1990's Packaging!

1990's PEZ Packaging Styles

In the 1990's, PEZ took their original idea of cellophane-wrapped dispensers... gave them a 90's twist... and started using sealed poly bags for their packaging. Each bag contains a dispenser and two packs of candy. In the picture on the left: the first bag is a Canadian overwrap in the pastel stripe motif with a halo around the PEZ logo; the middle bag is a Euro style design with the newer "Floating Candies" design; and the third bag is the traditional U.S. poly bag style. The US poly bags, with the exception of holiday packaging, come with either blue, red, or green colored ends on the bags. For Christmas packaging, the bag ends are dark green or dark red. For Halloween, PEZ uses orange on the bag ends. And for Easter, the color scheme goes to a pastel purple.

On a technical note... the equipment PEZ uses to package its dispensers and candies in a poly bag is called a "Vertical Form and Seal" machine. Basically, this machine takes a continuous web (spool) of preprinted poly film, and forms the film around a funnel into a continuous tube and seals the long running seam of the bag (using heat). With the formed and long-seam-sealed tube now at the bottom of the funnel, a set of jaws clamp the bottom of the tube and seal it shut using heat. At the same time the bottom seal is made, a dispenser and two candy packs are dropped into the funnel, and then on into the bag, with the dispenser and candy being fed from two vibratory feeder bowls above the machine. The lower sealing jaws then pull downward (still clamped onto the bottom of the bag), and index the filled bag down one position.

Next the lower sealing jaws open up, and raise back into the upper position. The jaws re-clamp back down on the tube, which seals both the top of the filled bag and seals the bottom seal for the next empty bag in line to be filled. A cutter is incorporated in the sealing jaws such that, when the two seams are sealed, the completed filled bag is cut off of the film tube, while cutting the bottom of the next bag in line. At the same time that all of this is happening, the next dispenser and candy packs are being dropped into the top bottom sealed bag. This process then keeps on repeating.

Simple in design, a Vertical Form and Seal machine is a very efficient way to package product into bags. The movement of all of its parts are very fluid, and these types of machines are capable of packaging product at rates from 20 to 40 bags per minute.

This picture shows an Italian packaging bag for a PEZ Clicker and three packs of candy.

This picture shows three different styles of carded packaging for Disney dispensers. The blister pack on the left is an older discontinued design. The card in the middle is a recently discontinued graphic. The card on the right shows the new Japanese blister pack and graphic design. Note how much smaller the Japanese packaging is in comparison to the US card sizes.

Pictured above are three different Canadian card designs and a Euro card graphic. The card on the left is called a Canadian "Starry" card. This graphic was used on Christmas dispensers, with this card showing a packaged Icee Bear. The second card on the left is called a Canadian "Halo" card. This style got its name from the halo that is printed behind the head of the dispenser, as well as behind the PEZ logo. The third card is in the traditional Canadian pastel stripe motif. The fourth card is the Euro "Floating Candies" card, which got its name from the scattered candy design on the card graphic. An interesting thing to note is that the Canadian and Euro packaging styles use a shrink formed overwrap, as opposed to the US blister pack design, to seal the dispenser and candy packs onto the backing card.

A technical note about shrink-formed overwrap packaging... This style is manufactured very similarly to the blister pack, with the following exceptions. Instead of a pre-molded plastic blister, a plastic film is used. In blister packaging, the dispenser and candy packs are placed into an empty blister, and then the backing card is glued on (Click here for a more complete description of how this is done). In shrink-formed packaging, the printed backing card is indexed on a conveyor past an operator that places a dispenser and candy packs on the card. To keep the dispenser from falling over on the flat card, PEZ started molding a flat rib on the back of the head above the candy pusher. This little ledge gives a flat surface to the back of the head so it doesn't roll over.

The card and product is then indexed into a shrink film packaging machine. As the cards are indexed in, a thin plastic film (fed off of a web coil or spool) is placed over the card/dispenser/candy packs, and pulled down tight. The card is then run through a heat tunnel that causes the film to shrink and tightly seal the dispenser and candy packs against the card. As the film shrinks, the plastic gets thicker and tightly forms around the shape of the dispenser and candy packs.

