Marshmallow Peeps Chirping Over New Color

Lined up in spongy rows of five, they stare blankly out of little yellow cardboard boxes, signaling the Easter season.

Peeps, those ubiquitous, pastelcolored marshmallow baby chicks with dots for eyes, seemingly have been around forever. They don’t get big press, even though 400 million of them will be consumed this spring.

Along with their less-popular brethren, Bunnies, the squishy confections have been the megastars of the marshmallow novelty market for decades.

This year, however, Peeps have something to chirp about: A new color - lavender - will be worn by the normally yellow, pink or white chickies for the first time since 1953, when Just Born Inc. of Bethelem, Pa., bought the company from its original owners.

It’s a big deal, but not as momentous as mechanizing the marshmallow line in 1955. That revolutionized the industry, explains Just Born’s unofficial Peeps historian, community relations and communications manager Marilyn Mazer.

Peeps originally were produced in a rather laborious fashion, requiring 27 hours of gelatin-setting and intensive handiwork by 80 Pennsylvania Dutch farm women.

“They were hardy folk who could squeeze out these Peeps through large pastry tubes,” Mazer says, admitting that the history is based more on legend than recorded fact.

“It was very arduous work and I’ve been told their hands would swell to twice their size. Then they would soak them in cold water and come back the next morning and do this all over again.”

Another watershed was when Peeps lost their wings.

“At some point there was a little technical problem and some lots went out without wings,” Mazer says. “It was discovered that they were as popular, if not more so, than the ones that had the wings.”

Among Peeps eaters, there are two distinct camps: those who prefer stale Peeps, and those who like them fresh.

“Our totally unofficial statistic is that 30 percent of people seem to like to eat them stale,” says Mazer. “Then they can bite off the head and get that little snap.”

Mazer says the new lavender color is a big hit, and denies the selection of purple has anything to do with that other ubiquitous figure, Barney.

“Maybe there’s some kind of unconscious association in there,” she laughs. “Well, it can only help.”