History

• Pixy Stix, which were originally manufactured by the Sunline Company in 1952, started off as pencil-sized paper tubes filled with artificially-flavored sugary powder. At first, the powder was an economical fruit-flavored soft drink mix that was meant to be added to water. But when the company received word of the pint-sized consumers licking up the powder directly from the envelope, they rethought their idea and began marketing the candy in the packaging known and loved today.

Packaging

• Today's Pixy Stix are packaged in both traditional paper and in giant plastic tubes. These Giant Pixy Stix are almost two-feet long and resemble and enormous drinking straw.

Flavors

• Pixy Stix currently come in 11 flavors: blueberry, orange, watermelon, lemon, pineapple, strawberry, Maui punch, cherry, green apple and grape.

Manufacturing

• Pixy Stix are currently manufactured by the Nestle Products Company. The Giant Pixy Stix are sold under the Wonka brand name, which also makes famous candies such as Laffy Taffy, Spree, Gobstoppers and Nerds.

One in the Same

• The sweet-and-sour powder that comprises Pixy Stix is also used in the manufacture of other candy favorites such as Sweet Tarts, where the powder is compressed into tiny tablets, and Lik-M-Aid, which combines an unflavored (although still sweet) candy stick that consumers lick and dip into the sugary powder.