When the package exits the heat tunnel, the carded dispenser is complete and ready for case packing.

These are some interesting packaging graphics. The card on the left is a Canadian Merry Music Maker (MMM). Note the crossover graphic that combines the older MMM graphic with the Canadian pastel stripe motif. The second to the left card is a Canadian card with a Free PEZ pencil included with the dispenser. The third picture shows a loose Merlin Mouse with a color pencil attached to the dispenser with a paper band. The fourth picture shows an older Daffy Duck dispenser with a snow skier graphic on top of the diagonal stripes.

These cards show various Looney Tunes card graphics. On the picture to the left, the first card is a US blister pack with the discontinued Sylvester and Tweety graphic, used with 3.9 patent dispensers. The second card shows a US blister pack card graphic that was used exclusively for Warner Brothers stores. The third card is a Euro Cool Looney Tunes card. Note the more colorful and artistic graphics that are commonly found on all Euro cards. The picture on the right shows the back of a Cool Looney Tunes dispenser that is sold in Israel. The writing on the back of the card is in Hebrew.

In this picture, the card on the left shows the graphics for a 3.9 patent Smurfs card. The middle card is a 3.9 Muppet card. And the card on the right is a 4.9 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle card. During the 3.9 dispenser series, PEZ typically included only two packs of candy with the dispenser. PEZ started adding the third pack of candy in the packaging with the 4.9 patent dispensers.

This picture shows the PEZboy and PEZgirl on a US Valentines card. Ahhh, it is true love! :-)

Here are some Superheroes! Wonder Woman! I'm Batman! Spidey! The two cards on the left are 3.9 patent dispensers with two candy packs in the package. The Wonder Woman is a 4.9 patent dispenser, and shows the transitional packaging to three candy packs on a card. These transition packages had a sticker over the candy pack area, as shown in the picture close-up on the right, that brought attention to the "New Size".

Pictured on the left are various packaging for PEZ regulars and peppermint candy packs. These offerings from PEZ are a flashback to the Golden Age of PEZ, when all the dispensers were regulars and peppermint was the flavor of choice. The card on the left is the newer, discontinued Silver Glow dispenser. The card in the middle is the newer released regular. Note that the dispenser on this card is one of the "Mono" or monochromatic regulars. These "Mono Regs" had the same color plastic on the stem, head (cap), inner sleeve, and candy button. These had a very limited distribution, and were quickly replaced by dispensers having the standard off-white inner sleeve. The card on the right is a Japanese distributed regular. Note the gold color plastic that was not available on regulars sold in the US, and the unique and colorful graphics on the candy packs.

The Russians are coming... The Russians are coming! These are the VERY hard to find Russian Body Parts. These body parts were produced and packaged for the Russian market, and were different characters than the Body Parts sold in Canada and European markets. The new characters were the Soccer Player, Outlaw, Indian, Sheriff, and the General. The *official* story on these Body Parts is that due to the downfall of the Russian economy they never made it into general distribution, and that there were only a very small quantity of these produced. The hardest to find character is the General. It is interesting to note that these Body Parts were packaged on two different styles of card backs. Some of these cards have Slavic text inside of a *balloon* coming from Peter Pez's mouth, and Slavic text on the back. The other card style that these can be found on is the more generic Euro "Floating Candies" card. More on that below.

On the Russian Body Parts that we have, what I have found is that the ones with the Slavic text balloon on the front have all of the usual text on the back (how to assemble, ingredients, etc.). The ones on the Euro Floating Candies cards basically have a blank back with only ingredients and UPC *stickers* on the bottom. It is my opinion that when the Russian Body Parts order was canceled, PEZ International thought about repackaging the Body Parts for the Euro market. They packaged some of the Body Parts on the Floating Candies cards and did a test release. They must not have fared well with the buying public, and the Body Parts were not mass produced for the general public. How many of these that were produced is still a big question. Their existence has been known for a few years now, but they are still rarely seen. It is my opinion that these were only made in a very small quantity.

Helping to prove my opinion that the Euro packaged Body Parts were only a test is the fact that the back of the cards are primarily blank. Pictured to the right is a close-up of the back of our card with Taz in the Indian Body Part. Written in pencil is "Tazmanian Devil". This is further proof to me that these were test pieces.

