(NAPSA)—Here’s some sweet news: Marshmallow Peeps are celebrating their 50th Anniversary! They will kick off their golden year with America’s Favorite Easter Basket Contest and have two Peeps Fun Buses traveling across the country. In addition, Just Born, Inc. turns 80 this year. It all began when Sam Born immigrated to the United States and introduced “French Chocolates.” A candy maker by trade, Born was also ingenious in the use of technology. In 1917, Born won the “keys” to the city of San Francisco for inventing a machine that mechanically inserted sticks into lollipops. Born displayed his sweet confections in his store windows and marketed them with a sign declaring them so fresh, it was as if they were “just born.” In 1923, Born opened a small factory in Brooklyn, NY. His broth- ers-in-law, Irv and Jack Shaffer joined the company. New York was the company’s home until the height of the Depression, when in 1932 they moved to an empty factory in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Just Born soon became an important employment source for this well-knownsteel town. In 1953, Just Born acquired a Lancaster-based company, which made marshmallow treats by hand. Just Born mechanized the Marshmallow Peeps production, improving quantities and quality control. Marshmallow Peeps quickly became an Easter icon whose shapes, colors, flavors and occasions have grown over the past half-century. Today, Just Born produces over 1 billion Peeps a year, over 700 million for Easter. A Golden Anniversary Peeps report shows many consumers have been enjoying Peeps for over 30 years! The survey also unveiled that 40 percent of people consider the Easter Chicks and Bunnies to be the best-dressed Peeps. One in 10 respondents give the honor to winter’s Peeps Snowmen, and the new patriotic Peeps Stars were more popular than older Peeps Hearts, Pumpkins and other delicious shapes. Go to www.marshmallowpeeps.com to learn more about the two Peeps Fun Buses, the Peeps Report and the Peeps Easter Basket contest and how to enter to win a year’s supply of Peeps and a chance for a $10,000 trip to your favorite U.S. destination.
