National Peeps Day – April 5, 2027

History of National Peeps Day

Peeps were introduced in 1953 when Russian immigrant Sam Born’s candy company, Just Born, based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the Rodda Candy Company and its handmade marshmallow chick line. Upon the acquisition, Sam Born’s son, Bob Born, led the automation of the marshmallow creation process, reducing the manufacturing time from almost 27 hours to just six minutes! In 1955, Bob also removed the wings that used to appear on each Peep, further facilitating the mass production process. Just Born also manufactures other treats like Mike & Ikes, Peanut Chews, and Hot Tamales.

Peeps are produced from a traditional, family-guarded recipe containing granulated sugar, liquid sugar, corn syrup, gelatin, and vanilla extract which hasn’t really changed since its inception. The original form of the candy was the yellow, pink, and white chicks, but the company subsequently introduced other colors — blue, green, pink, lavender, and orange. By the 1960s, the company introduced new shapes in addition to the traditional chick shapes, following a theme according to the season. Now, Peeps exist in shapes like bunnies, ghosts, and many other animal shapes.

Between 1999 and 2002, new flavors such as chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry were also introduced to Peeps lovers. Other flavors include cotton candy, gingerbread, pancakes and syrup, and root beer float. In 2009, Just Born launched its Peeps Lip Balm in four flavors — grape, strawberry, vanilla, and cotton candy — in a bid to expand the Peeps product line. Not stopping at that, the company has also invested in the production of various accessories and fashion items such as earrings, necklaces, wristbands, nail polish, plush toys, golf gloves, and umbrellas which are sold online and in retail stores.