Exciting new pez releases and surprises just keep coming! There is always something new to add to the pez collection and this month will bring many many more reveals as we attend the Sweets and Snacks Expo to discover sneak peeks into the plans for the upcoming year and beyond! Meanwhile, lots more pez are being added to the Pez Collectors Store including vintage, quasi-vintage and modern releases along with the newest pez release exclusives and limited editions!
The 2024 Paris Olympics mascot is a Phryge with a white smile and the Olympic rings logo. The Phryges are the official mascots of Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. They are two anthropomorphic Phrygian caps that are a symbol of freedom in France, and each has the French Flag on the side by the eye. The white smile Phrygian cap has the Olympic Rings logo and the black smile Phrygian cap comes with the Paralympic logo. The copyright on the dispenser is Paris, 2024. The dispenser has the new 11.4 patent number, but uses the old patent design for head attachment. This 2024 Paris Olympic Phryge Cap pez comes loose and ready to display!
The European Rainbow Emoji Pez sold out very quickly before our newsletter was sent last month, but more arrived from Europe and are in stock now along with the original 2024 European Emoji Pez Set with Party, Crystal Heart, Tongue and Smirk emoji pez.
The Exclusive Limited Edition Lemon Pez Presenter Girl has joined Cherry Pez Presenter Girl in both the USA and in Europe. The Lemon Pez Presenter Girl has a yellow banded pillbox hat bearing the PEZ Logo, reminiscent of the early Pez Advertising girls. The Lemon Pez Presenter girl comes on a stem and has dark brown hair. The USA Card shows a lemon fruit and says Team Lemon. These are in stock now along with the European and USA Cherry Pez Presenter Girls. The European Lemon Pez Presenter girl is the same dispenser as the USA version and is on its way and it comes on a limited edition card featuring the same geometric graphic design as the European Cherry Pez Presenter Girl. Of course, we anticipate the release of the Orange Pez Presenter Girl at some point in the near future! After that, there are still many flavors to be presented!
Gabby’s Dollhouse pez twin packs with Gabby and Pandy Paws are now in stock. The graphics on the gift box show Gabby’s Dollhouse characters Gabby, Pandy Paws, Cakey Cat and MerCat.
The 2024 LaSpina Pez Price Guide is in stock now in the Pez Collectors Store! The Original Collector's Price Guide to PEZ is now in its 35th edition! This handy spiral bound book lists all known head variations for different dispensers from vintage to current, providing a price range and handy check boxes for tracking your collection! The 35th edition has all the newest dispensers and sections for mini pez, Funko POP!+PEZ, and for non-pez candy collectibles such as Totems, TV Pals, Yummy and Zepher dispensers! This edition contains over 325 pages with index and notes. Written by John J. LaSpina, this book is a must have for any serious collector!
The new SpongeBob SquarePants pez set is scheduled to be released May 1! Smiling SpongeBob comes on a dark blue stem, Nerdy SpongeBob is on a green stem and wears glasses and Patrick is an all-new mold with starfish arms sticking out from the sides. Nerdy SpongeBob will not be available in the Pineapple tin in September - it will have a 25th anniversary silver SpongeBob, Gary, Patrick and Smiling SpongeBob.
Europe has released Mother’s Day and Father’s Day Crystal Panda pez. The Mother’s Day Crystal Panda has red hearts for eyes and she wears a crown. Her stem is printed with Best Mom Ever. The Father’s Day Crystal Panda has yellow stars for eyes and the stem says Best Dad Ever. The European versions come mint on card with Nashi Pear flavored pez candies. These are on their way to us and are expected to arrive within a few weeks. We also expect that USA may release the Mother’s day and Father’s day crystal Pandas, though the USA graphics and candies will be different. We will get the USA versions in stock as well as soon as possible.
We still have stock for the European Crystal Ball Best Mom Ever pez and the European Crystal Ball Mustache Superdad pez, on card or loose. These are available now and ready to ship to you in time for Mother’s Day and/or Father’s Day!
A Memorial Day crystal ball with the USA Flag and fireworks is expected to be released in the USA.
May 14 – 16 is the 2024 Sweets and Snacks Expo in Indianapolis, which we will attend as a wholesale buyer. The Sweets and Snacks Expo is a trade show were manufacturers of all sorts of different sweets and snacks have booths to display their products and showcase their upcoming products to wholesale buyers in hopes of acquiring new wholesale accounts. Pez Candy, Inc has a booth at the expo and the Pez Collectors Store attends each year to visit with our Pez Sales Rep and to get more information about upcoming Pez releases for the remainder of 2024 and into 2025. Most exhibitor booths at the expo offer samples of their products and Pez Candy offers candy packs and often a highly limited, exclusive dispenser. There are generally only 1000 produced and they are given away one per attendee and only to some attendees, so they are not easy to get. Most are tossed into the giant samples bag and then never reemerge for collectors, or they are promptly listed on eBay for those who realize that Pez dispensers are highly collectible! The true purpose of attending the show is not to get the dispenser, but to get the information, to make contacts, find new products and place orders.
We anticipate seeing the June 1 Despicable Me 4 pez release. The new set will include Tim, Mel and 2 other characters which to date have not been announced. A Despicable Me 4 Twin pack is also expected.
