What do William & Kate have to do with Austrian candies?

What do Will 'n' Kate have to do with Austrian PEZ candies?

until 17th April you can bid on this couple on ebay - hurray!



The story of PEZ started in Austria nearly a century ago.

In 1927 the PEZ candy was invented by Eduard Haas III. It was originally developed as "luxury confectionary for an elegant world" - with valuable peppermint aroma. The product primarily addressed adult consumers at this time. PEZ was a refreshing candy and a cigarette substitute for smokers, and the candies were sold in small tins.

Sometime in the 40ies Eduard Haas III had the idea of creating a PEZ dispenser. Thus in 1949 the PEZ box was first invented: A small plastic candy dispenser shaped like a cigarette lighter.

In the 1950s the dispenser became a best-seller in the United States, with Japan following in the 1970s.

Eduard Haas III quickly realized the potential of his product for children; the company began developing fruit-flavoured varieties and the cartoon heads were put on top of the PEZ dispensers, starting with the popular Disney characters Mickey and Donald.

Since then PEZ dispensers have become highly sought-after collector’s items and PEZ has built a strong standing as a cult brand.

PEZ nowadays is available in over 80 countries, the brand’s key markets are Europe, the United States and Japan. The Group manufactures 80 million dispensers and 4.6 billion PEZ candies every year.