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Pixy Stix is a popular powdered candy packaged in straw-like paper wrappers. Originally intended as a drink mix, it was later marketed as candy. The Nestle company now produces Pixy Stix under the Willy Wonka brand, along with other popular candies. Pixy Stix is made from dextrose and citric acid and can have a strong effect on blood sugar.
Many generations of people have fond memories of an extremely bittersweet powdered candy known as Pixy Stix. Pixy Stix is packaged in straw-like paper wrappers that are torn apart to allow direct consumption of the powder. Some people may remember a much larger version called the Giant Pixy Stix, packaged in 21-inch plastic tubes. Popular Pixy Stix flavors include orange, grape, and green apple.
In the late 1930s, powdered candy was actually intended to be a pre-sweetened drink mix similar to Kool Aid. The developer noticed that many children preferred to pour the powder directly into their mouths, avoiding the mixing process altogether. The candy powder was later repackaged and marketed as regular candy. In the early 1950s, a St. Louis, Missouri company manufactured the original Pixy Stix in colored paper tubes.
Pixy Stix may have been popular with kids, but some parents routinely object to the messy nature of a loose candy powder pouring out of an unresealable straw. The candy company created a more solid confection from Pixy Stix’s formula of dextrose, citric acid, and artificial flavor in the early 1960s, calling them SweeTarts. As SweeTarts and other packaged candies grew in popularity, the old Pixy Stix brand nearly died out.
The Nestle company has acquired the rights to manufacture Pixy Stix and continues to produce straws and Giant Pixy Stix under the Willy Wonka brand. Willy Wonka also makes other popular flavored sugar candies from the same era, such as cola-flavored bottle caps and SweeTarts.
As sweet as Pixy Stix tastes, they are not made from sucrose or regular sugar. Pixy Stix is instead made from a cornstarch-based sweetener called dextrose. Dextrose can have a much stronger effect on blood flow than sucrose, so those who are particularly affected by blood sugar spikes should exercise restraint when consuming Pixy Stix. The acidity of the candies comes from citric acid, a common ingredient in sour candies. Some argue that the flavor of Pixy Stix is negligible, but the excitement of reliving a childhood memory by pulling back a Pixy Stix straw is often worth the effort.
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