Believe it or not, Peeps are over 70 years old!

Every spring, a familiar pastel figure returns to the candy aisle: Peeps. With their bright sugar coating, these fluffy marshmallow treats have hopped from a simple Easter basket treat to a full-fledged cultural icon.

The history of Peeps starts in 1910, when 19-year-old Russian immigrant Sam Born arrived in New York City. A trained candy maker, Born saved his earnings to open a chocolate retail store and manufacturing operation in Brooklyn, which he named “Just Born.” Just Born grew steadily through the 1920s and 30s before moving to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Just five miles away from Bethlehem in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Roscoe E. Rodda was making marshmallow candies in the shapes of bunnies, eggs, and crosses at the Rodda Candy Company. No one knows for sure when Rodda Candy made its first marshmallow chick or how they earned the “Peeps” moniker, but some Rodda family members believe they originated as special-order treats for loyal customers in the early 1940s.

Back then, making Peeps was no small feat. Eighty workers carefully spooned small batches of marshmallow, whipped egg whites, and sugar into a fluted steel tip, which then squirted the mixture into the shapes of tiny chicks. Workers left the candies to air-dry, and it could take more than 27 hours to complete a single tray of these first “Peeps.”

After Just Born acquired the Rodda Candy Company in 1953, Sam Born’s son, Bob, invented an automated machine that could produce a single tray of Peeps in just six minutes.

Today, Peeps show up for nearly every major holiday, from Christmas to Valentine’s Day. The iconic treat even plays a starring role on New Year’s Eve in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where the locals drop a giant Peep instead of a ball.

More than 70 years in, these chicks, made with real sugar, remain one of the most enduring treats of the season.

About the Author

Laura Rutherford graduated from the University of North Dakota in 2004 with a degree in Political Science. She is a shareholder in American Crystal Sugar Company and a member of the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association (RRVSGA), the World Association of Beet and Cane Growers (WABCG), and the American Society of Sugarbeet Technologists. She is on the Board of Directors of the Sugar Industry Biotechnology Council and has published articles for the WABCG, the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association newsletter, and the British Sugarbeet Review magazine in Cambs, United Kingdom.