June 1 is also the first scheduled release date for the 30th anniversary Lion King assortment with all new molds for Simba, Mufasa, Timon, Pumba. There will also be a new Lion King Pez Twin Pack!
Mickey and Minnie Clips Double Cards are scheduled for first release June 1. These will join the previously released Mandalorian mini Pez Clips and the Harry Potter mini Pez Clips. To accommodate the clip, the mini stems are molded with a loop for these special mini pez Clips.
June 1 the new mold Daisy and Donald pez are joining the Mickey and Friends assortment. As always, when new characters are added to an existing assortment, it takes a while for the old inventory to be sold out and the new dispensers to be ‘flowed in’ to the assortment.
July 1 a 90th Anniversary Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse pez twin pack will be released, featuring the new Donald along with Mickey and 90th Anniversary graphics.
July 1, a Hogwarts Sweater dispenser will be added to the Harry Potter Pez Assortment. This sweater will use the same mold as the Canadian NHL Jerseys but will be printed to show a crew neck long sleeve sweater with a capital H and the stem printed with Hogwarts.
Also due out in July are the new Halloween pez. A new green Witch Girl and a new blue and orange Bat will be added to the Halloween Assortment this year.
A new red hat with green Trim Elf Christmas Pez and a new paint design Nutcracker on a green stem (will come in tubes) are scheduled for September release.
A Moana Pez assortment should be available beginning July 1 with the existing Moana Pez joined by Maui and Hai Hai. There will also be a twin pack that features Moana and Maui. While images for the Moana assortment cannot be shared publicly yet, we expect them to be on display at the Sweets and Snacks Expo and we will share actual pictures from the expo in next month’s Pez Collectors Store newsletter!
Other scheduled, previously announced pez releases for 2024 which will likely be on display at the Sweets and Snacks Expo include:
- August 1 New Tiana Princess
- September 1 Giant Pikachu dispenser
- September 1 Pokemon mini-Pikachu and Pokeball Clips Double Card
- September 1 mini–Hello Kitty and Unicorn Clips Double Card
- September 1 Amy added to Sonic asst.
- September 1 Crystal Sonic Knuckles, Tails and Amy Gift Box
- September 1 Minecraft Assortment with Steve, Creeper, Pig and Alex
- September 1 Minecraft Twin Pack Pairs with Steve and Creeper, and with Alex and Pig
- September 1 Minecraft Gift Box with Steve, Creeper, Alex and exclusive Enderman with printed stems
- September 1 Pineapple shaped SpongeBob Gift Tin with new Patrick, Smiling SpongeBob, Gary and Silver Edition 25th Anniversary SpongeBob
- November 1 Hugging Heart Crystal Heart Pez, new Brown Bear and White Bear Valentine Pez
- November 1 Brown Bear and White Bear Pez Twin Packs
Looking ahead to January, 2025, we expect to see the new Treats dispenser, Lilo and Stitch assortment and twin pack, Captain America update and twin pack (rescheduled from this year due to movie delays).
In February, 2025, an update to the Minecraft dispenser assortment, and new Barbie pez dispensers.
For March 2025, there will likely be a new Hello Kitty Dispenser
In July, 2025, we can look forward to new Pokemon dispensers, and a Nightmare Before Christmas Twin Pack.
In September, 2025, Nightmare Before Christmas Gift Tin, Giant Stitch Pez from Lilo and Stitch and updated SpongeBob dispenser and Twin Pack.
We hope to see many of these new releases in prototype at the Sweets and Snacks expo and we will share photos from the show in our next newsletter.
There are likely to be many more surprises along the way as PEZ has fully embraced the exclusive, limited edition releases and will likely continue releasing many more. These dispensers help set your collection apart from the casual collections that include only dispensers that are released through standard retail outlets and the challenge of getting them keeps the excitement in collecting!
Convention season is rapidly approaching with the first event of the year under our belts. The Virtual Pez Convention took place and was an awesome event with lots of great tours and a peek behind the curtain at the Pez Collectors Store as well as items in my personal collection. VPC is a great way to connect with fellow collectors, but the absolute best way is to attend a live convention in person! Be sure to get your hotel reservation made if needed because the hotels fill up fast. Also be sure to register for the convention as early as possible. The hosts are all hard at work trying to pull together the best experience possible for all the attendees and you can make their job so much easier by registering early!
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May 18 Maryland Pez Gathering, Woodlawn, MD https://www.marylandpezgathering.com/
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June 20 – 23, MIPezCon, Pez Boy vs. Pez Girl, Michigan Pez Convention in Farmington Hills, MI www.mipezcon.com
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June 20 – 23, The P.I.G, Hi 5, in West Chester Township, OH www.thepigevents.com
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July 17 – 20, Pezamania 33, PEZlymics Games, in Independence, OH www.pezamania.com
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August 15 – 17, Northwest Pez Convention, Winter Wonderland, Spokane, WA https://nwpc.pezworld.com/
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September 12 – 14, 11th Pez On The River in Winona, MN www.pezontheriver.com
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October 5, The IN Crowd Pez Gathering, Indiana Facebook The In. Crowd PEZ Gathering Group
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October ???, Pezylvania XIV in Kutztown, PA http://pezylvania.com
That’s all the news for this month! Happy Pezzing!
All the best,
Chris Jordan
www.pezcollectors.com