The History of Peeps

In 1910, a 19-year-old Russian Jewish immigrant named Sam Born arrived in New York City, where he continued his family’s work: making chocolate. He soon became known for his innovations in candy making — for example, he created a stick-inserting machine that made manufacturing lollipops much easier. He opened his own retail shop called Just Born and continued to expand his operations by buying other candy companies, including a factory in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Nearby in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Roscoe E. Rodda’s Rodda Candy Company was struggling. He decided to try to appeal to the Pennsylvania Dutch living in the area by creating Easter-themed treats. He created a series of marshmallow candies shaped like chicks. The exact year he first created them is unknown, but the treats are listed in a 1925 trade catalog. It is unclear when the candies were given the “Peeps” name. After Rodda passed away in the late 1940s, Just Born, now run by Sam Born’s son Bob, purchased the company and began to automate its candy-making processing. To make the labor-intensive Peeps easier to produce, Bob created a machine called the Depositor. The company began cranking out Peeps, which caught on as an Easter treat throughout the United States. Today, Peeps have a massive fanbase and have even inspired various celebrity recipes, contests, and merchandise lines.