Bob Born, the man who turned Peeps candy into an American phenomenon, has died. He was 98.
Just Born Quality Confections announced that Born died on 29 January, 100 years after his father, Sam Born, started the company in New York before relocating to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Peeps are marshmallow-based treats in the shape of yellow, blue and pink baby chickens which have long proved hugely popular, particularly at Easter, with American children.
Not all are convinced of their merits. For the Guardian, the writer Brian Moylan once labelled Peeps “gooey and sticky and kind of like biting into a really soft pencil eraser”, “barely edible” and “gross!”
But Peeps have proved hugely lucrative, with 5.5m produced daily in the US and nearly 2bn annually. The highest sales are recorded in the springtime, as the sticky chicklets make their way into Easter baskets across the US.
Bob Born served in the US navy in the second world war, then led the family company for more than three decades.
He was instrumental in the process that achieved the mass production of Peeps.
In 2003, he told the Associated Press he struggled to work out how machines could mould marshmallow into Peeps’ distinctive chick-like form.
“We made so many samples,” he said, “at first some of them coming down the line looked like seals. So we had to try again.”
But he mastered the process – designing a machine that the company said “became the basis for the current marshmallow depositing systems” – and Peeps took over America. In 2019, in gratitude, Bethlehem made 15 February Bob Born Day, to be celebrated annually.
Just Born makes other popular candies including Mike and Ike, Peanut Chews, Just Born Jellybeans and Hot Tamales.
Announcing Born’s death, David Shaffer, board chair and co-chief executive of Just Born, said: “Bob will be remembered as a tireless and passionate advocate for the candy industry and a wonderful supporter of our community.”