These are two of only three CUSTOMER specific dispenser card designs produced by PEZ, with the third being the eBay Hearts. On the left is the FAO Schwartz Bears. On the right is the Zielpunkt dispenser made for Zielpunkt grocery stores in Europe.

Pictured on the right are three Canadian Batman cards. These are an interesting assortment. For whatever reason, PEZ International put together a set of Batmans that included the current Dark Knight (on his typical navy blue stem - not pictured), a Dark Knight on a light blue stem (middle card), a Small Headed light blue Batman (that had been discontinued - pictured on the left), and a Small Headed (black) Batman on a light blue stem (pictured on the right)! This assortment featured an all new backing card graphic.

Some additional card graphics are pictured to the left. The first card is a US blister pack with an Easter Holiday card and 3.9 Soft-Shell Chick in Egg. The card in the middle is a Tyke on a Euro card with a Tom and Jerry graphic. The card on the right is a special Euro Body Parts card that includes a dispenser. Note the stem color variation on the PEZ-A-Saur.

This picture shows the first released Power PEZ, an unique dispenser that shoots out PEZ candies as the internal dispenser wheel rotates. The original Power PEZ had overwrap shrink film packaging, and included two packs of candy. The second release of this dispenser used a blister pack card for the Power PEZ and candy packs.

Another test piece was the Sag's Mit PEZ (translated: "Say it with PEZ") . PEZ International's concept was based upon *conversational hearts*. On this test piece, they provided a "blank" Valentines heart dispenser and six stickers that could be applied to the banner portion on the heart. This was a limited production test run that was not released outside of the European market. It is unclear as to why PEZ International did not mass produce this item.

Yet another unique packaging concept from PEZ International. This was a two-piece gift set that included a PEZ-A-Saur and its matching keychain flashlight, plus four candy packs. Hmmm, how come all of the creative packaging styles and dispenser sets always seem to be generated from PEZ International?

The two pictures above show two different types of gift boxes. The picture on the right is of a three-dispenser gift box with candy packs in an Easter Holiday theme. The front of the box has a very colorful graphic, with five die-cut cutouts to show the three dispensers and candy packs. The picture on the right is a "Car Box" gift set, that takes it name from the graphic design of a car with a windshield cutout, so it appears that the two dispensers are riding in the car. There were three different sets of dispensers used in this gift set... each had a male / female dispenser theme... and consisting of either Kermit the Frog / Miss Piggy, or Mickey Mouse / Minnie Mouse, or Donald Duck / Daisy Duck.

These are pictures of various Bastel Playworld sets. There were seven different sets... Shell, Santa Claus (Christmas), Take Off - Airplane, Easter (all pictured on the left)... and Aral, British Petroleum, and Mariner sets (not pictured). Each set had a specially painted Body Part and dispenser, and featured a tri-fold scenery background and a sheet of punch out props to help complete the scene. When assembled, these sets would make up a complete playset based upon the particular theme.

Shown above are two different Japanese packaging types. The one on the left is a *hard bubble* blister style pack. The Japanese use a thicker, more crush-resistant plastic bubble on their blister style packaging. The picture on the right shows a dispenser and Body Part gift set.

Shown above are some different types of carded refill candy pack packaging. The card on the left is a discontinued Canadian "Halo" card. The card in the middle is a US refill candy card pack with an interesting Peter PEZ graphic. The card on the right is a cool variation where PEZ packaged four packs of candy with some party balloons, called a "Party Pack". It is my guess that PEZ put this packaging combo together to be used as party favors for kid birthday parties.

Some more carded candy packs! On the left is a discontinued Swiss card with sugar-free candy packs. Note the cool "tooth" logo on each pack. The candy card in the middle is a Spanish refill card that uses the Euro "Floating Candies" card design. The carded refill pack on the right is a newer Euro design, with graphics that match the ones used with the Glowing Ghosts dispensers. Packaged on the card with the candy packs is a peel-off sticker. Stickers are getting to be a common add-on with most Euro candy cards.

This is a bag of "Kosher" packaged candy packs.