The pastel-colored marshmallow chicks known as Peeps have become as much a part of Easter as dyed eggs and chocolate bunnies.
Their history is as sugary and unexpected as the candy itself. From humble beginnings to a cultural phenomenon, Peeps have carved out a place in both nostalgia and modern-day celebrations.
Where do Peeps come from?
In 1910, Sam Born moved to New York at 19. The Russian Jewish immigrant came from a legacy of chocolate making, according to Food and Wine.
Born quickly opened a shop and continued the craft of chocolate making on American soil. In 1916, his invention of a stick-inserting machine for lollipops brought him major success, per the Candy Hall of Fame.
The creation earned him a key to San Francisco and enough money to open his own chocolate factory in Brooklyn, per Food and Wine.
His shop crafted fresh chocolate and featured a sign that said “Just Born” out front. Born’s ambitions extended far beyond a single storefront and small factory.
He began acquiring other candy companies and eventually purchased a large factory in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he also relocated his company, Just Born, said the article.
Rodda Candy, a separate candy company in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, struggled to compete with larger brands like Just Born according to the article.
Located in a city historically known for its German religious community, Rodda Candy saw Easter as an opportunity to boost their profits.
They turned religious symbols — bunnies, jelly beans and Holy crosses into candy shapes.
While the exact year of the first created marshmallow chick is unrecorded, Food and Wine speculates it was first made for select customers in the early 1940’s. Though the treat was not devoured as it is today.
With the process of making the sugar-coated bird being quite difficult, many customers viewed the colorful marshmallow as a decorative piece rather than an edible candy.
To craft the specialty candy, it would take nearly 80 people to hand squeeze and shape the marshmallow chicks during the Easter holiday said the article. Each chick was individually piped and to finish a single tray of sugary birds would take up to 27 hours.
After Roscoe Rodda’s death in the 1940’s, Just Born purchased Rodda Candy Company. Bob Born, the son of Just Born’s founder Sam Born, later invented an automated “Depositor” machine that produced a full tray of Peeps in just six minutes.
One of the most loved easter candies
Peeps have become an Easter staple, with 5.5 million produced daily and roughly 2 billion made each year, according to CNN.
While packed with sugar, they’re equally packed with history. Over the decades, Peeps have secured a place not just in candy aisles but in pop culture and personal lore. With Peep eating contests, and even features on television.
In a “Malcolm in the Middle” episode, “Traffic Jam” Malcom’s brother Francis, makes a Peep eating bet. No spoilers here, but you can imagine how that ended.
In 2013, Dallas Cowboys player Barry Church was gifted a season’s supply of Peeps after chipping a tooth on a Jolly Rancher.
A soft marshmallow Peep would never do such damage — though a stale Peep might come close.