Zotz - Where the fizz izz - promo sticker - 1970's 1980's
I have clear memories of Zotz candy from when I was a kid, both the packaging and the confectionery experience it contained. The Zotz name and logo was like a comic book sound effect, and it accurately described the exclamation of eating one. Years before Pop Rocks would arrive on the scene, Zotz was the first candy that made me suspect that some strange science was at work inside. You see, this sour candy actually created a kind of fizzing when you ate it.
Zotz - Orange wrappers - 1970's
I received a brief description of the history of Zotz from the manufacturer:
The original Zotz Fizz Power Candies were introduced in 1968. Within one year they had quickly become the hottest selling kids candy in the business. What made Zotz unique was the flavored fizz center, kids found the effervescent center irresistible. [Zotz is a high quality hard candy manufactured by G.B. Ambrosoli. G.B. Ambrosoli is wholly owned and operated by the Ambrosoli family in Como Italy since 1920.]
One of the coolest vintage Zotz pieces I’ve come across as a collector is this larger foil pack, which appears to have held a variety of Zotz candies inside. Made of foil, it is unlike the typical plastic packaging I’ve encountered and features fun Zotz mascot characters I’ve never seen anywhere else:
Zotz - Fizzzz Power Candy - Lemon, Cherry, Orange - foil package - 1970's
Tracking down vintage Zotz packaging pieces has proven to be especially challenging, likely due to the fact that it’s tough to get to the candy inside without tearing up the wrapper along the way. So, I don’t have any more vintage pieces in my own collection.
I do have this fun series of promotional stickers for Zotz, likely released in the 1970’s:
Vintage Zotz promotional stickers - 1970's
Clipped from a 1987 Zotz promotional flyer, here are some great images of items from the era. My favorite is Zotz Dragon Babies:
Zotz - Dragon Babies news clipping. Color image courtesy Andre Prost Inc.
Zotz Pops - 1987 - Courtesy Andre Prost Inc.
Zotz Power Pack - 1987 - Courtesy Andre Prost Inc.
Lotz-A-Zotz - 1987 - Courtesy Andre Prost Inc.
Zotz Strings - 1987 - Courtesy Andre Prost Inc.
I do have one example of 1990’s Zotz packaging, which comes to me from fellow collector Dan Goodsell. Looking similar to the 1980’s packs pictured above – this one has alternating flavors:
Zotz - candy strip - early 1990's - Courtesy Dan Goodsell
Zotz are still available, and still sold in packaging much like they were when I was growing up. Here’s a set of six flavor packs I picked up last year:
Zotz current package examples - 2011
A strip of candies, each in its own compartment, and each strip a unique flavor – Zotz are still the same great confectionery treat they always have been. A new Blue Raspberry flavor was recently added, so I’ll be looking for this one to try soon:
Zotz flavor assortments and new Blue Raspberry - Courtesy Andre Prost Inc
If you’re in the mood for some Zotz or have never tried them and are curious, you can typically find them at specialty candy stores. They are also available online:
These are probably my favorite candy; I’ve got a couple of strings of ’em here at my desk as I type. If I’m remembering right, the Zotz Power Packs were great; they were just the fizzy part, without the candy shell, right? They were shaped like chow mein noodles, delightful little fizzy worms of goodness. I wish they still made ’em, though it kind of gives me a stomachache to contemplate!
Love the blog!
Ha! I sold this candy in middle school around 1970 for a couple of years. Very popular and my markup was huge! Then I got to high school and switched to pot. Made even more!
I know it’s four years later, but this made me spit my coffee, lol. Candy is totally a gateway drug, lol.
Right on.
Buzzzzzz
I do believe that in the last few months ZotZ candy has been changed to a bigger size with more fizzy goodness in the middle!
I love ZotZ!
When I was young growing up in Adrian, Michigan, I’d beg my parents to buy the ZotZ Exploding Pops every time we went to Arbor Drugs(Now CVS Pharmacy). I’m now almost thirty and live in Ohio. I was recently surprised to find these at the Fudge Haus in front of Scmidt’s Sausage Haus in Columbus, Ohio. I picked up one of each flavor along with some other classics from the nice selection they had there. They even had homemade candy. Yum! As I was sitting here enjoying an Orange ZotZ, I decided to search the web for info on ZotZs and found this page. Ahh Nostalgia at it’s finest. I enjoyed the article, thank you!
Also, If you’ve never been to the restaurant Schmidt’s and enjoy German food/Atmosphere or sausage, please, do yourself a favor and go!
@hold -It does seem like the candy is bigger. Seems to fizz forever. I remember when Bottle Caps used to Fizz. Now, they just taste like lame SweeTarts 🙁
I loved these candies as a kid! I was just thinking of these I the past year and looked them up and seen them on the Internet. I was telling a lady I worked with about them just a week ago and my wife came home with some 2 days ago. A local store is carrying them. They are $1.00 for a strip of four. That’s cheaper than anywhere on the net. I went and bought more today in cherry, Apple and watermelon. I still would like to have some grape ones I ate as a kid though!
So there was a candy like this when I was a kid it came in a package about the size of big league 2 gum….. The only thing in the package was little white grains of rice is how I can best describe them. It’s the same stuff that was inside of a zot candy but no hard outer shel…. Does anybody remember what it is?
I remember a Zotz product called the “Zotz Bomb” as a kid in the early/ mid 1980’s. These were similar to the “Exploding” Pop versions (above) on a stick, but without a stick and were larger than the more common Fizz candies (1 1/4 inch perhaps?). Similar to jawbreaker size candies and I believe two or three (at most) per pack, together not separated into individual sections. I remember the package was white with the bomb on it similar to “Lotz-A-Zotz” style above. Sadly I have not seen any information on this specific item variation. These were the best in my opinion but I only rarely found them back then. The fizzy “fuse” would start and you would wait for it to fizz down until the jawbreaker bomb cracked apart in your mouth (which it rarely did work correctly, but was still very good candy).
There is a picture of them posted above. Very hard to find info on them. Glad he at least has the picture. I emailed to company and was told they would probably never make them again.
I am guessing that picture was added after my post. I am happy to see it here. I too had reached out to the US distributer around that time. One of the owners, Chuck Landrey, replied and recalled the product and said it did not sell well. But he did not provide me the image or any additional information. But to see it here is great.
I took my babygirl to the store about an hour ago to get her a bag of gummy worms and I seen a box with Cherry Zotz and I said huh I’ve never had these before yet I’ve seen them in there before but didn’t never buy them so tonight I said well let’s get some and they have a string of 4 for .49 so I got them and came home. I opened one and popped it in my mouth and my eyes got huge and omgosh I wish I would have been tried them they are so good, and so good that as soon as the store opens in the morning at 6am I will be there to buy all that they have lol there so good with a sweet and sour that just makes my heart ❤️ so happy…. So if you haven’t tried them your so missing out BIGTIME