Around Easter time, Peeps areeverywhere. It shouldn't come as a surprise, though, seeing as Easter is the candy's busiest season, and the Peeps factory makes an average of 5.5 million Peeps in just one day.
That's a total of 2 billion Peeps made per year—2 BILLION—in case you were wondering. Fun fact: That's enough to circle the earth two and half times. Today, each little marshmallow chick takes about six minutes to create, and many are made at once. It's a far cry from the old-school Peeps-making process. Circa 1953, it took 27 hours to create just one Peeps Marshmallow Chick by hand with a pastry tube.
Sam Born, a candy maker who emigrated from Russia, had a son Bob, who "helped mechanize the marshmallow forming process in 1954, enabling Just Born (Peeps' parent company) to become the world's largest manufacturer of novelty marshmallow treats," according to Peeps. Today, Just Born is led by cousins Ross Born and David Shaffer, who took over from their fathers, Bob Born and Jack Shaffer, in 1992.
Watch video of Peeps being madeHERE.