (including 1.6 g saturated fatty acids) and 330 mg sodium.
Ingredients according to package instructions: sugar, glucose syrup, acidifier ( citric acid ), acidity regulator ( trisodium citrate ), hydrogenated vegetable fat , emulsifier ( mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids ), flavor.
Companies
In 2016, PEZ AG employed 850 people worldwide, 78 of them at the headquarters in Traun in Upper Austria. Two thirds of the company is owned by the Haas founding family.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kult - PEZ sugar dispenser now as MP3 player from March 26, 2005, accessed on April 12, 2011
- ^ "Haas Eduard III tells from his life", Martina Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Vienna 1982.
- ↑ a b Kult: The PEZ blonde on ORF , accessed on April 12, 2011
- ↑ Austria's Kult-Zuckerl expands on Oe24 from January 29, 2007, accessed on April 12, 2011
- ↑ Cult object Pez dispenser - The spell of sugar
- ↑ int.pez.com: PEZ - the company
