]>

By Laura Liebeck<br><br>

The dispenser works the same and the candy is exactly as you remember it, but now the characters have gotten soft. Soft as plush, actually.

PEZ Candy Inc. (Orange, Ct.) has introduced a line of plush candy dispensers in partnership with Applause, LLC (Woodland Hills, Calif.).

Called PEZ Fuzzy Friends, the new candy dispensers feature four Teddy Bear designs with a stuffed animal head, hands, feet and body. There is also a backpack clip on the back of each bear. Each Fuzzy Friend comes with its own name, birth date, hometown and its unique personality, to encourage collectibility. SRP: $3.99-$4.99.

More designs are on the way, and "one can assume that it will evolve into licensed properties," says PEZ Candy CEO and president Scott McWhinnie. PEZ's conventional candy dispensers feature a wide variety of licensed and company designed characters.