Pixy Stix

Last updated
A packet of small Pixy Stix PixyStixProduct.jpg
A packet of small Pixy Stix

Pixy Stix are a sweet and sour colored powdered candy usually packaged in a wrapper that resembles a drinking straw.

Contents

The candy is lightly poured into the mouth from the wrapper, which is made out of either plastic or paper. Pixy Stix contain dextrose, citric acid, and artificial and natural flavors.

History

Pixy Stix were invented by Sunline Inc. in St. Louis, Missouri. The concept for this powdered candy originated in 1942 and was derived from a penny drink mix sold as Fruzola Jr. by the Fruzola Company in Salt Lake City, Utah. When J. Fish Smith found that children were eating the sweet and sour powder straight from the package, he modified the formula and branded it as Lik-M-Aid. [1] [2]

An affiliated company, Fruzola Company of St. Louis, which later became Sunline, Inc., was founded in 1952 by Menlo F. Smith to manufacture and market Lik-M-Aid nationwide. In 1959, the product was packaged in color-striped straws and introduced as Pixy Stix. Several years later, Lik-M-Aid was modified with a multi-compartment package containing two flavors and a candy stick used to dip the candy out of the package, thereby dubbed Fun Dip. Pixy Stix are currently manufactured by Ferrero Candy Company , a division of Ferrero SpA. [3]

In 2011, Pixy Stix was one the candies considered a health threat by a Grand Rapids middle school, and was banned out of concern that children could use the candy to learn the habit of using illicit drugs. [4] Inhaling the powdery candy also could increase the risk of upper sinus and upper respiratory system infections. [5]

Flavors

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nerds (candy)</span> American confection launched in 1983

Nerds is an American candy launched in 1983 by the Sunmark Corporation under the brand name Willy Wonka Candy Company. Nerds are now made by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero Group. With their anthropomorphic covers, Nerds usually contain two flavors per box, each flavor having a separate compartment and opening.

Butterfinger is a candy bar manufactured by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero. It consists of a layered crisp peanut butter core covered in a "chocolatey" coating. It was invented by Otto Schnering of the Curtiss Candy Company in 1923. The name was chosen by a popularity contest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nestlé Candy Shop</span> Former confectionary brand owned by Nestlé

Nestlé Candy Shop was a confectionery brand owned and licensed by the Swiss corporation Nestlé. In 2018, the branding and production rights were sold to the Ferrero Group, and as a result, the brand was discontinued.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fun Dip</span> Candy brand

Fun Dip is a candy manufactured by the Ferrara Candy Company. The candy has been on the market in the United States and Canada since the 1940s and was originally called Lik-M-Aid. It was originally manufactured by Fruzola, and then Sunline Inc., through their Sunmark Brands division. It was purchased by Nestlé in January 1989. Fun Dip was sold to Ferrara Candy company in 2018 along with other Wonka Candy Brands. It comes in many different flavors with candy sticks that are included.

Laffy Taffy is an American brand of taffy candies produced by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero. The candies are small, individually wrapped taffy rectangles available in a variety of colors and fruit flavors, including banana, strawberry, green apple, grape, blueberry, watermelon, blue raspberry, and cherry. Rarer flavors include caramel apple, coconut, strawberries & cream, apple crisp, chocolate mousse, pumpkin donut, pineapple, guava, orange sorbet, and lemon raspberry. Discontinued flavors include fruit punch, mango, strawberry banana, peppermint, and hot cocoa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smarties (tablet candy)</span> Wafer candy sold in the United States and Canada

In the United States, Smarties are a type of tablet candy produced by Smarties Candy Company, formerly known as Ce De Candy Inc., since 1949. Smarties are produced in factories in both Union Township, New Jersey, and Newmarket, Ontario. The candies distributed in Canada are marketed as Rockets, to avoid confusion with Smarties, a chocolate candy produced by Nestlé which owns the trademark in Canada. The New Jersey factory produces approximately 1 billion rolls of Smarties annually, and in total the company produces over 2.5 billion in a year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SweeTarts</span> Sweet and sour candies

SweeTarts are sweet and sour candies invented under the direction of Menlo F. Smith, CEO of Sunline Inc., in 1962. The candy was created using the same small basic recipe as the already popular Pixy Stix and Lik-M-Aid products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spree (candy)</span> Fruit-flavored candy made since the 1960s

Spree is a candy manufactured by The Willy Wonka Candy Company, a brand owned by the Ferrara Candy Company unit of Ferrero SpA. Spree was created by the Sunline Candy Company, later renamed Sunmark Corporation, of St. Louis, Mo., in the mid-1960s. Spree was an idea of an employee named John Scout. In the 1970s the brand was bought by Nestlé, which markets the candy under the Willy Wonka brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wonka Bar</span> Fictional chocolate bar

The Wonka Bar is a fictional chocolate bar, introduced as a key story point in the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Wonka Bars appear in each film adaptation of the novel: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971); Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005); and Wonka (2023). The bar also appeared in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical (2013).

The Ferrara Candy Company is an American candy manufacturer, based in Chicago, Illinois, and owned by the Ferrero Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tootsie Pop</span> American candy

A Tootsie Pop is a hard candy lollipop filled with the chocolate-flavored chewy Tootsie Roll candy. They were invented in 1931 by an employee of The Sweets Company of America. Tootsie Rolls had themselves been invented in 1896 by Leo Hirschfield. The company changed its name to Tootsie Roll Industries in 1969. The candy made its debut in 1931 and since then various flavors have been introduced. The idea came to be when a man who worked at The Sweets Company of America licked his daughter's lollipop at the same time he was chewing his Tootsie Roll. He loved the idea and pitched it to everyone at the next snack ideas meeting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Li hing mui</span> Salty dried Chinese plum

Li hing mui, known as huamei in Mainland China, is salty dried Chinese plum. It has a strong, distinctive flavor and is often said to be an acquired taste, as it has a combination of sweet, sour, and salty taste. Originally from Guangdong Province, the name "li hing mui" means "traveling plum". "Li hing" is "traveling" and "mui" is "plum" in Cantonese. Li hung mui is called hoshiume in Japan, where the salty and sour umeboshi is also popular. Li hing mui, along with li hing powder, is extremely popular as a snack in Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherbet (powder)</span> Fizzy powdered confectionery

Sherbet is a fizzy, sweet powder, usually eaten by dipping a lollipop or liquorice, using a small spoon, or licking it from a finger.

Menlo F. Smith is a prominent St. Louis businessman. He has also been a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints both in St. Louis and in the Philippines. He is also a benefactor of Brigham Young University and the founder of Enterprise Mentors International now known as Mentors, International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crunch (chocolate bar)</span> Chocolate bar

Crunch is a chocolate bar made of milk chocolate and crisped rice. It is produced globally by Nestlé with the exception of the United States, where it is produced under license by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nesquik</span> Brand of products made by Nestlé

Nesquik is a brand of food products made by Swiss company Nestlé. In 1948, Nestlé launched a drink mix for chocolate-flavored milk called Nestlé Quik in the United States; this was released in Europe during the 1950s as Nesquik.

Sunmark Corporation was a candy confectionery company based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded by Menlo F. Smith in 1952 as an offshoot of the company owned by his father, Joseph Fish Smith. They invented many candy brands, some of which are still produced today, such as Pixy Stix, SweeTarts, Spree, and Lik-M-Aid.

<i>Dagashi</i> Cheap Japanese candies

Dagashi refers to cheap candies and snack foods. Dagashi are comparable to American penny candy.

<i>Apollo</i> (candy) South Korean candy brand

Apollo (Korean: 아폴로), marketed in the Middle East, South America, and Southeast Asia as CC Stick, is a South Korean candy product. It consists of a number of small, short straws that are filled with flavored sugar powders. Example flavors include strawberry, chocolate, banana, and grape.

References

  1. "St. Louis Sage: Were Pixy Stix Invented Here?". www.stlmag.com. 2015-04-17. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  2. Woodbury, Emily (2020-11-10). "Meet The St. Louis Candymaker Who Brought Us Pixy Stix, SweeTarts And Nerds". NPR . Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  3. "Nestlé Agrees to Sell U.S. Confectionery Business to Ferrero" (Press release). Nestlé. 2018-01-16.
  4. "School bans Smarties, Pixy Stix as health threats". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Associated Press. 2011-05-10. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  5. Faulk, Kent (2011-12-26). "Educators worried by rise of students who snort crushed candy". al. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  6. 1 2 3 Partain, Dorri (2020-11-04). "Remember This: Pixie Sticks". Northeast News. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  7. 1 2 Newell, Tessa (2017-08-19). "10 Throwback Facts About Pixy Styx Candy". www.foodbeast.com. Retrieved 2023-04-28.